How do you face the obstacles in your way?

Everyone faces obstacles in life when least expected. Right in the middle of life’s best moments, you can experience the deepest of sorrows, the saddest moments. Losing a loved one, losing a job, divorce or any other personal mountain that suddenly comes up in your path is truly a challenging time for most.

It is easy to fall down in the face of obstacles. For many, that is the easiest and the best. Yet, the more you think about it, the more you will begin to believe that the best battles are fought in the face of adversity, that some of life’s finest moments and achievements have been borne out of challenging times.

Abraham Lincoln

Thomas Edison

Lance Armstrong

History is full of stories of courageous men and women who were able to turn obstacles in their paths into steeping stones for victory. One shining example is the well known story of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States of America. Born in a log cabin in rural America, Abe Lincoln could not afford a formal education. Yet he never gave up - he actively pursued self-education and eventually became a lawyer.

Ending of slavery

Wanting to make a change, Lincoln pursued politics but experienced many set backs in the political and business arenas. But he never quit; he never permitted obstacles to keep him down. Lincoln eventually became the President of the USA.

His contribution towards ending of slavery is considered the cornerstone in the pursuit of justice for slaves in the USA.

Lincoln is not alone in his pursuit of a dream - there have been many others who were not discouraged by an obstacle but pursued what they believed in. The cycling champion Lance Armstrong is yet another personality who never allowed illness to break his stride. He overcame cancer and was able to emerge a cycling champion time and again, proving that an obstacle does not have to mean the end of the world. In fact, for most, it can be a beginning.

Overcoming obstacles is a quality we can develop - by learning about others who overcame worse circumstances and yet were able to achieve much more beyond their scope.

There are obstacles we face everyday; small perhaps yet some of them can be intimidating in their own way. For some people, getting through the day is a challenge.

Yet for others, even the smallest challenge can be the most daunting. Still, there are those who can side step or overcome the worst crisis in their lives and emerge victorious.

Outstanding inventors

When we successfully overcome obstacles and problems, we learn lessons that empower us to do better the next time around. The lessons we learn usually in such situations are immeasurable and can serve as the ideal learning ground for experience.

The inventor credited with the development of the light bulb, Thomas Edison started out as a hearing impaired child but that never stood in his way. He became one of the world’s most successful and outstanding inventors.

"If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” are his famous words about facing the challenges that stood in his way.

We need to pay attention to what we are going to do beyond the obstacles. Some people limit themselves to where they are and the best way to stop them from growing is to place obstacles in their path. They do not see beyond the problem - they find themselves limited yet the world is their oyster once they discover that they could indeed move beyond the issue facing them.

Life will always throw stones in our way - there will always be something that will steal our joy, make us worried and concerned. Yet the best roads are made around boulders and the some of the world’s finest achievements have been made under duress. The lessons are there - we just need to learn them.