Overcoming obstacles is about your mindset and what you do, not about the obstacle.

Last week I had my first “bad day” at work. I’ve been doing the job for about six months now and enjoying the challenge, the work, and the obstacles there. I saw everything as a leadership challenge and a problem to be solved.

As usual, those things take longer to change than you ever anticipate. Instead of hiring another person, we lost one. And, in case you missed the national news, Texas had a major snowstorm that stopped the city of San Antonio for a week. I was snowed in. It was annoying, but we pushed through (you can read about it here). At work we had pipes burst in the ceiling and it rained on our computers and offices. We lost all of our office space and half our computers.

All of that makes for lots of extra work… tons. Last Tuesday I just got down. And work was a hard and impossible feeling.

About five years ago I was hit with major depression and probably should have seen someone and maybe been on drugs. I did the stupid manly thing and just pushed through. I suggest you avoid depression if you can, and get help as soon as it seems to be a problem. Don’t be stupid like me.

Even after the obstacle of one bad day, I’m afraid that depression will come back. But I turned my mindset into having a better day the following day and overcame my obstacle.

Overcoming obstacles is all about your mindset. You have to see what you want to do in your mind’s eye first, and then you can do it. The Bible says, without hope, the people perish. Zig Ziglar says the student with no hope of passing the test won’t study, and hope is a choice. You gain hope by seeing how you can do things in your mind’s eye. The student that sees themselves passing the test has hope it can happen, then can study, they can overcome the obstacle. It’s simple, like most things in life, but it ain’t easy.

One of the ways I gain hope of overcoming obstacles is by looking at my past. After having a horrible Tuesday I looked back at my employment for the last six months. This is the first “bad day” I’ve had. I simply told myself over and over, that I can have a bad day at work every six months. That still makes this an awesome job.

Look back at your past record of overcoming obstacles. I know you have overcome some incredible things in your life. Most of us forget about them right after they happen, but you still did them.

Take stock of those things that you have survived and/or thrived in. Now, look at the obstacle you are trying to overcome. Use that past strength to find your way to overcoming the obstacles in front of you.

If the obstacle seems bigger than anything you have ever accomplished in your past, laugh about it now, and tell the story now as if you have already overcome it. This will be your new story of triumph and victory!

Now go out and overcome those obstacles you are facing!

Ben Branam

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