Writers 
Obstacles
It’s happened to the best of us; we’ are moving steadily along toward our goals, feeling motivated and determined– when all of a sudden there’s an obstacle in our path and we freeze like a deer caught in the headlights of a car! What do we do? How do we get around this?
Unexpected obstacles are responsible for many unrealized goals, simply for one reason: the goal seeker didn’t have a plan in place to deal with it. Preparing for obstacles is one of the most important parts of goalsetting– but few people take the time to do it. When most of us set a goal, we’re optimistic and confident that we can succeed. We don’t like to think about possible obstacles that may threaten our dreams.
However, not planning ahead for obstacles practically guarantees that we won’t know how to handle them when they appear –and appear they usually will!
The Remedy:
The solution to this challenge is clear: prepare for obstacles ahead of time. But how?
One of the best ways is to go over each of the action steps you’ve set to achieve your goal, and think about possible blockages or problems that could come up as you go along. Consider the outcome you desire from each phase of your goal and ask yourself what you will do if a particular phase doesn’t work out like you planned.
Are there alternative steps you could take to get back on track?
For example: if your goal is to quit
smoking, what possible obstacles could come up after you’ have quit? You might find yourself in a social situation where everyone else is smoking and you’ will feel tempted to light up too. How can you effectively handle such a situation if it comes up? What other possible obstacles could you face, and how would you handle them?Of course, there is no way to predict every possible obstacle, but simply thinking ahead and doing your best to plan and prepare for obstacles places you into a mind-set of empowerment, control and responsibility – which is exactly what you need when you face ANY obstacle, whether you’ve planned for it or not. A better way to word this goal is to focus on the things you CAN control, such as, “I will present my services to one hundred potential clients per month, with the intention to secure 10 new clients or more.”
That may seem like a small difference, but you’ will notice that you’re placing the most emphasis on what YOU can do to achieve this goal. You can then set clear action steps for achieving this goal of reaching 100 potential new clients, such as networking more, advertising in related trade publications, and so on.
Notice too that in the reworked goal you still state your intention to secure 10 new clients a month, but you’re not basing your perception of failure or success on it anymore. Would you consider your goal a failure if you did reach 100 potential new clients– but only 6 of them sought your services in the first month? Probably not.
You’d probably feel encouraged to keep going and do better the next month –simply because you feel in CONTROL of what’s happening in your business. You’ are taking the steps you’ve planned and getting results because of it.
This concept applies to every kind of goal.
Be sure you’re placing most of your energy and attention on things that you can control, and you’ will ll avoid feeling like the outcome is out of your control.
