|
Facing obstacles is a combination of defiance and a "can do" attitude that says obstacles are problems to be solved and barriers to overcome.
“Other people may tell you your idea may never work, or that it’s already been done, or that they tried it and it didn’t work for them. Do it anyway.”Karen LeCocq, award winning sculptor  No one who is successful gets where she wants to go without encountering obstacles of various shapes and sizes. They’re simply part of the landscape. Some come from outside; products of family, friends, co-workers, a tough business environment, or societal expectations. Others come from within. Your worst critic may come from the person who looks back at you in the mirror telling you that you can’t or shouldn’t do something and playing your personal ‘stop tapes’ in your mind.
That’s normal. It’s your response to obstacle that is important. A creative, positive will to engage any obstacle and overcome it can be cultivated, usually with dramatic results. For some of us, that comes naturally. For others it has to be developed—as is often the case with people who may have to counter the expectations our society places on them, especially for women. Why women? Career counselors have observed that in the past women tried to make it in the world of business by adopting the dominant male model of behavior and success. They wore power suits, learned and played by the men’s rules, and assumed that success lay in climbing hierarchical ladders. They worked long hours to prove to themselves and to other that they could be successful. Even when they succeeded, many women felt that something was missing—the expression , perhaps, of a different model of working and living. Women are widely considered to have a “diffuse awareness”—the ability to do multiple tasks and to look at all aspect of a situation. In considering a decision, men tend to react to content and facts, women to relationship and context—where it fits in the big picture. This dissonance between their own experiences and the dominant business model often made women doubt their own judgment and ability at times. The antidote to over-reliance on rules is self-confidence —a self-confidence born of experience and a positive attitude. It also comes from taking on obstacles, from learning how to overcome them to how to compete in the business world on our own terms. Cheryl McLaughlin, former sports psychologist, sees business competition as similar to competition in sports. She explains, “Competition in sports means that you’re willingly choosing to participate in an activity where you put obstacles in the way of your success. Essentially, it’s a problem-solving activity. Your opponent’s job is to send you a lot of problems, and your job is to figure out how to solve them, then send a bunch of problems back. If you look at it in that way, the questions become: How well did I solve the problems today? How well did I even know what the problems were? Once I knew what they were, did I have the knowledge or skills to know what to do?” Cheryl’s take on competition can be extended to any kind of obstacle. Facing obstacles is a combination of defiance and a "can do" attitude that says obstacles are problems to be solved and barriers to overcome.
Have , Click here to see all my blogs Pam Gilberd, www.pamgilberd.net, writes and speaks on career, life, and success issues. Her books include: The Eleven Commandments of Wildly Successful Women., The Twelfth Commandment of Wildly Successful Women, and Leadership Secrets of Elizabeth I Leadership Secrets of Elizabeth I
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment! |
