Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Obstacles

Tags

Consistency, Goals, Henry Ford, Lessons, Obstacles, Persistence, puddles, road blocks, rocks, self-created

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.

Henry Ford

Regardless of which path you take in life, you will run across rocks, puddles filled with mud, and other barriers. This is part of life.

When trying something new, most of the obstacles we face are built by us. We think something is too hard. We don’t think we’re good enough. We imagine all of these horrific things happening. In the end, when we’ve walked the path we’ve chosen, we realize that we created most of our problems. In fact, we created all of them.

How can you reframe all of it? Look at obstacles in a different way. Treat each obstacle as a lesson. Treat each obstacle as a stepping stone. Treat each obstacle as a means rather than an impediment. The moment you become detached from the obstacles you face, the less they will bother you.

Everything you face in life can be looked at in two ways. These obstacles can be looked at something that is done to us, or something that is done for us. Change “to” to “for” and the whole context of an obstacle or problem changes.

Deal with obstacles as they arise. Don’t create them in your mind. Trest each obstacle as something to learn from, rather than fret over. Keep your eyes on your goal. The obstacles will be meaningless, when you see the goal on the other side of them.

I hope each of you are progressing toward the goals you set this year. Keep going. You’ll get there. Just keep chipping away at them. If you keep chipping away, you’ll get to the finish line.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Frightful Things

Tags

failure, Feeling, Goal, Henry Ford, Law of Reversed Effort, Mistakes, Obstacles, Visualizations

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.

Henry Ford

Have you ever attempted to do something you’ve never done before?

Initially, you’re excited. You are gang busters to get this new thing done. Then, reality hits. You start running into problems. You don’t know how to do this; you don’t know how to do that. Then you make a breakthrough, and you are motivated all over again. The cycle continues over and over until you finish.

Think about how many things you would like to do, but blow off because you are afraid you’ll fail. This is when Henry Ford’s quote comes into play. When you see failure before you begin, you will probably not do that thing. You figure, I’m going to screw it up, so why put in the effort.

Let me fill you in. You will always fail when you try something new. Why? Because it’s new. You can do some research to see where others have failed, but we are all creative. We’ll figure a way to screw up that no one else has figured out.

Here’s a technique you can use to achieve your next goal. Visualize what you want. See yourself complete it. Feel how you will feel when you’ve achieved the goal. The visualizing is more powerful when you can visualize how you will feel.

You see, we are wired to scan our environments for hazards. This is how our mind is built to ensure our survival as an organism. When we see obstacles to our goals, we worry, we get stressed out; we visualize what would happen if we hit one of those things. The negative visualization and the feelings we automatically associate with these visualizations are automatic.

To overcome these negative visions, we have to replace them with a vision of success and combine that vision with the feelings we will have when we complete our goal. This is all associated with the Law of Reversed Effort. When we reverse the way we look at things, we can achieve them. You see?

So here’s what you do. Whenever you get frustrated or stressed out over pursuing one of your goals, take a few minutes to close your eyes, visualize achieving the goal you’ve set for yourself, and add feeling to these visuals. You will immediately change your viewpoint and your body will react in kind, just like it does with the automatic negative feelings you generate without too much thought. This is how you take your mind off of the obstacles in your way and reset your sites on the achievement of your goal. Practice this. At first, you may not reap the benefits you are seeking. Keep at it. Once you develop this skill, you will no longer be plagued by the obstacles that are in your way and achieving goals will become easier and easier, despite the difficulty.

I hope this helps those of you who are struggling with self-defeating thoughts.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – Attitudes

Tags

Attitudes, Choices, Contentment, Gratitude, Happiness, Obstacles, Tools

“We can throw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them.” – William Arthur Ward

What obstacles are in your way? What challenges are you experiencing? Are they really challenges/obstacles?

This quote deals with our attitude. Everything we deal with in our reality and the way we react to these things render our lives happy and content or unhappy and discontent. It is interesting when you can really take account of what is going on in your life and simply say “It’s all good.”

I think the biggest challenge we face is accepting reality for what it is. There are certain things that are just out of our control. You can be angry about them, sad about them, or happy and content. It really is a choice.

It took me a very long time to figure this out. Like many, if I wasn’t making the money I wanted, had the gal I wanted, lived in the place I wanted, etc. life sucked. Then I began to realize that the endless pursuit of “things” was fruitless. That certain part of me that had a hunger for this nonsense would never be satisfied. It would always want more. It would always be demanding and unsatisfied.

Then, one day I came to the realization that we have all we need. I began minimalizing my life. Why did I need a computer, laptop, tablet, and phone, when I only needed one computer and a phone? Why did I need all the clothes I had, when I could only wear one outfit a day? Slowly, but surely, I donated, sold, and got rid of a lot of stuff. Now, I could literally move at a moment’s notice without too much fuss. I don’t have a lot of things to take care of, because I don’t own a lot of things. Life became simpler. Life became easier. I was happier. I was calmer.

I think much of our wants, our needs, our goals, are driven by society and our social relationships. We compete silently to get the same car or nicer one, the same house or bigger one, the same computer or a faster one, not realizing that the companies selling these products influenced us into this never-ending race of purchasing and needing and desiring.

When I decided to “make my own rules”. I began to realize how simple life is and how happy we can be with very little. I have a roof over my head. I have enough food. I have a place to sleep. My health is good. I also realized that the goals I was pursuing were not mine, but society’s.

I don’t need a lot of money. I don’t need a snappy new car or a lot of clothes. I only need the basics to survive and thrive. Now, I wake up each day fresh and ready to go. I reflect on what I am grateful for—and I am grateful for everything. But you know, I could live with even less if I needed to and still be happy. I am happy because I choose to be.

When you wake up and come at life with happiness and gratitude in your heart, nothing can throw you off course. The rocks in your path really do become the tools you use to build the road with.

You have a choice.

Until next time…

Dave