Life Obstacles: Can You Imagine A Life Without Obstacles?

Life obstacles; great aren’t they?

But suppose you are given a choice to live a life without any type of obstacles or challenges. Can you imagine a life without obstacles?

Would you take that if it were possible? You may be tempted to jump at the chance, however, it is likely it would not measure up to your expectations.

Several years ago, there was a television program that focused on only good news. It actively looked for good news in the local community and even in other places.

Do you know what happened? The show did not last because people seem to be more drawn to bad news. Isn’t that interesting?

The thing is, our minds are hardwired to solve problems, so when problems don’t exist, our minds become idle and we become bored with our situations.

Therefore, subconsciously, we welcome obstacles so that we can figure out how to overcome or solve them.

When we crash against an obstacle or challenge in our lives, we often moan and groan about how “life isn’t fair…” etc. but we need these things in our life to force us to grow as individuals.

Just think about an obstacle course. Why do these even exist and why do people try to get around them as quickly as possible?

If we weren’t so inclined to solve problems, these never would have become popular. But, we still participate in them because of the challenge involved.

The military use these to inspire things such as free thinking, abstract thought and leadership; 3 qualities highly regarded in life and crucial in soldiering.

When we manage to get past some obstacle, we experience a feeling of elation and accomplishment, which increases in proportion to how difficult the obstacle was to overcome.

Getting past the obstacle may happen very quickly or may happen over a period of time. It could be a mental or physical challenge, or even both. The thing is, it doesn’t really matter. Whatever the situation, we welcome the challenge, at least on a deep, subconscious level.

Some people will withdraw when faced with certain obstacles. They may feel as though these particular types of obstacles are beyond their ability to solve them and this is unfortunate because we all have the capability of solving most situations.

The difference between these people and others who succeed in overcoming these challenges is the belief that they can do so, not being put off by past experience and the perseverance to keep going (grit).

Even when the obstacles are dire, dangerous or even life threatening, people who approach it in a positive manner will have a much greater chance of overcoming them.

What is certain is that if you don’t try, you will definitely fail and that obstacle will become part of you in a negative way. It could destroy your life if you let it.

Your “failure” to overcome it can really eat at you and cause a quick downwards spiral which can make you less certain of yourself and thus even less inclined to face up to future challenges; it is a type of negative self-fulfilling prophesy that you need to be aware of and do everything to avoid.

Obstacles are an integral part of life and as you have seen from this post, they are necessary for our survival and continued growth as human beings and should be embraced.

They may be difficult to come to terms with. However, when we get to the point of overcoming them, we have tools we can use to make our lives better and that is an incredible experience.

But even more powerful is that we can extend our experience to helping others overcome similar obstacles and challenges as well.

And there is no greater feeling than helping someone to overcome a situation that they thought impossible!

So, why not think about all this the next time you are faced with a difficult situation and realise that it is not a challenge or obstacle, but rather an opportunity to stretch yourself and to grow and become a better version of yourself.

So, I ask you again; could you imagine life without obstacles?

I hope the answer is a resounding “No!”