Knowing how to overcome obstacles in your life can have amazing results!! Obstacles can hold you back, making you feel stuck, unable to move forward.
The truth is many perceived obstacles don’t really exist. This may sound crazy as they’re very real in your mind, but read on as I explain. We all tend to see things as being far worse than they really are. It’s human nature and it’s all down to something known as framing. It’s a way of compartmentalising thoughts.
In a similar way you file documents so you file your thoughts. If you didn’t do this you wouldn’t even know how to think properly! You’d be in a right mess!! Framing is a mental structure dependant on how you see yourself and the world around you. If you lack self belief you’ll find yourself focusing on why you can’t do something instead of how you’ll do it.
You may think of a great idea for achieving your goal, but your inner voice will find many reasons why this won’t work for you. You’ll make excuses as to why you shouldn’t start a new project. You may find yourself turning down opportunities and this will stop you making progress. You’ll find a million and one reasons why you should wait until the perfect time before starting something. Of course, there is no perfect time and you’d wait forever!
Typically this results in procrastination which stops you moving forward and achieving your goals. Framing is based on core beliefs and affects the way you react to situations. It can make you handle criticism badly if you have low self-esteem. On the other hand, it can make you even more determined if you have a positive belief system.
A lot of your belief systems originate in childhood. Parents, teachers and peers all have a profound effect on how you see yourself. Life experiences can also affect your self belief.
How to stop negative thoughts with reframing
You have hundreds of thoughts entering your mind on a constant basis. This is completely normal but unfortunately many are negative.
If you allow these negative thoughts to stay they can seriously hold you back. The truth is, most things we spend ages fearing and worrying over rarely happen. Most fears really are all in the mind!
However, your mind isn’t trying to sabotage you on purpose. It’s actually trying to help. You’re preparing yourself for the worst case scenario.
Reframing can help ease these anxious thoughts making them weaker. You’re training your mind to see things from a different perspective which makes a huge difference to your outlook.
After a while you’ll find worrying thoughts no longer have the power to control you. You can’t stop them entering your mind but you’ll react to them differently.
Overcoming personal challenges
You may have personal challenges to overcome but how do you keep motivated after setbacks? They say struggle builds character and either makes you or breaks you.
Setbacks are inevitable and all part of the road to success. Many great inventors and entrepreneurs only found success after numerous failures. Edison failed 100 times before creating the first lightbulb!
If something fails or you seem to be getting a lot of setbacks just look upon them as lessons. If you feel discouraged try and see things in a more positive light. Reframing your thoughts will help you find solutions.
It will also make it easier to handle set backs, and not feel so overwhelmed by them. Remember, setbacks are only temporary. Most can be overcome with a bit of thought and careful planning.
When you get a setback or hit an obstacle don’t look at the bigger picture. Work out what you need to do and break your plan up into small achievable steps.
Overcoming obstacles with affirmations
Affirmations are simply words or phrases that are repeated regularly either mentally or spoken out loud. They have the power to reprogram your mind and help overcome obstacles.
You can find plenty of affirmations online tailored towards your specific needs. You could even write your own!
Creating affirmations as if you’ve already achieved your goal is very powerful. Imagine how you’ll feel and go into great detail.
Your subconscious won’t question whether it’s real or not. Overcoming obstacles will become easy. You must stick with it though and repeat your affirmations multiple times a day.
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Keep a journal
Overcoming obstacles can be made easier by keeping a journal. Record any negative thoughts that enter your head during the day, as well as any achievements you make.
Some hurdles in life can take a long while to overcome so noting progress is an excellent tool. Don’t worry how slow things take. You’ll look back in a few months and realise just how far you’ve come!
Overcoming obstacles with gratitude
When you’re faced with obstacles it’s easy to feel sorry for yourself. Self talk can become negative drawing more of what you don’t want towards you.
Just a simple shift in your thought pattern can have an almost magical effect. Think about everything you already have. It doesn’t have to be materialistic. It could be relationships or family.
Think about your achievements no matter how insignificant. You will have achieved plenty in your life, trust me! Often when you’re faced with setbacks you forget about all your successes.
Your mind is zoning in on this one thing blotting everything else out! In many cases what you see as a disastrous failure is a minor glitch can you can easily resolve.
Think about all the opportunities that came your way. These are precious gifts from the universe. Giving thanks for all you’ve gratefully received allows the universe to send more of the same.
Positive thinking
Positive thoughts help make overcoming obstacles so much easier. By reframing your mind and making affirmations your whole outlook will change.
What you once saw as obstacles blocking your path to success will become a minor hindrance. You’ll also find it easier to work out solutions.
Feeling positive raises your level of vibration. This in turn attracts positive energy towards you. Viewing change as something to be feared can be very destructive. It can hold you back from achieving goals. If you tend to see things negatively you may see it as an obstacle.
Leaving your comfort zone can help overcome obstacles
Making yourself do things differently can boost your confidence. It may not be earth shatteringly different, but it can prove to yourself you’ll capable of solving problems.
Leaving your comfort zone can be hard, but just pushing yourself slightly on a regular basis increases self confidence. For example, driving a different way to work challenges you to work out a new route.
Talk to a new person every day or learn a new language. Anything that stretches you or makes you feel uncomfortable is good.
Take up meditation.
Meditation makes you feel calm and relaxed. You can’t solve problems easily when you’re stressed, and this is why things can seem a thousand times worse than they really are.
Meditation allows you to get in touch with your inner self. It can help you find answers to problems and overcome obstacles.
Life never runs smoothly all the time. There will always be issues needing your attention. The thing is to never let them take over.
Remember, most things you see as obstacles standing in your way can be worked through and are never as bad as they seem. I hope this article has helped show you how overcoming obstacles can be easier than you think!