Just read something that really got me thinking about how some people seem to have opportunities and others do not. The article was about achievement and overcoming obstacles that always seem to be in our way. In the article, Les Brown, a motivational speaker, made the point that we should not be waiting for opportunities to knock because opportunities actually do not knock; they stand by silently waiting for us to recognize them!
Coaching is the ultimate “obstacle profession” for many reasons. Yet some coaches succeed and overcome these obstacles while others do not. The most important lesson is that we all must remember that obstacles happen to the most successful people in any field. They are just part of the process.
I suggest that obstacles do one of two things to most people: paralyze or energize. The mindset with which you see obstacles will have a tremendous bearing on how you deal with them. Successful people are energized by the obstacle and see it as a challenge, while the unsuccessful people spend the majority of their time worrying about it, fearing it, and simply doing nothing to beat it.
Break down the obstacle just like you do your opponent in your scouting reports. Come up with a strategy to overcome it. What I found a long time ago is that there are two things I can do to help me overcome these roadblocks much faster and with a more positive frame of mind:
- Put the problem/obstacle in a positive mode by calling it a challenge. What are my challenges today? Looking at them as “challenges” brings out the competitor in me, whereas “problems” put me in a negative and paralyzed mode.
- Break the challenge down into a bullet point strategy. “If I do these four things, I have a great chance of overcoming this challenge.”
Remember — you are not alone when it comes to these daily (seems like anyway) challenges. Don’t let them get the best of you. Turn them around and along the way keep your eyes open to seize those opportunities that others wait to knock at their doors!
