Learning To See Challenges As Opportunities
Are you a person who loves challenges, or hates them? I must
admit I've spent most of my life as a person who hates them. I
always thought of challenges as frustrating, maddening obstacles
keeping me from where I want to be. I even used to take them
personally, feeling like the universe must hate me and like to
see me struggle. ;-)
As I grow older and (hopefully) wiser - I find my competitive
nature rising up to meet these challenges, and I'm learning to
see them differently. Most of us know that great rewards require
great sacrifice and effort. You know the old saying that nothing
worthwhile comes easy? In a sense that's true. If everything we
wanted was handed to us, we probably wouldn't have alot of
appreciation for it. On the other hand, when we work hard for
something and then see it manifest before our eyes, we get such
a powerful sense of pride and accomplishment. We can point to it
and say, "I did that. It was tough, but I did it anyway."
Challenges are truly opportunities. Opportunities to grow and
learn, to strengthen ourselves, to test ourselves and our faith.
They reveal how badly we want to create the dreams in our
hearts, and how hard we're willing to work for them. This is
such a blessing. It may not seem that way at first, but with a
tiny shift in attitude, we can see that we have been handed an
incredible opportunity.
The next time life hands you a challenge, stop and consider for
a moment what it means. Is the universe saying "no", or "I want
you to try harder?" Don't look at challenges as an end, look at
them as a door leading to your heart's desires. That door might
be locked, but you have the key. Maybe you forgot where you put
the key, or you forgot that you even had it to begin with. It
might take some effort and patience to find it again - or you
might even have to create a new one, but believe that you will,
even if you're not sure how yet.
I'm learning that it's not important to have all the answers
right now. When challenges rise up before us, we may not know
how to get around them, or through them. It might seem hopeless
at first. Challenges can seem so overwhelming when we don't have
a solution. However, life itself is very much like this too.
Sometimes life is akin to bumping around in a dark room, trying
to find the light switch. It is possible to get through the room
without finding the light switch immediately, we just need to
step slowly and carefully. Moment to moment, we find our way.
Rather than giving up when obstacles appear in your path, look
at them as welcome challenges. The biggest challenge is choosing
your own attitude. Will you get flustered and angry, or will you
get excited and determined? Will you lay down and cry, or will
you roll up your sleeves and get to work? Some of us take on a
victim mentality when obstacles arise, and I can see why this
happens. It does feel like the universe is picking on us,
doesn't it? :-) I think we've all been there!
Why not change your mindset and think of obstacles as a personal
challenge? Rather than feeling like the universe is picking on
you, challenge yourself to figure out a solution. Say to
yourself, "Okay, such and such has happened, now what am I going
to do about it"? Put your problem-solving skills to work.
Once we begin to change our attitude about obstacles and
challenges, they can actually become fun. Our competitive human
nature rises up and gets ready to win, no matter what. We
develop a steely determination to not be beaten.
In fact, I like to pretend there is a great critic in the sky
who laughs mockingly at me and says, "You can't do that." I
simply grin wickedly, roll up my sleeves and say, "Watch me!"