How to Overcome Obstacles and Seize Opportunities | A Step-by-Step Guide

Napoleon Hill said, “Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” I live by this quote, and I also understand that in the middle of an adversity, it can be very hard to see the good or find the greater benefit. This is why learning how to overcome obstacles and seize opportunities is a skill that we all need to cultivate. It makes it so much easier to work through difficulties when you have a plan to guide you when you need it most. 

Below I share with you a step-by-step guide you can use when you face an obstacle or feel overwhelmed. After working through it, you will be far more able to seize the opportunities coming your way. 

Embrace a growth mindset.

The first place we have to start building our rebounding muscles starts in the brain. Our minds are truly powerful and we all have the opportunity to put that power to work for us. 

When facing adversity, instead of pushing against the reality and focusing on why it “shouldn’t be” open yourself to the experience of learning and becoming stronger because of it. A growth mindset can help you see every experience as a place to expand your possibilities, especially when they are difficult.

The things that shape our character most, are the hard times we go through. During those times, you must decide who you will be, and who you will become, as you work through the obstacles you face. That decision will open a variety of opportunities, as you move forward. 

Engage your emotional intelligence.

True emotional intelligence starts when you come to understand and work with the emotions you are feeling. When you experience a setback of any kind, it’s important to work through your emotions around it. 

We go into situations or interactions with expectations. A vital part of the process is pinpointing the expectation you had, and then identify the emotion you feel because it hasn’t been met. That gives you a lot of internal information to work with, which will help you move forward faster. 

When identifying the emotion you feel, it’s essential to go deeper than a base emotion, like anger. Instead, decide if you feel betrayed, disrespected, annoyed or another emotion. Getting to the specific emotion will help you discover the deeper issue and articulate it for yourself or someone else. From there, you can use that information to reapproach the situation and start problem solving, with new goals and expectations.

Empower your problem-solving skills.

A problem, by definition, has a solution. So, no matter what problem you face, there is a way to get past it or move through it. Always remember, you don’t have to problem-solve on your own. Reach out to the trusted people in your network to help you. Sometimes someone else’s perspective can help greatly.

If you are working through it on your own, here are some questions you can ask yourself to empower your problem-solving skills:

• What information do you have now that you didn’t have before?
• How can that information help?
• Have you or someone you know ever faced something like this before? And what can you apply to this situation?
• If there were absolutely no restrictions, how would you solve this problem? (Let your imagination run free, you might be surprised at the ideas that come to you.)
• What alternatives do you have?

The answers to these questions will help you to formulate a new strategy. 

Evolve your strategy.

The key to success is evolution. You can’t stay in the status quo and advance. That means, when you face obstacles, you simply need to evolve your strategy. That might mean setting new objectives or goals, or it may mean looking at different ways to get to your goal. There is always more than one way to do it, you just have to be open to adjusting. Or you may find that there is an even better opportunity you can seize that you didn’t see before you faced the adversity. 

If you aren’t sure how to evolve your strategy a mentor can help. Their experience, knowledge and expertise can give you insights you might never find on your own. 

Once you regularly start using this step-by-step guide, you will find that your ability to learn how to overcome obstacles and seize opportunities will improve. Your skill to get past adversity will increase, and from there, the opportunities coming to you will multiply.

If you’d like a mentor who can help you overcome your obstacles, I would love to talk with you. CLICK HERE to learn more about my Master Mentor program and get yourself on a faster path toward the success you deserve.