Life promises to throw obstacles in your way. You can count on it like death and taxes. Everyone faces obstacles. It does not matter your socioeconomic status, race, or gender. Matter of fact, the bigger your dreams, the more significant the obstacles you will face.
Its as if life tests you to see how bad you want what you say you want. Obstacles serve as an opportunity to change, grow and prove you have endurance. The only way to show you can survive these obstacles is through creating key habits.
Obstacles serve as an opportunity to change, grow and prove you have endurance. The only way to show you can survive these obstacles is through creating good habits.
The Key Habits - Being Still Confuses Obstacles
Being still is tough when you are an action-oriented person. You feel like doing nothing means you are not moving forward. Think of the possum that plays dead when a predator is near.
The predator represents one of their many obstacles. By being still, it becomes confused, and it goes away.
Sometimes there is an obstacle and its right in your face. It expects you to run away or try and go around it. All you need to do is standstill.
It's a tough habit to develop because your inclination is going to be to make moves. Being still does not mean that you do nothing; it means you keep doing what you have been doing.
There is no reason to switch to a new path or panic and change your approach. Sometimes you need to be still in what you are doing, and the obstacle will go away. Obstacles test us in various ways, and it's your job to make sure that you pass.
The Habit of Focus Looks Right Through Obstacles
The problem with significant obstacles is that all you can see is the obstacle sometimes. I remember when I had my first significant injury in college. The only thing I could think about was that injury. I forgot about the mission and staying focused on it.
I wanted to be an Olympic athlete, and injuries are a part of doing that. The injury was wearing down my focus. Things did not change until I used my focus against the obstacle.
When an obstacle shows up, have such an intense focus on your mission that your mission is all that you can see. Why did you start your business or be working towards a specific goal? Remember that. Your task is so big that it will remind you how small the obstacles are.
Once you get the perspective, you see the obstacle in the correct light. Your focus on the mission allows you to see right through the barrier.
You can be at peace and know that you are working toward something much bigger. The obstacle is a stepping stone to help you get there.
The Habit of Persistence Wears Down Obstacles
The constant drip of water can wear down stone. The same thing should be said of your persistence when it comes to obstacles.
A lot of people approach obstacles with dynamite. They want to blow it up and keep moving forward. The problem is that explosives are dangerous and costly.
All you need to do is be persistent. Wear your obstacle down to the point until it gives up. You need to develop the habit of having so much fight that you make the thing quit that came to make you stop.
How powerful is that? Obstacles cringe when they see who they are up against. They know by the look in your eye that no matter what happens, you will NOT back down.
We give obstacles way too puffed up of a reputation. They are overhyped! We pain problems as the worst things ever. Change your perspective, and you begin to see obstacles that present excellent opportunities.
The Confidence From Habits Frightens Obstacles
One of the most underrated side effects of good habits is how they build confidence. Good habits build up your faith, but the bad ones break your spirit down. Someone with disciplined habits is always confident.
Every time you say you are not going to eat sugar, and you do, you lose a bit of confidence in yourself. How can you expect others to count on you when you can't even count on you. Keeping bad habits or breaking good ones wear down all your confidence.
When you use an app like Habit Stacker to track your habits, you can see the big picture. You can look back on the last month and see all the green blocks from completing your habits.
It builds your confidence. It reminds you that you can set your mind to a big goal and do the day to day things required to get there. Obstacles hate this!
Obstacles want to see people who scared to death of the obstacle. They wear you down until you have no confidence in yourself. They seek out the weak and scared because they will quit the easiest. Obstacles do not want to have to do any work.
Having Habits Keep You Focused on The Process
The last things that habits do are keep you focused on the process. We talked early about remembering your big-picture mission. It helps you to see through obstacles, and that is important. At the same time, you need to be able to also love the day to day work.
Every NFL team sets out to win the championship each year. You can't win by setting out to win, though, that is not enough. To be successful, the teams need to focus on the day to day process.
Every rep in practice, every weight they lift, every second studying must be done well. The end goal remains the same but habits are what make it come true.
Obstacles hate people that focus on the process. People who focus on the process focus on what they can control.
You get fired
A teacher does not like you
No one picks you
They won't buy what you're selling
They talk bad about you
All these things are outside of your control. Habits are things that are in your control. When you focus on your daily habits, here is what you do despite the obstacles.
Learn more about your craft
Improve your relationship skills
You pick yourself
Practice your sales pitch
You talk great about others
Habits never lose in the long run.
How to Get Started?
Habit Stacker provides resources to help you improve your habits. The first way we do this is through our online course Habit Mastery. The second way is with the Habit Stacker mobile app.
Olympian and founder of Habit Stacker Ian Warner, teaches the Habit Mastery course. He walks you through practical techniques that you can use to improve your life. No fluff or non-sense! You get instant access to over 45 different videos breaking down how to build good habits.
The Habit Stacker app is what you use to live out your habits from daily. It's a habit tracker that lets you know what you need to do each day. The app sets your daily routine board for you each day, so you all you have to do is get the task done at the top of the list. You can look back and see your streaks for each of your key habits.