Obstacle hunting

Why being “Pro Obstacle” helps immensely in life


We keep hearing this. Obstacles in life are sexy. They are the path to growth. We may groan and react “Yeah yeah, nice to tom-tom, but when you are actually facing one, its not so nice !”

If that’s your reaction, then maybe you need different ways to convince you. But from my own life experience it’s more than worth it — to be convinced !

Turning Pro Obstacle using Perspective

Have a look at this 30 seconds TVC a classic from the eighties.

Think about how quickly your opinion changes about the young man featured in the TVC and that’s what one may need to do with the obstacles in our lives

Again, you may say, yeah yeah, but HOW ?

Here’s a formula : Clarity + Focus + “Distance”

(from Change the way you see everything by Kathryn D Cramer)

Normally, we tend to do a lot of the Focus but miss out on the Distance part in the equation. It is therefore to remember to have both !

How does one add Distance ?

  1. Pull back and see the same picture like we did in the above TVC
  2. If we can’t get objective enough, then have someone else whom we trust to do that for us ! voila !
  3. The other way is to ask Questions — which can unlock whole new ways of looking at the same thing

Questions

a. What is the Advantage / Blessing that I am missing in this Obstacle ?

b. If someone ( whom you respect /admire) were to tackle this same challenge what would he/she do ?

c. If I was not afraid of anything going wrong, what would I have done ?

d. What were the instances in your own life where you successfully circumvented challenges / obstacles and how did you go about it ?

Cultivating a Pro Obstacle mindset


It is definitely important how we respond to obstacles when they show up. It is equally important to prepare for them proactively.

Training our mind in various ways would help.

  1. Seeing things in new ways like the way we saw the TVC above
  2. Solving problems as a hobby. Games can always help. This is why the elite forces in the top militaries train creatively and rigorously, so they don’t spend time lost in figuring out how to respond to a crisis. They just respond.
  3. Keeping an Obstacle gratitude journal : Listing down all the obstacles in your life that you have faced, how you turned them around and what was the growth you enjoyed as a result can start changing our relationship with Obstacles in a big way !

The above ideas should hopefully start convincing you. I am sure you know which one/s from here or from your own arsenal will best get you to become Pro Obstacle !