Obstacles offer opportunities to open new doors and view things in another way.  Embrace and welcome them.  If none existed life would get pretty boring and we wouldn’t know our own strength and ability. But unless you’re a hurdle runner or a high-jumper, you probably don’t like them.  They seem to slow you down and block the way to goals.  But they also build character. 

1.)    A good obstacle can test resolve.  If a runner sits down in front of the first hurdle without even trying to get over it, then she doesn’t deserve to win the race.  The people who win are the ones who make continued, solid efforts and persevere.   Good runners, scientists, artists, teachers and writers know that it takes persistence over long periods of time to achieve results.  Most face multiple trials, frequent rejection and even ridicule at their drafts and plans before achieving a level of competence that will bring them name and fame.  Only those who persist in perfecting their work will succeed.  Thomas Edison, renowned for inventing the light bulb failed over and over before he found the filament that worked.  When others criticized him for being foolish and wasting time, he replied that he’d found 9,999 ways that didn’t work.  Imagine if he had not continued on to the 10,000 attempt to invent the light bulb.  The world would be a much darker place.

2.)    Challenges strengthen us for future trials and tests.  Remember being back in school?  A mid-term test checked progress and we had to pass it to move onto the finals.  Life presents tests in the same way.  Without occasional trials along the road we don’t know our own strength and capacity.  Embrace the tests and welcome them.  They’ll teach you how tough you really are.

3.)    Getting stuck behind a hurdle only becomes problematic if you don’t recognize you’re blocked.  Becoming aware of the obstacle in the path is the first step to getting over it.  One of the harder things in life is continuing to learn and grow.  It’s easy to get stuck repeating the same comfortable routines and going to the same places over and over.  It’s harder to move out of one’s comfort zone and try something new, reach out to new people and learn a new skill, craft or art. Life-long learning means taking the risk of looking ridiculous.  Learning a foreign language without having native speakers smile or laugh is virtually impossible.  The best way to get past worry of ridicule is to take yourself lightly and keep a sense of humor.  If you stick to it, soon they’ll stop laughing and start admiring the progress you’ve made in a new language.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.awakeintheworld.com.