By 
“Life happens” is more than a saying. It’s a way of life. What it means is that there will always be things that come up unexpectedly and that were unplanned.
For the most part, it’s not the obstacle that occurs; rather, how you handle the adversity that is key to your success. History is littered with lessons of successful people overcoming obstacles great and small, and the lessons to take away is it’s not what we deal with rather how we adapt to it and overcome it that is key to our success.
That’s true in business, school, relationships, and, well, life.
Homeowners know all too well that things happen, and it can seem that they happen at the worst possible time. From leaky pipes to roofing issues right before a rainstorm to backyard flooding that occurs after the rains, timing is something that seems like a cruel joke.
So what can you do when it seems that “life happens” and everything is piling up all at once? For most, taking a loan from family and friends can be a lifeline. For those that don’t have a family to result in as an option, securing short-term installment loans bad credit notwithstanding, can be the best option.
Prepare For The Unknown
To be sure, there are black swan events that are entirely without parallel in predicting if or when they may occur but, in hindsight, seem perfectly logical. A black swan event is something that is entirely beyond what is expected, unpredictable, and may have severe consequences as a result. The phenomenon is called a black swan event as, before the discovery of black swans in Australia, it was thought that all swans were white.
The 2008 housing crisis in the United States or the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 are excellent examples.
Two Black Swan Events That Seem Like No-Brainers In Hindsight
The 2008 housing bubble resulted in a worldwide recession that some countries are still reeling from, though most have recovered.
It involved some financial scheming that cut apart various subprime loans, bundled them as a financial package, and then sold them off as prime loans. With these loans not being amortized, they required balloon payments that most people could not pay.
As people began to fall behind on their mortgage payments, it accelerated the loans’ risk, destabilizing communities, the housing, retail, commercial, banking, and manufacturing industries as a result.
The pandemic is another story altogether. It was clear to scientists that there would be a pandemic of sorts in some form, just unsure when. As the situation worsened, the scope of the issue was largely ignored by governments and societies as a whole until it was almost too late.
The key takeaway isn’t that there are obstacles; those things will happen. It’s that it doesn’t matter how prepared we believe we are. Things happen, and how we adapt to them is essential.
Strategize To Overcome Obstacles
For more common obstacles, creating a plan on how you will mitigate the issues and have a strategy in place for future obstacles goes a long way to your success.
We find three sources of obstacles in life, from personal to societal to environmental.
Personal Obstacles
Personal obstacles are those that we are either born with or behaviors we’ve adopted in life. Examples of personal obstacles may be anxiety, fear, physical limitation, health, and limiting beliefs.
Societal Obstacles
Societal Obstacles are those that are put in place by forces outside of ourselves. Examples may be unjust laws, toxic relationships, social norms, tradition, and the need for conformity.
Environmental Obstacles
Environmental obstacles are those that exert their influence on us through the environment we’re operating in at the time. These examples can be climate, time and place, ambient noise, and other external factors.
When you are confronted with an obstacle, the first tactic to overcome it is to identify the obstacle’s source and how you can overcome it. If it’s a personal issue, for example, a change in your attitude, perspective, or behavior may be the quickest way to overcome it.
For example, let’s say that weight is an issue for you. In most instances, changing your eating habits, increasing exercise, and getting more sleep are controllable for you with a personal obstacle.
Suppose it’s an obstacle with an external source, such as a bad relationship. In that case, the key is to understand the power that person has over you. Is it a redeemable relationship, meaning are they willing to make changes to salvage the relationship?
If it’s an environmental obstacle, planning and taking the necessary precautions are crucial to your success. For example, if you just purchased a home in “tornado alley,” having adequate shelter, enclosed patio and basements are vital for you and your family to stay safe. Planning for the possibility of purchasing an insurance plan for the worst-case scenario is proactively the best thing you can do.
Remember, things happen and how we handle those things goes a long way toward our happiness and successes.
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