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by Julie Ginn,CPA
Any prize worth having is the one that costs
the most to win.
If you will, take a moment to reflect on some of
your Best memories. Where you felt the joy of
accomplishment. Or some long-cherished dream
finally happened for you. It may have been a quiet
moment. On the other hand, perhaps your achievement
gave you some public recognition. Whatever it may be,
chances are it asked more of you than you ever
ask of yourself.
The Olympian in You
Gold has been won and lost over a fraction of a second.
Winning means honing even the slightest edge. Your
obstacle is here to elevate you. It's asking you to
refine and hone the talents you already have, and put
them to the test. You may even need to develop a new
talent to finally meet your goal.
The challenge is to open your mind to the greater
possibilities in store for you. This is the message
of an obstacle. When you know the secret of obstacles
you will find the means to dig deep inside and meet
any resistance with confidence.
Obstacles ask your mind to open up and become more
flexible. To think in new ways. To consider a
possibility never before imagined. The one not yet
conceived until you open your perspective a notch more.
Innovation is the Result of Resistance
Challenges ask you to become a new person, to open your
creativity. There is a puzzle to solve, but solving it
doesn't have to be beyond your reach. It doesn't have
to be a terrible struggle. It can be a time filled with
growth and new adventure-and winning.
You do have what it takes!
The Wall
An obstacle can appear like a brick wall set across your
entire path. Resistance can bring moments of deep
discouragement. For many people, reaching the wall is a
huge "drop-out" point. That's mainly because the
resistance often inspires confusion and doubt. It's
the belief that an obstacle is saying your goal isn't
meant for you. Avoid the disappointment. You'd be
much more reasonable to drop your pursuit and take it
all a little easier.
So the true key to obstacles is this. Any obstacle
is a block in the path ONLY AS YOU CURRENTLY KNOW IT.
Realize there is a better way. Your obstacles are
the call to search out for something better. They
are asking you to move to higher ground-new territory.
Overcoming Obstacles . . .
Within You is the Power to Change the Dynamics
Change the conditions and the ecology must also change.
So build a new set of conditions around your obstacle.
Doing a few simple things will change the landscape in
your mindset. The minute that you do this, you are
actually creating fresh, exciting dynamics. It moves
you out of any mental routine. And it moves the
obstacles out of that routine also. Because the
dynamics have shifted, new conditions will arrive
that can help you with your challenge.
Here are a few very simple ways to
But I want to present another picture of time schedules.
Look around you for a minute if you will. Nothing
stands still. Every part of life exists in constant
action. Identifying a specific start and stop time is a
very powerful principle of life. Because defined time
frames are a call to greater action.
Deadlines create a specific, if invisible, form. Once
created, it becomes an empty vessel of time and space
that must now be filled with something specific-your
desired accomplishment. The dynamics of life will
recognize this form and work with you to make sure
it doesn't stay empty.
So set a specific time frame for moving beyond the
obstacle. Determine when you will start to seek out
solutions. And decide on a reasonable time to
complete the task. At that time, you'll have
reached a satisfactory answer and put it into
action. This is your commitment to be determined.
You've put your own will on the line. This puts your
own mindset into greater motion and asks for
specific resolution.
2. How to partner with the forces of nature.
Here's why. Obstacles are saying the current method
or option isn't the best fit. It's too small, too
limited for your dream. Struggling with any obstacle
really is simply trying to force conditions to fit
into your already determined choices. This is going
against the forces of nature.
Deciding to clash head-on with an obstacle and wrestle
it into the ground will make one thing crystal clear.
An obstacle will only become stronger the more you
tussle with it. That's because obstacles have great
endurance. This bountiful energy only grows with
the struggle.
You're being asked to move out of the way. Seek to
discover the something better that awaits you.
Simply put, make a change. Challenges require you
to stretch, to grow beyond where you are right now.
This is how you become the person who can live out
your dream. It helps bring you the life skills to
not only meet your goal, but to sustain the fruits
of that goal.
3. Create new milestones to give you a greater edge.
When an obstacle seems firmly entrenched, consider this.
Have alternatives in mind that you would be willing to
accept as stepping stones. You may be shooting for a
specific outcome. But if it's not quite within your
reach, what can you put in place to fill the void while
continuing to work on the ideal?
I use this all the time when working with software
technology. The perfect software solution fills
every criteria I could ever want. But I've found
time and time again that my ideal software may be
too expensive or have too long a learning curve
for the immediate need. So I research for one,
two or even three different alternatives I could
live with-if I had to-and still meet the stop time.
This melts the power of an obstacle each and every
time. It simply loses it's edge. You see, there
is always a way. It's just a matter of finding it.
It could be easy to find-or it could be hard to find.
That all depends on you. Every time you practice one
of these principles, the way gets easier.
Something happens with this approach. The research
brings new information about how to achieve the end
result. It inspires you to keep adjusting your
ideas. The answers then become much easier than
you might originally realize.
It's amazing how having alternatives in the back of
your mind can change the dynamics. This immediately
eliminates the stress of reaching perfection with
your first go around. It means that you always feel
as if you have another choice, another solution
available to you at all times.
This will undermine the power of the obstacle - which
is seen as a block towards your ideal goal. Having
no choices can make you feel limited. Limitations
may require you to accept whatever it is you get.
Having choices is a wonderful place to be. You'll
never feel backed into a corner when you have more
than one choice.
4. Develop a greater clarity
to break through hesitation.
In the midst of a challenge, ideas about what needs
to be done may be vague. So take a closer look.
Split the overall objective into smaller, easily
defined functions. Then address each function one
at a time. It will seem much more easy to accomplish.
This can break through procrastination.
Hesitation comes from lack of clarity. It is difficult
to take action when you aren't sure what to do or how
to do it. Here is where you will want to shorten the
learning curve. No one person is an expert in all
things. You can't possibly be expected to know all
there is to know.
However, you can develop one skill that will make up
for any time when the answer isn't clear for you.
It's amazing how few people will practice this one
simple technique. Over and over again, someone will
struggle with an unknown. They'll try to work within
their limitations. If you reject this process and
follow through with what I'm about to share, you'll
project yourself beyond the scope of what most people
ever manage to do. Here it is;
Admit that there is more to find out about a topic than
you currently know. However knowledgeable you are,
there is still something new to learn. Accept that
this is always true. The burden to know all there
is to know is never on your shoulders.
Your true task is to admit what you don't know.
This is one of the most critical secrets of success
you'll ever find. Those that succeed don't have to
know all. In fact, they know they don't. That's
one of their biggest formulas for success.
Now, once you're comfortable with this idea, you can
take the next step. Seek out an expert. Look for
others who have worked hard to make this area their
specialty. They are tops in their field of expertise.
They write books or publish information on the Internet.
Real experts have already gone so far in their field
that they are looking for new challenges. They find
enjoyment in sharing their hard-won knowledge with
others.
Get really good at researching for experts. Especially
develop the knack for distinguishing the real expert
from the want-to-be. And keep looking until you find
the answers that truly satisfy your search. If it's a
partial answer, if you find another question from the
first answer, keep digging. Go a little further.
When you finally know what specifically needs to be
done and how to do it, hesitation will fade away.
You'll move decisively forward.
5. How Strong is Your Sense of Purpose?
Applying any of these techniques without the
determination to follow through won't bring the
results you want. Wishy-washy intention will
bring wishy-washy results. Strong intention brings
strong results. Be strong, yet stay flexible to change.
The key to this combination of strength with flexibility
is in recognizing that the path to your goal is always
adjusting. The track is filled with all the means of
reaching your goal. It's HOW things are done. This
is where you want to be flexible - about how your
purpose is achieved. Because you'll keep finding
better means for HOW to make your goal happen.
Stay alert to recognize when the track is adjusting -
by working dynamically with your challenges. Challenges
are the adjustments. They also test your determination,
asking you to get stronger.
Step back and re-evaluate your direction and your sense
of purpose. Does your goal truly express who you are
and want to be? Is your heart really in the task?
If so, your challenges are helping you to become the
person who can fully live out your goal.
If not, it's possible your challenges are here to
ask you to look again-only closer this time. Is
there another alternative for you? One you haven't
considered before? This is something to look at for
your milestone achievement, and even for the bigger
picture. Just seek to get a little clearer vision-
bring it into closer focus. Double check to see if
your dream still holds true for you.
Life has a certain fail-safe measure. If by some
chance you reach your goal but have not yet become
worthy of it, it simply won't stay long. It will
slip away. Meanwhile, you'll fear losing the prize
without the ability to re-win what was lost. It will
never feel entirely comfortable.
Success will never taste as sweet as it should.
Arriving at your goal won't feel as rewarding as you
thought it would. Instead, it may bring a sense of
let-down and disappointment.
Any goal worth having will ask more of you than you've
ever given before.
Obstacles expand the size of your accomplishments-
and help you to win. When you've met your challenges
you arrive. You live within the heart of your goal,
and there is no fear of loss. Confidence will shine
from within. You'll know--deeply know--that you
could do it all again.
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Copyright 2001 Julie J. Ginn
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