I love that quote by William Blake, although I change it to read “where women and mountains meet” for the version on my wall :).  Today I want to talk about overcoming obstacles, mostly to help remind me of how I need to always take on the obstacles in my own life.

One of the important requirements of growth is that we face and deal with challenges in life. We don’t grow in life by avoiding challenges; we grow by overcoming the things that attempt to limit us.

There are two things that are absolutely certain about obstacles. 1. Everyone will face obstacles in life and 2. Everyone has a choice of how to react to those obstacles.

1. Everyone will face obstacles in life:

No one is exempt from obstacles in life, no matter what their title, their financial situation, or their status in life, all will face obstacles at one point or another. That is just a fact.

2. Everyone has a choice of how to react to those obstacles.

Everyone reacts differently to obstacles. Some people accept obstacles as a part of life and look for ways to overcome them. Others become bitter and disheartened and they let tragedy dictate their destiny. John Maxwell wrote “A study of three hundred highly successful people reveals that one-fourth had handicaps, such as blindness, deafness, or crippled limbs. Three-fourth had either been born in poverty, came from broken homes, or at least came from exceedingly tense or disturbed situations.” Yet all three hundred made it through their trials to become successful people in life.

A fabulous quote on this topic comes from William A Ward when he said, “Adversity causes some men to break, and others to break records.” I love that quote because it really reminds us that we do have the choice on how we will let the obstacles we face affect us. We can choose to see them as barriers to happiness or success, or we can see them as a test that is meant to help us discover just how strong we really are in life and just what we are capable of.

Today’s challenge to myself and all of you is to overcome ALL obstacles in our way. Don’t avoid them or fear them, face them head on with courage and confidence that you can handle them. Choose to view your challenges as an opportunity to become better and smarter, and most of all, have faith that as you overcome obstacles you will find your life more blessed than ever!  GO GET EM TIGER!

And don’t forget to smile 🙂

~Amy