“History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heart-breaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.” — B. C. Forbes

Obstacles are the stumbling blocks that prevent you from reaching your goals. They are the limiting factors that hinder you from achieving your desired dreams, and you have to overcome these obstacles to move further in life.

It’s not enough to set goals; you need to actualize your goals. It is at the point of execution that life becomes unbearable as unexpected setbacks and obstacles set in.

It is not an understatement to say that every success comes with challenges. Those challenges often come as problems you need to solve. If you can solve them, you can then have the assurance that you can reach your goals.

Everyone has their own preferences for how to face a challenge in life. However, there are a few good tips and tricks to follow when the going gets tough. Take your pick from the following list!

Ways to overcome Obstacles

1.Find Out What’s Limiting You

Figure out why you are not meeting the deadline. Avoid dredging up your list of complaints as it will eventually culminate into excuses.

For instance, if you said,’ I don’t have sufficient time,’ reflect on what you spend your time and energy on. Your limiting factors could be procrastination, complacency, or external events. If you said, ‘I don’t have enough funds,’ this is most times related to priorities.

Your immediate challenge may be a lack of motivation or time, or you need to commit to learning how to earn extra income and reduce your expenses.

2. Review the Obstacle’s Timeline

How long have you been dealing with the challenge? What attitude or habit is hindering you from overcoming the obstacles? Finding answers to these questions will enable you to make the right changes.

For instance, if you changed your job, there could be something about your new job or workplace that is challenging you. It could be the fact that you need to cope with a new environment.

Reflect on the different obstacles you have faced in life. Whether you work over them or not, take a cue from your experience and apply the lessons in dealing with new challenges.

3. Seek Out Necessary Resources

Often you may lack provisions, finances, strategies or a key piece of knowledge to conquer your obstacle. The key is to acknowledge that it is ‘resource related’. For example, you may need a key software program to automate a process, freeing you up to focus on more important work. Consult those who can help you overcome the hurdle. As they say, enlist a fresh pair of eyes to see what you may be missing.

4.Gain Perspective

Gaining perspective helps you step away from the ‘noise’. You might seek help from others, talk to friends or loved ones who can offer a different assessment of your challenge.

Perspective does not imply dissociating from the obstacle in resignation. It means viewing it from numerous vantage points while considering other options. It was author Robert Brault who wrote: “We are kept from our goal, not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.”

5.Break Down Your Obstacles into Small Goals

If your hurdle seems overwhelming, break it down as much as you can into smaller, more manageable parts. When you see it all laid out, identify every potential obstacle and consider any potential alternate paths to reaching your goal.

It is also a good idea to talk to others who have achieved your goals to see how they were able to handle similar obstacles. There maybe something that you foresee being a challenge that actually has a simple solution. Focus on the tasks one at a time rather than only thinking about meeting your ultimate milestone.

6.Keep Motivation High

One main reason why people quit before reaching their goals is that they fail to keep going once “the going gets tough”.Track your progress, reward yourself for small wins, and visualize yourself achieving your goal. There are a lot of ways you can keep your motivation high when facing hurdles to achieving your long-term goal.

You also need to keep (and stick to) an active plan so you’re never left wondering what you should be doing next. You can stay on track because you know the purpose of what you’re currently doing and how it will set you up to do the next thing.

7.Work Smart, Not Hard

Generally, there is more than one way to get something done. However, there’s always just one optimal way, or best way of doing it. To work smarter rather than harder, start by working backwards. Outline and define your goal. Then, plan the process for how to get there. Perform research to see how others who have come before you have done it. Take count of your own skills and ideas for how you may be able to do it better. Then, stick to your path and get to work!

The Bottom Line

Learning how to deal with challenges takes time, persistence, and a positive attitude. No matter your life situation, the hard times will happen. But, with the right mindset and practice, you will be able to overcome them every time and grow in the process!