Step ONe
Some see challenges as a puzzle to solve or an opportunity for growth. Others see challenges as a threat or the reason they are not able to succeed. The way you choose to view the barriers in your life, affects how you react to those challenges.
Step one to overcoming challenges is to accept what is happening and let go of what could have been. This challenge is now your reality, so choose to work with it, not against it. How can you shift your perspective to frame this challenge as an opportunity for growth or a welcome change?
As Eckhart Tolle said; “Accept-then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it… This will miraculously transform your whole life.” So give your challenge a face and a name. Accept it as part of your life. And now that it’s here, and no longer the elephant in the room, let’s move forward towards overcoming it.
Once you have accepted your present circumstance, shift your mindset to reevaluate where you stand. Ask yourself these questions:
How have I solved similar challenges in the past? Can I draw from those past experiences to work through this challenge?
Who do I know who has experienced something similar? Can I reach out to them for advice or empathy?
Who can I ask for help when I need it?
What silver linings could emerge from this situation?
How can I stay positive and view this challenge as an opportunity for growth or a welcome change?
Step Two
“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor had it right. You can sit and wish for something different, but doing so takes up just as much energy and brain space as proactively creating a plan. Step two to overcoming challenges is to define your goals and make a plan for your new reality. You get to choose how to react to this challenge and create a plan that works for you!
Start by writing down all your goals so that you can visually see them in one place. A study from the Dominican University found that you become 42% more likely to achieve your goals and dreams if you write them down on a regular basis. This is because the act of writing down your goals tricks your brain into finding more ways to accomplish them.
After you define your goals, organize your goals through the lens of priority and sequence. By organizing your priorities, you determine the most important goals you want to achieve. Sometimes these important goals feel harder, and we often procrastinate by focusing on our easier goals or irrelevant tasks. Instead, use your priority list and make sure you focus on those important goals first!
Then build your plan by sequencing your prioritized goals. What needs to happen first? What can wait until later? Often certain tasks need to be completed before we can move on to others. Sequence your goals and create a checklist so that you have a solid foundation to lay out your plan. Looks like your plan is taking shape!
Ask yourself these questions:
What is my top priority at the moment?
What items need to come first in my plan to support my top priorities?
What is the most logical order or sequence to complete my goals?
Now that I know my priorities and sequence how can I use that framework to build a plan?
What major obstacles or limitations might hold me back?
How can I build solutions for these obstacles into my plan?
Step Three
Taking action is one of the biggest steps to overcoming challenges. You can plan all you want, but without putting that plan into action, there is no ability to move forward into a better place.
Step three of overcoming challenges is to put your plan into action and actually start working towards your goals. I’ve had this little saying saved on my desktop forever, that goes like this: “ A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action becomes reality.” While borderline cheesy, there is a decent amount of truth to this saying!
Start by taking your plan from step two and breaking it down into mini-goals or what we coaches call, “chunking.” Breaking bigger objectives into bite sized chunks ensures that your goals feel less overwhelming and much more attainable. The more specific, the easier it will be to take action on those chunks.
Then make those chunks measurable by setting reasonable milestones and deadlines. By doing this you are creating accountability for yourself to ensure that each action step is getting completed and that you are continuing to work towards your bigger goals. Setting deadlines and milestones also helps you to know when you are succeeding or getting slightly off track.
Ask yourself these questions:
How can you break down your plan from step two into achievable bite sized chunks?
What reasonable deadlines can I assign to my chunks? (I’m a HUGE fan of putting goals and deadlines into the calendar app on my phone!)
Is anything holding you back from starting? If so, do you need to break that goal down smaller to make it less overwhelming?
Do you need support while taking action? Who can you ask for help?
How will you know when you succeed?
Step Four
You’ve made it to step four on this journey of how to overcome challenges! So far you’ve accepted the challenges in your life, defined new goals, created a plan and took action. So, now what?
Step four of overcoming challenges is to celebrate your accomplishments and learn from your mistakes. While this may seem like a trivial step, acknowledging both are actually quite important.
It’s easy to be hard on ourselves and we often forget to celebrate our accomplishments, no matter how small. Think back to where you started at step one. Now fast forward again to this moment, while taking stock of all the big and small accomplishments that happened along the way. Once you compare the two it’s easy to see how far you’ve come!
“Celebrate your small wins. Only you know how far you’ve come.”
- W. Purity
Now for the other side of the coin, what mistakes were made along the way or what things didn’t go well? These mistakes may seem like a negative, but instead they are actually extremely important tools for learning and improving. If something didn’t work, then what did you try that did work. Use the lessons learned from any mistakes as tools for approaching similar situations in the future. Plus you made it to where you are now in spite of those mistakes so you are that much stronger for having experienced them.
Take a moment to be grateful for what you have achieved, learned and accomplished! You deserve it!
Ask yourself these questions:
What did you learn from this process?
How did this create new opportunities for you?
What would you do differently if you could do it again?
What did you learn from your mistakes?
What are you most proud of achieving through this process?