What Psychology Says About Obstacles

Believe it or not, but most obstacles are in our heads. As a result, looking at psychology can help us learn how to overcome obstacles and live a better life. In this article, I’m going to tell you the three biggest things that psychology says about obstacles. Let’s get to it.

Mindset Matters

The most important thing that psychology teaches us about obstacles is that mindset matters. Countless of studies have shown that a person’s mindset or perspective will make all the difference. Having a defeatist or fixed mindset is a recipe for disaster while having an optimistic and growth mindset will help you overcome any obstacle that comes your way.

The worst mindset that you can have when it comes to obstacles is viewing the world as against you or viewing yourself as a failure. Both of these mindsets are guaranteed to set you up for failure. This often incites a never ending cycle of pessimistic mindsets.

In contrast, one of the best mindsets to have is a growth mindset. A growth mindset helps you view any weakness or challenge as an opportunity to grow. You don’t get fixated on the negative. Instead, you know that you have the ability to get better, eventually helping you overcome the obstacle.

The STOP Method

Another important thing that psychology teaches us is the STOP method. STOP is an acronym for stop, take a step back, observe, and proceed. This method may seem incredibly basic, and it is, with good reason.

Begin by stopping what you are doing whenever you are faced with an obstacle. Stopping gives you the opportunity to take a step back and observe your own emotions. Your emotions need to be recognized in any obstacle to give you a bit of guidance about yourself and the situation.

Once you observe yourself, you can proceed mindfully. Mindful continuation means that you continue to touch back on your emotions and reflect on the process. This gives you the opportunity to continue to develop yourself throughout the entire obstacle.

During the STOP method, it is helpful to think about what advice you would give someone else if they were in your shoes. As humans, we are often much more critical and pessimistic of ourselves. By thinking about what advice you would give someone else, you take a much more unbiased perspective on your own situation.

We Can Become More Resilient

Finally, the third thing that I’m going to talk about that psychology teaches us is that we can become more resilient. What does this mean? Well, the fact that we can become more resilient tells us that we can become more capable at overcoming obstacles.

The more obstacles we face, the better we will be at facing them. That’s because we learn crucial facts about ourselves, the reality of the world, and overcoming obstacles with every challenge that faces us. As a result, we continue to grow so that we become better and better obstacle beaters.

At this point, this fact of psychology should be ringing a bell. Doesn’t it sound like what the growth mindset teaches us? It does. The fact that we can become more resilient shows exactly how the growth mindset works in life. So, have a growth mindset because it is realistic to our psychology. We can become more resilient as time goes on.

Final Thoughts

All in all, psychology teaches us that we really shouldn’t be that scared of obstacles. Instead, psychology shows us that mindset matters, the STOP method works, and we can become more resilient. Together, these three teachings can help us overcome any challenge that comes our way.

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