Turning Obstacles into Opportunities
Challenges, hardships, speed bumps, character builders…no matter what you call them, sports are full of them. Sports are littered with obstacles – from small to big and from self-made to externally imposed. Oddly, this is partly what makes sports so fun.
Obstacles, while frustrating in the moment, lead to exhilaration when they are overcome. Winning in a blowout over a team in a lower league feels nothing like beating last year’s champion in a close match. Obstacles give you a chance to test your skills, to stretch your abilities, and to discover what is possible for you.
You may have coaches or parents that tell you to “look at the bright side” or to “find the silver lining” when faced with these obstacles. This is helpful in telling you WHAT to do, but it lacks the HOW that can allow you to face these obstacles head on and move through them. Here is your how-to guide that allows you to do just that:
OLI
Observe
Instead of just barreling straight towards an obstacle, take a moment to pause and get a really good understanding of what is happening right now. Gathering information can help you determine a better path forward and keep you from getting lost within your emotions.
Questions to ask yourself:
What can I observe about what is happening? What specifically is the challenge? Is it something I can control or is it an uncontrollable? How are other people responding to this obstacle?
Learn
Obstacles usually provide you with an opportunity to learn about yourself – your skills, your areas of weakness, your network of support. Shift to look at the obstacle as a lesson for you to learn, that will help you launch forward in your athletic endeavors.
Questions to ask yourself:
What can this obstacle teach me? What am I learning from this particular struggle? Why is this so hard for me currently? Has this always been a challenge for me or is this something new? Is there something particular about this obstacle that is tripping me up? What am I missing within this obstacle? Do I have someone within my support team that can help me?
Improve
Observing and learning are necessary, but not sufficient. You have to take action. Based on what you gained from those two steps, you need to identify how you are going to improve. Be sure you think about this on two levels:
Improving within the current challenge
Improving after this challenge so you will be better prepared in the future
Questions to ask yourself:
What can I do today to help me improve in the face of this challenge? How can I be the best version of myself despite this obstacle? How can I redefine success within the challenge I’m facing? What do I need to work on in training over this next week? Who can I connect with to help me learn the skills to handle this obstacle? How can I be better prepared physically and mentally for an obstacle similar to this in the future?
Challenges are normal and incredibly beneficial in making progress as an athlete if you know how to face them and work through them. The next time you face an obstacle – OLI. Not only will you see success within the moment, but this also sets you up to continue reaching new heights in your athletic career.
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