Destined for Something Greater

Imagine holding a coin right in front of your eyes. Assume that coin is your obstacle to success and everything else is your success story in waiting. Now, slowly move the coin further and further away from your face. What do you see? Your success stories come to life. All you need out do is reach out and grab them.
You are destined for success. Your future is great. But the obstacle you are focusing too much on is blinding you from the amazing opportunities you should be pursuing. What you see instead is a dark world with nothing but your failures and the huge obstacle that you think you cannot overcome.
Another way to see this is imagining that you are a traveler who has come upon a tall steep hill on his path. You cannot go over it and you do not see a way around it. Now, imagine walking some distance away from the hill. Suddenly, you can see several paths to get you past the obstacle before you.
Are you focusing too much on the obstacles or problems in your life that you fail to see the opportunities all around you? As long as you dwell on the things blocking the path to your goal – be it weight loss, wealth, career success or a happy relationship – you will never a find a way out. You will keep trying to reach your goal but every time the obstacle blinds you to the many other paths you could take to reach where you want to be.
Here are four ways that many people focus on their obstacles, problems or inadequacies and in the process, stagnate in the same place for years.

1. Self-pity

This is one of the most useless, damaging and addictive of human emotions. When you are in a lonely pity party, you tend to focus on your failures and perceived inadequacies. You keep on focusing on that obstacle that made you fail before, instead of taking a step back and looking for the opportunities lying in wait all around.

2. Regrets

There is nothing that impedes progress more than the past. We all make mistakes, some small others really big. It is a defining characteristic of being human. While those mistakes may have had grave consequences and even hurt other people, you cannot go back in time to change things, no matter how hard you wish for it. Regrets keeps your focus on past failures, stifling any progress you might make towards your goals.

3. Fear

Are you afraid that you are not creative enough for that job? Not good enough to date him or her? Not smart enough to get rich? All these perceptions of our inadequacies are obstacles, which if you focus on them, you will never realize that they are all lies.
Do you want to discover your strengths? Then, stop letting fear take your attention away from your goals and on the tiny obstacles that should not even bother you.

4. Low self esteem

This one is closely tied to fear and self-pity. Low self-esteem is borne out of fear and constant self-pity. It goes from just being negative thoughts to a powerful negative mindset. You now believe that you will never achieve your goals because your mind has tricked you into focusing all your attention on the looming obstacle blocking your path. That obstacle could be your background, your physical looks or your past failures.

Shifting Focus

It is a natural reflex to focus on our obstacles. Shifting your focus will therefore take deliberate effort. You have to decide that instead of always looking down at the rocks, thorns and ditches that block your way, you are going to look straight ahead at the finish line.
Something amazing happens when you shift focus from your problems and onto your goals. Though your obstacles do not magically disappear, they turn into challenges. You also discover a great power within you to tackle these challenges.
Those obstacles that kept you from success now become milestones that build you and with each one, you get stronger. Do not think about how hard the journey will be or how long it will take; effort and time are two other obstacles you should not be focusing on.
All your attention and passion should be on what you want to achieve. You will not even realize it when the finish line suddenly comes upon you. Even better, you will be excited and ready to achieve many other goals. Always remember you are Destined for Something Greater