Achieve Personal Glory By Embracing Your Challenges With Open Arms.
Either keep sailing forever on the rocking boat and enjoy the view or take charge of the wheel and steer it in the direction of your goals.
Life is full of challenges that come in many different shapes and sizes. Some come in rocket sizes too. And for that reason, whatever life throws at you, you must be ready to stand tall and be strong. You can’t allow a gust of wind or a storm to put you down.
So this article is not for those who want to take life as it comes, or are content with their boat rocking in all directions and in turn justifying it by saying “Let's enjoy this journey, we will reach our destination someday somehow”.
This article is for those people who want to take control of their boat, have the desire to catch hold of the bull by its horns, who want to face the storm in its eye, who want to stand up on their feet after getting knocked down.
It's for all those people, who want to move forward, enjoy the journey (yes, you can enjoy the journey in this scenario too), and have better control over how they want to shape their future.
I think you get the picture.
And for that, you must absolutely make it your mission to know how to overcome any challenge that life throws at you. Remember, you grow when you are challenged. And you become weak when you run away from challenges
And that is why, when times are hard you must rise up and take control. This takes commitment, a heart of fire, and proven techniques that help you bust the obstacles in your life.
Convert Challenges To Opportunities
Many times, we give up too soon. We listen to the naysayers. We doubt our own capabilities. We stop believing in our strengths. We stop dreaming. We wake up to the horrors of tackling challenges.
But it does not have to be that way. Challenges are amazing opportunities. They create possibilities that didn’t exist before. They create situations for you to dig deeper, to rediscover yourself, to bring back the zing in your life.
Working through challenges brings the utmost clarity to your thoughts. It is the antidote for the dark clouds that hover in your mind when you wake up every morning. So, when you embrace challenges and get working towards whatever is blocking your path, it makes You become a better version of You.
When you put your every morning in the 1st gear with an attitude to embrace challenges, you inadvertently inspire other people around you. How? It's really quite simple — People around you are used to seeing the same avatar every day and they form a picture about you (No, it's not judging).
This picture of yours is based upon your conversations, actions, behavior, etc all day long. But when you bring an outlook of tackling challenges every day to the table — it changes the game.
So, the question that you ought to ask yourself is — Why should you fear challenges at all? Why not welcome these challenges with open arms and embark on a journey that is far more fulfilling than just soaking in the view from a rocking boat?
There are many things that I have learned over the years from all my mistakes and all my glorious moments. Below is a compilation of some of the techniques that I have learned and was able to use to overcome my challenges.
Some may apply to you, some may not. And you don’t have to apply all the 15 techniques, you choose what works for you.
1. Always Stay Afloat. Do Not Drown
Over the years, I have been challenged in many areas, just like everyone else. From personal to professional — you name it and I have been thrown at the deep end of the pool without knowing how to swim or breathe.
Sometimes I was lucky to be able to keep my head above the water, sometimes I was thrown a rope by someone (remember even if someone throws a rope at you, you have to make the effort to keep your arms raised above water to catch it), or sometimes I just gulped loads of water which tasted horrible. But I never allowed myself to drown.
2. Move With Positive Thinkers
Surround yourself with positive-minded people. Drop people from your phone book who are full of negativity or if it's too much effort to do that, just don’t call them again. This way you will get to focus more on achieving your dreams even when the going seems tough.
If you move with negative minded people, your mind is going to be corrupted, and soon enough you will lose all zeal and focus.
Ignore naysayers and build a network of positive-minded people. Don’t strive to include anyone and everyone in your life or increase your friends' list for the sake of doing so. Instead, make efforts to build relationships with very specific people that share the same positive attitude as yours. Trust me, it will pay off.
3. Identify The Challenge
What is the challenge?
A challenge is a problem that we know we have to overcome. But before you overcome any challenge you must first identify it. Sometimes the challenge slaps us straight in the face. Bet it hurts..! Other times you can feel like life is generally getting tough. So, don’t ignore the challenge. Look it in the eye and walk towards it, not away from it
Only when you acknowledge a challenge, then you can better prepare yourself to overcome it.
4. Brainstorm Solutions
With the challenge firmly identified, you now need to think of as many solutions as possible. It is always better to have many options than none, or only one.
If you only have one solution in your mind then you limit the ways you can solve the problem. For example, you might think the solution to your good health is diet, and never consider the options of exercise or adequate sleep. If you do all three, you will achieve your goals faster.
For any given challenge think of as many different feasible solutions as possible and remain open to ideas from other people. Talk to people, don’t shut yourself off.
5. Change Your Perception Of Challenges
Challenges are your best life partners, so don’t see challenges as a personal setback; view it as a stepping stone to something bigger.
During your challenging times, you must stop worrying about whether or not you are making progress, what is working for you, and whether you still desire the outcome of the challenge. It is very tempting to measure progress. After all conventional wisdom states that one should measure progress to do a course correction. Yes, that is critical.
But remember here you are trying to take control of your boat first. Steady your boat first and then measure how far you have come and which direction you want to sail.
So keep pushing forward with a positive frame of mind. It will be a matter of time, you will achieve a breakthrough.
6. Go Back to Your Roots
It’s easy to lose focus and start doubting yourself when faced with obstacles and challenges. Anytime you feel like you are discouraged, do NOT give in. Go back to your roots and re-think (or re-analyze) why you started, whatever you started in the first place.
Write down your goals and put them on the wall (a visible area), and meditate on it. Soon enough, you would be energized and more determined to face any obstacle.
7. Make Tenacity Your Friend
Yes, we all have heard this many times — ‘’Where there’s a will, there’s a way”. But for that, you have to first believe in Yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will. Believe that there’s nothing you can’t achieve. Stand up tall and say, ”I believe in the possibility of a bright future”.
The very idea of a challenge implies something that will be difficult to overcome. It is going to take time, energy, and commitment. Stick at it, be flexible, and work hard.
Nobody said it was going to be easy. Commit to the challenge to see the results.
8. Ask For Help
Whenever you are struggling to overcome challenges, it's important to be humble enough to be able to ask for help. Raise your hands. You might enjoy plugging away at something on your own, and this sort of independence is fine, but when you really need help you should not be so stubborn as to not ask for it though.
Whether this means hunting down someone with the expertise to assist, or simply asking friends and family for advice. Just do it.
9. Stay In The Moment
A challenge can quickly become a pain in the brain if you do not stay in the moment, especially when the end is not in sight. If you cannot fathom finishing your challenge, you should stay firmly rooted in the stage you are at right now.
For example, a large work project might take six months. If one month in, you try to think about the end, your mind will simply be blown away.
We achieve our goals through the day to day actions, which in turn is achieved by minute to minute action, which is in turn achieved through moment to moment action.
10. Don’t Give Up. Keep Trying
Every successful person, bar the odd lucky one, has experienced some form of what could be described as a failure; they have tried something and it has not worked out to plan.
But failure does not mean defeat. It is a lesson of what not to do next time. A process of learning by trial and error. Failure is somewhat inevitable in that respect.
What is important is to pull through and give it a shot. The aim is to overcome the challenge, and whilst it is satisfying when we get it right the first time, this is rarely the case. Try and try again until results start to show.
Always you must remember that it is not where you are that matters, but where you’re going.
11. Think BIG, I Mean Really BIG
The universe does not support small dreams. Make your dream BIG so that the universe would be part of it. Don’t be afraid of big waves, they can be mastered. You have to train your mind to welcome these big waves and learn to enjoy the ride.
When you think BIG, you start thinking differently and then the small stuff does not matter.
12. Always Have Alternatives
If you find yourself bashing your head against a brick wall in the hope of getting past it, perhaps it is time to look for an alternative route. If your persistence is not paying off, and you are not getting any closer to overcoming the challenge, then it may be time to take to plan B, C, or D.
The alphabet has 26 letters.
13. Keep Practicing Until You Drop
Rarely does someone become a master of their life, or of anything, by sitting around in lethargy. To overcome a challenge, especially if you have not experienced similar before, requires practice.
You have to be able to want to get better and to put your ego aside for long enough to accept that you have room for improvement.
Any game is not won on the day of the event. The game is actually won during all the practice sessions. On the day of the event, you just need to show up and participate.
14. Be Smart, Get Smarter. Not Work Harder
If you think that working hard is the secret to success, you are right. So is working smart. Combine both, and you will be in a better position than the guy next in line.
If it was, why are Carpenters and Bricklayers not the richest people in the world today? And Architects & Designers are.
So while you work hard, work smart as well
15. Unlock Your DNA
It’s only when you approach challenges with open arms, the task becomes less daunting. Your mind and body move into higher gear to work itself harder to overcome those challenges.
Human beings have an in-built mechanism to overcome challenges. Humans have survived all kinds of catastrophes and crises over thousands of years. We are the only species who have moved forward despite all the hurdles and challenges thrown at us. Our ability to rise up and fight against the conditions has been passed down to us through generations.
Overcoming challenges is part of the human DNA, you just need to unlock it and get it working.
Final Thoughts
Those who are prepared for pain are the most resilient in the face of pain. Those who expect challenges are the readiest to face challenges.
You see, everyone likes to sail on calm seas and enjoy the breeze, but once in a while, a storm comes along with some high waves rocking your boat. That’s part of the journey.
It would be foolish to imagine that our boats will always sail in calm waters. If it does, it's great. But we have to absolutely prepare ourselves in case the storm hits us.
You see the boat is on a long journey and it’s only you have to bring it under control and push ahead.
It's your choice — Either keep sailing on the rocking boat and enjoy the view or take charge of the wheel and steer it in the direction of your goals. You will enjoy the view from there as well.
Please do share in the comments section any other techniques that have worked for you. I strongly believe that these techniques are not limited in nature, and every person will have her/his techniques to overcome their challenges.
In my publication Any Given Sunday, I mostly write stories about parenting, being a dad, motivation, fitness, and some off-beat controversial topics.
I am also very passionate about F1, and run a publication — Formula One Forever where writers from across the globe contribute to this publication
Some more thought-provoking stories from Any Given Sunday —
Dad Stories
⭐ Say Hello! To The 4 Year Old Forrest Gump
⭐ If You Don’t Pick Up Your Kids Now, You’ll Surely Regret Later
⭐ How to Extract A Commitment From Your Teenager?
⭐ That Day When Dads Took Charge Of Their Kids For 1 Day
⭐ Your Kids Need To Sleep For Atleast 8 Hours. Otherwise, The Consequences Are Quite Severe
⭐ Teachers, Stop Asking Children To Click Pictures. Instead, Do This One Thing
⭐ If a 9 Year & 4 Year Old Can Climb 69 Floors, What’s Really Stopping You?
⭐ The Real Truth About The Discovery Of The Indus Valley Civilization
Motivational Stories
⭐ If I Miss A Rep, I Punish Myself. And The Results Are Amazing.
⭐ Top 15 Quotes from The Navy Seals That Will Motivate The Hell Out Of You Everyday.
⭐ 5 Simple Reasons You Are Not Motivated, And What You Need To Do About It.
⭐ To Merely Want to Do Something Is Not Enough. You Need To Take Action.
⭐ To Earn Respect, You Have To Look Sharp
⭐ How To Manage Negative Talk From Negative People?
⭐ Making Promises To Yourself Don’t Work. Never Will.
⭐ When Disaster Strikes, Just Say The Four Letter Word.
⭐ Fail You Must. History Is Full Of People Who Failed & Bounced Back
⭐ Achieve Personal Glory By Embracing Your Challenges With Open Arms.
⭐ Why You Should Apply For A Job That Says, “Men Wanted For Hazardous Journey”
⭐ Be Different. Become Different
Off-Beat Stories
⭐ The Information Tsunami Is Sucking You In. And You Don’t Even Know It. (Part 1)
⭐ The Information Tsunami Is Sucking You In. And You Don’t Even Know It. (Part 2)
⭐ Women Should Stop Trying To Walk Shoulder To Shoulder With Men (Part 1)
⭐ Women Should Stop Trying To Walk Shoulder To Shoulder With Men (Part 2)
⭐ Women Should Stop Trying To Walk Shoulder To Shoulder With Men (Part 3)
⭐ 26 Amazing (Or Not) Things That We All Can Do During Humanity’s Downtime
⭐ Trust Your Common Sense To Beat The CoronaVirus
⭐ Why 2500 deaths/day is Creating a Bigger Panic and Emergency than 17,000 Children deaths/day?
