Why do we get hurdles while chasing goals?

Have you ever experienced that even though you have a clear goal in front of you, every time you go about chasing it, the nature conspires to present you with unexpected, tough, teasing, displeasing hurdles that "you feel" tend to stop you from reaching towards your goal. I have experienced this... and I can tell you why this happens, and how you can deal effectively with them..

It should be straight forward. Set a goal, get started towards it, do the hard work, do it consistently, and you should be done in a given period of time. If you look at the picture below, it is so simple.

This picture shows that you have a clear goal. You probably know the path towards your goal. You can even see the path. You have to just reach your goal with steady and consistent effort. But if you have ever ran a marathon in your life, you would appreciate that running or walking consistently for 3-4 hours is not that simple either. To reach that goal, you would need all the stamina, strength, patience and above all, immense mental toughness. 

Now, by default, you do not have the self belief that you already possess these traits. Yes, it is just the absence of realisation that you don't truly possess these traits, With that state of mind, if you go about chasing your goal, you are likely to encounter a failure. And then, if you really need that goal badly enough, you seek help from the Universe -  You pray, you seek divine intervention, you question God's intent, you seek help.

And, Nature responds... It wants you to realise that you already have all these powers. But it has its own way of making you realise that you already have all the physical and mental strength you need to achieve your goal. 

Scenario 2 

As you look at the Scenario 2 in the above picture. Here is what Nature does to you. It will present you situations and "obstacles" - just what you need to realise that all the required skills that you need to reach your goal. But that realisation will come only when you overcome what you earlier thought was not feasible, when you expand your boundaries, when you break your comfort zone. Now, only if you look at it this way will you appreciate what nature is presenting you with. You ought to have a strong goal, a burning desire so that these momentary challenges and setbacks do not set you back for a long time.

As you keep overcoming one obstacle after another, you start becoming stronger and stronger (rather start discovering your strengths). and by the end, you have all the skills needed to reach where you already reached. The journey, thus, was a wise teacher that wanted you to discover your own strength, rather than being a painful enemy. Universe is just like your school teacher. You may not truly enjoy the toughness - but that's the only way you expand your boundaries and discover what all is hidden inside you.

Your journey is your teacher. Learn as much as you can. When you reach the goal, remember that it was not the end goal that was as important, but the person you became because of the journey, that matters the most.
This perspective can help you pass the obstacles with the right understanding, and therefore accept them much more happily in your life. 

Read Chapter "Why only Me" in the book "Happiness Unlimited" to understand more about the goal and the journey.

Cheers

Manoj Arora

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