Saturday, April 4, 2020 – Obstacle Course

I pass by the obstacle course at Brookhaven College. There are walls to scale, hurdles to jump, webbing to climb and monkey bars to swing on. I feel like we are facing all those obstacles and more right now with Covid-19. Can we control the rules we are forced to follow? No, but we can control how we react to those rules. How have you reacted? Are you in the grips of a downward spiral? Do you want to scream at everyone? How will you make it through this crisis without a nervous breakdown?

According to Adam Sicinski of IQ Matrix, there are several ways to overcome life’s obstacles:

1. Step Back Emotionally

When unexpected obstacles suddenly arise, it’s easy to get lost in our emotional reactions. However, for the most part, our emotional responses are often not very productive, and often they don’t help the situation.

Instead, we must learn to step back from our emotions and strive to see the situation in an objective and logical way. When you choose to stay calm and collected, that is when you grasp your circumstances from an intellectual perspective. You can then begin to identify the actual relevance and significance of the events that have just taken place.

2. Gain the Necessary Resources and Support

At times we just don’t have the necessary resources to help us deal with the situation at hand. In such instances, we must question what pieces of the puzzle we are missing. We must then look for the necessary tools, strategies, knowledge and the support we need to help us overcome these obstacles in optimal ways.

3. Acquire a Different Perspective

Sometimes obstacles are only as real as we make them out to be. In fact, occasionally obstacles are merely misunderstandings and generalizations that we have made about our circumstances.

At other times, obstacles are only as real as the assumptions that are clouding our judgment. To begin shifting your perspective, start by viewing your predicament from another person’s perspective.

4. Don’t Dwell on the Negatives

When you dwell on what you don’t want, you will get more of that in your life. After all, we attract what we focus on.

Therefore, if you focus on worst-case scenarios, then you’re not focusing on solutions. And if you’re not focusing on solutions, then you’re unlikely to find the answers you need to overcome your problems.

5. Take Small Steps

By taking small steps, you ensure that you always remain in control and avoid getting caught up in your problems. The key is to break down what you need to do to overcome your obstacle into small manageable chunks. From there, progressively work on one or more chunks per day until you successfully reach your outcome.

6. Accept and Acknowledge Your Circumstances

When confronted with an obstacle, the worst thing we can do is to deny that the problem exists. When we dismiss that something exists, we close ourselves off to possible solutions, answers and opportunities that are waiting to be discovered.

With that in mind, we must come to accept and acknowledge the circumstances for what they are from an optimistic, solution-oriented, yet realistic perspective.