What do you do when you find your way is blocked unexpectedly? Do you give up? Roll over on your back, exposing your belly in submission to the alpha dog – in whatever form – that is challenging you?
Or do you embrace your challenges and make your obstacles work for you instead of against you?
It’s a completely different way of reframing your experience, and looking at it from a positive point of view rather than seeing it through the eyes of a victim.
Find one thing that is holding you back and rework it.
- Can’t clear native vegetation off your business property? Rebrand your company as an eco-treasure to enlarge the scope, attractiveness and profitability of your business.
- Losing business to repair shops with deceptively low prices? Reinforce your own ethical behavior by educating potential customers on ways to avoid the unscrupulous. (A blog is a great way to do that.)
- Paying a ton of money for imported foodstuffs for your restaurant? Differentiate yourself from the common and ordinary, because you specialize in using such high-quality ingredients as part of your dining experience.
- Does your small clothing store limit the amount of goods you can display? Tell your prospective customers that they never have to worry about running across someone wearing the same unique item that they purchase at your boutique.
- Having difficulty getting people to pay you what you’re worth in your consulting business? Bump up your price and tell your prospects that your services are limited to a select, discerning few — and give them a time limit to take advantage of the few slots you have left to help their business.
These are just a few of the ways a business owner can capitalize on his challenges and come out stronger for it. And it works in our personal lives also.
- Do your nitpicky ways cause resentment? Indulge your attention to detail. Parlay it into a new job that requires that skill, or use it to make sure you’re getting the best deal from a tradesman.
- Is your house too small to provide adequate storage? Seize the opportunity to get rid of all the stuff that’s accumulated behind your back…and free your spirit at the same time!
- Are you a worry wart? Harness that energy to list all the things that keep you up at night, and the varied ways that you can resolve them.
- Do you pinch a penny till it screams? Use your penuriousness and purchase high-quality things of lasting value.
How to turn challenges into opportunities
It may be tough, figuring out ways to embrace your particular challenge, but once you get the hang of it, it can be a fun and energizing game of “what if.”
To kick off your journey, start with this exercise adapted from the Freeze-Frame technique found in “The HeartMath Solution” by Doc Childre and Howard Martin.
- Find a comfortable spot, away from any kind of intrusion. Give yourself about a half hour.
- Cast your mind to a place and time when you were happy, relaxed, loved, stress-free and so on.
- Re-experience as much about that place and time as you can. What were you wearing? Who were you with? Where were you? What was in your environment?
- Once you’re in that space, and experiencing it as if it were happening right then, ask your heart: “How can I turn this ‘negative’ thing into something positive?”
- Listen to what your heart says – and take its advice.
You will discover when you turn your challenges on their head, and see the opportunities embedded in them, that your whole being will change. You will feel physically stronger and maybe even taller! The psychic burden you’ve been carrying on your shoulders will fall off. Mentally, you will feel empowered and ready to tackle the world.
Use all those things to help you move forward. You have an incredible array of life experiences, common sense and intuition to help you embrace your challenges. Give yourself permission to unleash your creativity, and be confident enough to recognize your own inner wisdom.
And then use it.
What obstacle have you transformed into an opportunity and how did you do it? Please share — I’d love to hear about it!