Have you ever hit a wall?
Walls in life can come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. They can be physical walls, like those that an endurance runner faces. When you near that last leg of the race, the “wall” is that moment when your body just seems to give up. Your energy is gone, your arms and legs feel like lead, and nothing in you believes that you’ll actually be able to cross that finish line.
Marathoners know the “wall” well.
But walls aren’t exclusive to marathoners.
Professionals hit walls, too. Whether it’s the brainstorming block that never seems to end, the 27th failed prototype, the negotiation that always seems to fall through, or the perpetually unhappy client. It’s the ornery boss, the gargantuan and seemingly impossible tasks, and the corporate blows that seem fatal.
Parents face walls. It might be a new baby who is just exhausting and you never feel like you’ll get any sleep. The terror of a toddler that you can’t admit isn’t a bundle of joy in front of company or the rebellious teenager that leaves you wondering where you went wrong.
For all of us of all walks and paths, we have walls. Those challenges that seem completely impossible to overcome, where we just don’t see the way out. All solutions seem as exhausted as we are.
But here’s my word of hope—every wall you face can be crushed.
Maybe you have to climb it and fall down a few times. Maybe you do take a sledgehammer to the wall. Maybe you have to spend a long time finding the edge of the wall to where you can finally walk around it.
But there is a way around every wall.
Here are my best tips for crushing any wall you face.
4 Effective Steps to Crushing Any Roadblock in Your Way
1) Look for appropriate support.
One of the biggest mistakes we make when facing a roadblock or daunting obstacle in our lives is trying to face it alone. Isolating ourselves is a big problem. A system of support through a difficult trial is critical to your success. Not only can your system of support potentially help you solve the problem at hand, but they are crucial in providing mental and emotional support.
2) Make a plan of attack.
The obstacles that seem insurmountable often become manageable when we are able to step back and make a plan. Maybe you just need to take a deep breath, stop, and make a new plan of attack. Break your problem down into chunks. Make a schedule for yourself where you can tackle your problem in smaller parts and sections. Build up to a crescendo rather than trying to solve it all in one moment or instant.
Stepping back and allowing yourself room to really plan and strategize and giving yourself time to come up with solutions may be what you really need.
3) Make room for self-care.
Some of us get so wrapped up in solving the problem before us that we neglect to take care of ourselves. What we fail to realize is how essential self-care is to crushing the walls in our lives—be they physical, mental, professional, or personal. We have to prioritize our physical well-being, like getting enough sleep, nutrition, and exercise, as well as fulfilling other needs like socialization and emotional support, if we hope to be in the best condition to reach our goals and push through tough times.
4) Eliminate your negativity.
Lastly, we have to eliminate negativity. When faced with a seemingly impossible challenge, it’s all-too-easy to get negative. When we’ve been discouraged by defeats and setbacks, we can fall into negative patterns of thinking: seeing no solutions, expecting failure, or feeling anxiety, fear, and dread.
This negativity, however, can quickly turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Be careful! Thinking positively and simply believing that you can conquer the challenge in front of you, believing that there is hope, that there is a solution, and that you will make it through to the other side can make all the difference in whether you will or not.
Don’t allow negative emotions and negative thinking the be the difference between failure and success. Catch yourself when you find negativity creeping in and replace those thoughts with positive ones.
Remember that the obstacles in front of you are rarely as big and world-shattering as they seem in the moment. Take it one step at a time and rest in knowing that this too shall pass.
What are your best tips for tackling your "walls" in life? Share your advice in the comments.