Overcoming Adversity

Overcoming Obstacles in Life

Carolina Calle, María Reinoso & Lilibeth Camuendo

​Overcoming Obstacles in Life

​No life is without its fair share of problems. We all know the saying 'it's not the problems that determine your state, it's your attitude towards them', but this often seems much easier said than done. Here are some practical tips to help you persevere through life's challenges:

• ​1. If we can stay cheerful when confronted with a problem, that automatically reduces the size of the problem. It can be very difficult to resist the slide into despair; we have to cultivate the attitude of a warrior, and stand firm and not let our negative thoughts rule us. We can gain strength by remembering the times when we were cheerful, and the energy and vibrancy that that cheerfulness gave us.

​2. Like any other positive quality, our determination can be cultivated and increased. When the fear of an impending obstacle strikes the pit of your stomach, you can visualize breathing out this fear and breathing in determination and resolve. If it is the sheer magnitude of a task that is worrying you, break it down into smaller tasks and tell yourself to just focus on getting the first small task done.

​3. Inspiration is an important factor in maintaining one's resolve. By reading stories, we know we are not alone and that within the human spirit lies the capacity to solve these problems. Try to surround yourself with as much inspiration in the form of books, music, and people as possible. By the same token, you can remove yourself from influences that are discouraging you from reaching your goal.

​4. We often increase obstacles with our own self-doubt. We should instead try and increase our faith in ourselves and our ability to surpass the object in front of us. When a doubting thought comes, we can ask ourselves whether this thought really has any basis in reality; most of the time it does not have any basis at all. Sometimes by accomplishing some small preparatory tasks we can instill faith in ourselves for the bigger tasks to come.