Stop Thinking It's Supposed to Be Easy.

We've been sold the lie that what we want is supposed to be handed to us.

That what is meant for us will somehow wiggle its way into our lives.

That it's supposed to be this constant linear path. Achievement after achievement with little to no obstacles.

We've been sold over and over the idea that convenience is the way to go.

But I've found out that convenience is the way to keep ourselves stuck and stagnant.

I'm not saying that something good is too good to be true.

I am saying that expecting there won't be any obstacles along the way is too good to be true.

The saying 'nothing worthwhile comes easy' exists for a reason.

We have these cliche sayings when we find ourselves in difficult moments and situations.

Although it's annoying to hear them when you're in the midst of a struggle, it's also a reminder that you're probably headed in the right direction.

It's true that nothing worthwhile comes easy.

More importantly, as humans, we assign value to things, and we assign even greater value to the things that require great effort.

If you're handed a car, you won't feel as accomplished or proud compared to if you worked for months, saved your money, and bought it yourself.

The satisfaction comes from the work it took to get there, not the item itself.

This is why I feel bad for kids who get everything handed to them.

They're being robbed of ever feeling proud of themselves or accomplished for doing something on their own.

They're being robbed of the opportunity to prove to themselves that they can.

And many of us are doing the same by thinking the path to accomplish our goals is supposed to be easy-going.

Living authentically and working towards your dreams will be a crazy rollercoaster ride with unexpected twists and turns.

Hearing that used to scare me, but now it excites me because it means my life will be an adventure!

(It already is).

It's funny how we say we want a life of adventure, but once it comes knocking on our door, we try to shut it as fast as possible.

We do that out of instinct.

We're still mammals who, like any other animal out there, prefer the comfort of safety and of what's known.

But as human beings, we need more.

We need the pursuit of accomplishment, meaning, and purpose.

In our day and age, we need to know that what we're doing counts towards something more than ourselves.

But too many of us, too many times, talk ourselves out of pursuing our goals and living an adventurous life out of fear that what we want won't come so easily.

But if you're serious about pursuing more and creating the life you want, always remember that nothing worthwhile comes easy.

The saying 'smooth seas never made a skilled sailor' exists for a reason.

Another reason I've learned the journey is not supposed to be easy is because obstacles, challenges, and struggles shape and mold us into resilient problem-solvers — people who can keep the results of the goals we accomplished.

We need to struggle for two reasons — to learn how to actually solve a problem and to prove to ourselves we have what it takes to solve the problem.

When you don't believe you can overcome an obstacle, you get stuck.

And getting stuck is where dreams and hopes die.

You feel like there's no way out, no reason to try or keep growing and changing.

Changing your mindset about what obstacles and challenges represent is the key to begin moving forward again.

A reader left a comment on another blog I wrote that said, 'The obstacle is the way.' It was a quote from an author I can't recall, but this sentence pretty much embodies what challenges are.

Challenges, obstacles, struggles, problems, whatever else you want to call them, are the tests you need to pass to prove to yourself that you have what it takes to deal with whatever you're going to pursue.

And if you want to transform your life, to turn dreams into your reality, then you need to expect obstacles, but more importantly, learn to appreciate them because they will teach you the skills necessary to accomplish the goals you've set for yourself.

I used to dream of the day when I no longer needed to deal with problems.

Now that I'm a little wiser, I've learned that this life we live will never be void of them.

It's simply a fact.

But rather than drown myself in my frustrations, I worked on changing my mindset.

Because, one, that's all I could do and, two, that’s all it really takes — a change in perspective.

When I changed my perspective about what obstacles meant, I was freed to think of a way to solve them.

I was free to think that I could become a resilient problem solver who could overcome any obstacle.

And you can, too.

All you need to do to begin is open your mind.

Open your mind to the idea that there’s a different way to handle your circumstances and that you’re capable of changing and evolving, and becoming the kind of person who can handle problems and challenges.