You know that message that is written on the side-view mirror of your car?  The one that says “objects in mirror appear closer than they are”.  Like the objects in the mirror, the obstacles in your life, may sometimes appear larger and more real than they are. Which means they can often stand in the way of you getting what you want out of life.

We say we want a better relationship with our partner or we want a better job or we want to get more clients, but our actions betray our true commitments.  We know what we could do to improve our relationship, get more clients or change careers, but we don’t take action.

Why?  The most common reason, is we let our fears control us, and prevent us from taking the actions that would lead to the better relationship, a better career or more sales.  The second most common reason?  We don’t really want, what we say we want.

Let’s look at the second most common reason we let obstacles stop us.  If you are honest with yourself, and discover that you really don’t want what it is you say you want, it’s time to let yourself off the hook.  If it’s something you’ve claimed to want for a very long time, but it’s not happening, let it go.  Free up the space you spend daydreaming and thinking about it, so that something more interesting can come into your life. Something you’ll really want to take action to achieve.

Fear is the most typical cause for inaction.  We may be afraid of being rejected if we behave differently toward our spouse.  Or, we might not want to hear “no” from a prospective employer, or client.  We avoid the conversations or taking the steps that would make us more visible to others.  Sometimes, we hide behind mundane tasks that eat up our time and keep us out of action.

We claim there is not enough time in the day.  Or we convince ourselves that our partner just doesn’t care about us or the relationship.  We tell ourselves that no one will pay for our service or products because the economy is bad.  No one truly appreciates what we offer.  Everyone’s on vacation, etc…  Eventually, we believe those lies and we forget that we are the ones that made them up in the first place.

What I’ve come to realize, is that most obstacles in your life are nothing more than illusions.  Puffs of smoke that we see as solid brick walls. Of course, we can always climb over the wall, go around the wall, or dig under the wall… but, that’s so much work!  When we notice that the brick wall is nothing more than a figment of our imagination, we don’t need to do anything to get through it… because it isn’t there.

What’s stopping you?

Another article about overcoming obstacles:

The Seahawks’ Super Bowl Victory 2014