Learning_To_See_Challenges_As_Opportunities

							Learning To See Challenges As Opportunities

Word Count:
680

Summary:
Are you a person who loves challenges, or hates them? I must admit I've
spent most of my life as a person who hates them. I always thought of
challenges as frustrating, maddening obstacles keeping me from where I
want to be. I even used to take them personally, feeling like the
universe must hate me and like to see me struggle. ;-)

As I grow older and (hopefully) wiser - I find my competitive nature
rising up to meet these challenges, and I'm learning to see them
different...


Keywords:
positive thinking,motivation,inspiration,determination,perseverance


Article Body:
Are you a person who loves challenges, or hates them? I must admit I've
spent most of my life as a person who hates them. I always thought of
challenges as frustrating, maddening obstacles keeping me from where I
want to be. I even used to take them personally, feeling like the
universe must hate me and like to see me struggle. ;-)

As I grow older and (hopefully) wiser - I find my competitive nature
rising up to meet these challenges, and I'm learning to see them
differently. Most of us know that great rewards require great sacrifice
and effort. You know the old saying that nothing worthwhile comes easy?
In a sense that's true. If everything we wanted was handed to us, we
probably wouldn't have alot of appreciation for it. On the other hand,
when we work hard for something and then see it manifest before our eyes,
we get such a powerful sense of pride and accomplishment. We can point to
it and say, "I did that. It was tough, but I did it anyway."

Challenges are truly opportunities. Opportunities to grow and learn, to
strengthen ourselves, to test ourselves and our faith. They reveal how
badly we want to create the dreams in our hearts, and how hard we're
willing to work for them. This is such a blessing. It may not seem that
way at first, but with a tiny shift in attitude, we can see that we have
been handed an incredible opportunity.

The next time life hands you a challenge, stop and consider for a moment
what it means. Is the universe saying "no", or "I want you to try
harder?" Don't look at challenges as an end, look at them as a door
leading to your heart's desires. That door might be locked, but you have
the key. Maybe you forgot where you put the key, or you forgot that you
even had it to begin with. It might take some effort and patience to find
it again - or you might even have to create a new one, but believe that
you will, even if you're not sure how yet.
I'm learning that it's not important to have all the answers right now.
When challenges rise up before us, we may not know how to get around
them, or through them. It might seem hopeless at first. Challenges can
seem so overwhelming when we don't have a solution. However, life itself
is very much like this too. Sometimes life is akin to bumping around in a
dark room, trying to find the light switch. It is possible to get through
the room without finding the light switch immediately, we just need to
step slowly and carefully. Moment to moment, we find our way.

Rather than giving up when obstacles appear in your path, look at them as
welcome challenges. The biggest challenge is choosing your own attitude.
Will you get flustered and angry, or will you get excited and determined?
Will you lay down and cry, or will you roll up your sleeves and get to
work? Some of us take on a victim mentality when obstacles arise, and I
can see why this happens. It does feel like the universe is picking on
us, doesn't it? :-) I think we've all been there!

Why not change your mindset and think of obstacles as a personal
challenge? Rather than feeling like the universe is picking on you,
challenge yourself to figure out a solution. Say to yourself, "Okay, such
and such has happened, now what am I going to do about it"? Put your
problem-solving skills to work.

Once we begin to change our attitude about obstacles and challenges, they
can actually become fun. Our competitive human nature rises up and gets
ready to win, no matter what. We develop a steely determination to not be
beaten.

In fact, I like to pretend there is a great critic in the sky who laughs
mockingly at me and says, "You can't do that." I simply grin wickedly,
roll up my sleeves and say, "Watch me!"