Are Challenges Holding You Back?

by Rick White, President 180BIZ                                                            (Estimated Read Time 4 minutes)

This episode is about challenges. They don't go away. The worst thing you can do is avoid them. Challenges aren't meant to stop you. They're not there to define you. They're there to refine you. They're there to help you. When we see a challenge, we tend to be afraid of it, so we stop. And in the process of stopping, you lose momentum. You lose focus. Why do I say that? Because you're no longer focused on where you're going. You're focused on the challenge. You're focused on the fear and the feeling of that challenge. I call that contaminated focus. You must stay focused on where you want to go and see the challenge for what it is.

When you stare at a challenge, you get stuck.

I truly believe that everything happens for me, not to me. I believe there's a reason for it, a purpose behind it, and a lesson within it. So what challenges are you facing? It could be a health challenge. It could be a financial challenge. It could be a relationship challenge. There are challenges everywhere. When you stare at your challenges, you get stuck. And when you get stuck, you miss the lesson. Every challenge is a lesson in disguise.

Most people don't want to go through the challenge. And I get it. I remember being at my parent's house with my chin dragging on the ground as I walked through the kitchen. I was going through my second divorce at 38 years old and I was back living with them… again. My mom was sitting at the table having a cup of tea, and she looked at me and said, “Rick, God will never give you anything you can't handle.”

Every challenge is an opportunity.

Challenges are to help us get better.  I don't wish for smaller challenges. I don't wish that challenges go away. I want to grow through them. Every challenge is an opportunity to refine who I am, to grow, and to become a bigger, better version of myself. You don't overcome a challenge. You must go through the challenge. Each challenge helps us become a better version of ourselves because we can't solve the challenge with the same intellect that created the challenge. Every challenge is simply an accumulation of decisions and actions that have brought us to this point.

Patience, determination, persistence, and faith.

The gift of the challenge is how we grow through it. So how do you do this? You need patience. It took a while for your challenge to grow. It's going to take a while for your challenge to go. That's the truth. You must have patience. You must have determination. You must have persistence. And honestly, faith. I'm a Christian. I lean on my relationship with God knowing that this is meant for me. So, number one is it's going to take patience, determination, persistence, and faith.

Don’t judge success by your results.

Number two, I don't want you to judge success or progress on the result you're getting because the result is a lagging indicator. Base your level of success on your intentions and your efforts.  Right now, I have some challenges with weight. When I go to the gym for the first time, guess what happens? Nothing. If I judge success simply on the results I got for going to the gym, that one time, nothing happens. But if I go again and again and focus on my intention and focus on my effort, I feel good. I feel good because I went to the gym and I feel good because I pushed through it. Now it makes a difference.

A joy shared is magnified, and a sorrow shared is halved.

Here's the third thing I want to share with you. I want you to share your challenges. We're not supposed to go through life by ourselves. We're not supposed to be these little islands or fortresses where we can withstand everything and anything because I promise you, life will teach you that you can't. There's a quote that I share often with my clients. A joy shared is magnified. A sorrow shared is halved. Similarly, a challenge shared is halved. We are meant to go through life together.

Don’t take your challenges out on others.

And then the last thing I want you to hear is don't take your challenges out on others. You can share them. I've been going through some challenges recently, nothing serious but challenges that have been stacking up and have made me feel overwhelmed. I was becoming a complete jerk to my team and my family because of these challenges. Challenges are meant to be shared, but challenges are not a reason to take something out on someone else. I'm telling you, my messages sometimes are for me, not just you.

Ultimately, challenges make us better.

Challenges are a part of life, and you have a choice.  You can stare at the challenges, or you can stare at the potential. Challenges make us better.

If this video resonates with you, if you think this could help someone, please share it. Let others in. Also, join me in our next Shop Owner’s Round Table.  It’s the second Thursday of every month at 7:00 PM Eastern time. Check out my Pocket Business Genius webinar series you’ll find helpful webinars and webinar recordings there. It’ll be a game changer for a lot of shops.

God bless. stay safe, have some fun, and go make some money.

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