4 Step Method to Overcome Challenges

Don't you just wish life was easier, with less challenges and obstacles? Yeah, me, too...but without challenges, life becomes stagnant and we stop growing. Most of my growth and wisdom is the result of problems. Challenges help us uncover who we are and it allows us to become better people. 

Let’s examine a very simple 4-step method to overcoming challenges.

First, state the problem clearly.  When we are faced with challenges, we tend to avoid the issue and run the other way. We  bury our heads in the sand hoping it goes away.  Or we may say – ok, there is an obstacle. Instead of heading right to it and plowing through, I am going to look for another path even though that is not the way I want to go. That way looks easier… less headache… but rarely does that work out. When we avoid or go out of our way, we cause more headache in the end. It takes more of our time and energy and we don’t get the end result for which we are looking. 

Take some time to understand what your challenge is.  Ask yourself some questions, what is asked of me, what am I supposed to learn, what is the goal on the other side of this problem? Write this down on paper.

Second, identify what you have at your disposal – what resources are available to you to work through this challenge? List all of these resources.  These should include things such as tangible assets – money, computer, books, etc.  And then what skills you have, what are your strengths to work through this?  Don’t forget other people--who do you know that can help you? 

Third, design the strategy to overcome this challenge.  Utilize all your assets to create a plan of action.  You may not get it right the first time. That's okay. Each time you tweak the strategy, you found a way that didn't work!  Keep at it. 

Lastly, execute the strategy with effort and determination.  Do your very best with all you have to overcome your challenge. 

If you find that you still cannot overcome a challenge, then re-evaluate. Maybe your strategy won’t work because it isn’t viable or effective.  Change it. If your strategy doesn’t work because you didn’t execute it well enough, be persistent and tweak your efforts, giving it more.  

Practice this method on small challenges and see how easy it is to overcome. Then try it on the big rocks!  

Overcoming, 

Jan

Jan McDonald
Maxwell Leadership Certified Team

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