Overcoming Obstacles

(Excerpt from The Path to Freedom, by Suzann Rye)

Your beliefs will either support you or block your way. Unlimited thinking opens doors, draws opportunities to you, expands your possibilities, and dramatically increases your quality of life. It gives you power, confidence, and courage and allows you to be who you really are, get what you deserve, and live the life you want. Restricted thinking does the opposite.
“But I can’t just think or believe my way around obstacles!”
There’s a difference between real, actual, immediate obstacles—and perceived, “imaginary” obstacles.

Real obstacles, or “solid” obstacles as I call them, are things that are physically impossible to immediately overcome or move out of our way or change—they cannot be immediately dissolved. We need to create a way around these obstacles so that we can continue on our way forward. We might have to take a detour to get to our next destination, but we are going to get there, nevertheless.

Imaginary obstacles are ones that we perceive as being real but in fact they are not. They are barriers that we set up for ourselves. Their main job is to provide us with suitable excuses not to act upon our dreams and goals. Often, when we are faced with an imaginary obstacle, what seems to be the immediate problem is in fact not the real issue at all. It is merely a response—an effect of something else, some underlying event or issue hidden from our direct view. It may just take a change of thought or perception to dissolve these obstacles, to open up and create a way forward. Imaginary obstacles are restrictions in our own beliefs and thought patterns that are blocking our way forward. They are not real. They are not fixed. They are imaginary obstacles that can be re-imagined.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between the two kinds of obstacles. Does it matter? Well, not really. Effectively, if we choose to see all obstacles as imaginary—the solid ones merely causing a slight delay in realization—then we are well on our way.
Typical imaginary obstacles stem from any of the following: lack of self esteem, stuck internal rules (probably stemming from upbringing), habitual old patterns, inability to take action (procrastination, essentially caused by fear), confusion (inability to define goals and lack of focus and strategy), fear of being judged, fear of failure, fear of risk-taking, fear of responsibility, fear of losing an (often false) sense of control, fear of making the wrong choices and missing out, which in turn leads to, well, missing out, etc.

You’ve noticed that again fear is a big factor. We can once again conclude or confirm that fear is the biggest obstacle of all.
And guess what? Fear is a feeling. It is not a solid object, so it cannot be a solid obstacle. What that means is that if we can overcome the feeling, we can overcome the obstacle. I want you to consider this and keep it in mind. It is very important.

The most common excuses for being unable to move forward are lack of money, lack of resources, and lack of competence. All of these can be overcome.
Another excuse is other people. We sometimes feel that other people stand in our way of moving forward. Well, while we cannot control other people, we can certainly choose whom we surround ourselves with. It is also up to us to decide how much power we choose to give to those people—how much influence they should be allowed to have over our lives. Power needs feeding; if it is not fed, it starves and eventually shrivels away. We tend to forget that although we naturally make choices based on or involving the people around us, essentially we are all free individuals and can do what we want. And mostly we will—sooner or later.

If you really want something, it is very hard to suppress it for too long. And why should you? If you are happy and fulfilled, it reflects on everyone around you. If you’re not, that reflects as well.
Reconsider the terms “being realistic” and “being sensible.” If we choose to believe that restrictions and limitations are necessary and “all part of growing up,” then that is probably how it will be. But is it really that sensible? Is it sensible to blindly accept that placing barriers in front of us is the only way forward? I think not.
If you think about it, there is always something you can do to change things. Usually it turns out that you have more options than you imagined. All situations, no matter how tough or complicated, can be changed. Some just call for more determination and diligence than others.

When faced with a stubborn obstacle like that, we have to decide whether or not we have the urge, the motivation, the passion, and the energy to overcome it. Is the end result really that important for us? Are we willing to pay the price? What if we are facing an obstacle that implies a very serious challenge that cannot immediately be overcome, at least not till something else has been overcome first? Or what if we find ourselves in circumstances that, for the time being, seem to make it physically impossible to move toward a certain goal? This could involve a physical or mental handicap, a severe disease, or other difficult conditions like extreme poverty—circumstances that, for most of us, tend to make our own problems fade in comparison.

Well, of course, every situation is different and each person has to decide what is true for them. But we have all heard miraculous stories of little people taking giant steps against all odds—people faced with the most unforgiving circumstances. Most people naturally react to stories like this by saying, “I could never have done that!”
Are you absolutely sure? Do you think the other person planned it like that? Maybe at some point they couldn’t imagine it either—but eventually they came through. It was possible, I would say, because they persevered and they believed and because something within them told them that they simply had to. This “something” added power to their faith and their ability to trust that if they really and truly committed themselves to the cause—if they did everything they possibly could on their part—the Universe would provide the rest.

Someone once said, “A problem is only ever as big or as small as you choose to see it.”
I believe that’s true.

Try to answer the questions below. Be blunt. Notice how it makes you feel—it is very important. It could hold the key to your progress.
Do you feel happy, inspired, motivated, and encouraged, or do you feel uneasy and resistant, like giving up in advance?
Do you feel that these goals can easily be achieved, or do you suspect that achieving these goals is somehow impossible?
Do you perhaps immediately start giving yourself reasons why these goals are “far-fetched”?

What do you perceive as the obstacles standing between you and your goals?
These answers will provide you with a lot of valuable information about what your current beliefs are and where you need to create change in order to move forward. Write your answers down.

When you’re done answering, ask yourself why you want these things.
What will they do for you? What will they give you?

Questions
• Think very carefully about your goals and dreams. What is it that you would like to achieve? (Write down your goals as they come naturally to you.
• Divide your goals into two boxes—one for immediate goals, the other for long-term goals.
• Now, structure your goals. Define them so they become clear. Make them look and feel clear and simple. Structure and clarity will make the process much more comprehensible and help you focus better. Rewrite if necessary.
• Focus on them. If you find focusing hard, perhaps your goals are not clear enough yet. If so, define them again, but do not change the essence of the goals or dreams; do not make the overall goals smaller.
• Consider: maybe you need to divide your goals into smaller parts.
• Finally, give your goals deadlines. Think about what would be realistic timeframes for reaching each goal.
• And then commit to pursuing your goals and keeping the deadlines.
• Make a plan of action by writing down all the possible avenues that you can think of that would lead you to your goal(s).

Then ask yourself: “What can I do today?” Is there a logical timeline to the action steps that you have identified?

Finally, believe that you can succeed, intend to succeed—and you are going to succeed!
Believe it, intend it, create it.

The more clear, direct and focused you are in “asking” for what you want, the clearer the signal that you’re sending out. If you focus on something—if you give it enough attention for long enough—you energize it more and more, and eventually it will manifest. Whatever you focus on is what you get, for energy follows thought. When you hold a steady focus on something and your intent to achieve it or to have it is clear and strong, then you are going to create it. You are going to attract the people, situations, and opportunities you need.
Be alert and ready to take advantage of these opportunities when they appear.

Acknowledge that it is solely your responsibility to reach your goals—no one else is going to reach them for you. By taking full responsibility and accepting that you do have the freedom to choose and the power to create any reality that you want, you have already taken the important first step toward expansion and greater success. In other words, you have engaged yourself into a conscious process of creating your reality and manifesting your dreams and goals.

To your Joy and Success!
Love,
Suzann

Chapter taken from The Path to Freedom, by Suzann Rye, eBook available here: http://www.mcssl.com/SecureCart/ViewCart.aspx?sctoken=c5b7a6ca38924194bf3ac022641b81d0&mid=D39E8893-1A5B-4C51-95A6-3C938671C304&scsbd=1&ntcr=1

Suzann Rye
Empowering Voice and Spirit
#1 Bestselling Author of Your Voice Is Your Calling Card; How to Power-Charge Your Voice, Boost Your Confidence, and Speak with Joy, Ease, and Conviction, Available here:
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