You set goals and have dreams you want to fulfill. You are excited about life and what you want your life to be. You start the work to make your dreams a reality. Then you run into obstacles: That’s just the way life is. By anticipating and understanding the obstacles you may encounter, you can prepare to handle them. Either you see them as part of your journey or you will be distressed your whole life. ALIJO SYLVESTER writes on overcoming the obstacles in our path.
Have you ever faced obstacles or problems that kept you from moving forward and achieving certain dreams or goals in your life? Sometimes these obstacles seem so huge and formidable that we feel there is no way we can ever overcome them. But within each obstacle; big or small, lies an opportunity waiting to be discovered.
There once was a very wealthy and curious king. This king had a huge rock placed in the middle of a road, and then hid nearby to see if anyone would try to remove the gigantic rock from the road.
The first people to pass by were some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers. Rather than moving it, they simply walked around it. A few loudly blamed the King for not maintaining the roads. Not one of them tried to move the rock.
Finally, a peasant came along. His arms were full of vegetables. When he got near the rock, rather than simply walk around it as the others did, the peasant put down his load and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. It took a lot of effort but he finally succeeded.
The peasant gathered up his load and was ready to go on his way when he say a purse lying in the road where the rock had been. The peasant opened the purse, and saw that the purse was stuffed with gold coins and a note from the king. The king’s note said the purse’s gold was a reward for moving the rock from the road.
The king showed the peasant what many of us never understand: every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition. Each and every person living on earth has to face obstacles; They are a part of life. Many times we miss opportunities for personal growth because the obstacle or challenge may be viewed as nothing more than a barrier. The big stone represents our obstacle. In our lives we usually meet many obstacles that need to be removed, but not to walk around them. Life’s journey presents similar experiences as that of the peasant and the wealthy. Both had the opportunity to demonstrate good leadership abilities, but only one did. Whoever seeks to make a difference despite the situation and despite the roadblocks will always benefit from the gifts that lie dormant beneath the hard things of life.
It is not always easy to go through life with problems and burdens trying to weigh us down, but if we change our thinking, the burdens we carry; though may seem to be too much to handle, will in the end make us stronger, wiser and much more capable than we were before the problem that came along, depending on how we choose to react to them.
Some people see obstacles as a puzzle to solve. Some see obstacles as an opportunity to grow. Others see obstacles as threats. Still others see obstacles as meaning they cannot succeed. Obstacles make us grow and equip us for the next level in life. Once you overcome one, you are able to overcome the next and the others. What matters is the attitude with which you look at your obstacle with. Your view of barriers to achieving your goals affects how you react.
How we face obstacles can leave us either empowered or hopeless. They can stop us or motivate us. They can discourage us from doing the things we would love to do, or bring up our competitive drive to push through and triumph. Look at your obstacles as an opportunity to grow stronger and more competent, and you will be able to embrace them and make the most of them. So go ahead, Move That Rock!
