Conquer the Obstacles

Conquer the Obstacles: Obstacles are something everyone encounters in life. The trick of a successful life is to conquer the obstacles as they appear.  I can vividly remember doing my basic training in the navy many years ago. We would get hauled out of bed at a ridiculous hour and marched in the cold to an obstacle course. I was very young at the time and never understood what the navy was doing or why they were doing it. At the time it appeared to me as if my government had hired people who had a sadistic streak in their personality, and paid them to design these obstacle courses.  I honestly believed they were trying to kill us.  Looking back today, hopefully much wiser and certainly much richer from those experiences, I realize that they were trying to toughen us up, make men out of boys. The obstacles were causing my peers and me to get in touch with something within us we didn't even know was there. There is something else of real value I can see today that I totally missed years ago. Although there was always a certain amount of hostility felt by everyone prior to these marches, it was an enthusiastic group that returned- tired, but enthused. We had accomplished something; we conquered the obstacles. The leaders we referred to as sadistic prior to the march suddenly turned into good guys when we returned victorious. They were the same people with whom we were laughing and joking. If you are in the middle of what appears to be an obstacle course today, reach out to meet the obstacles. Conquer them, and I guarantee that you will see yourself as a stronger, wiser, and happier person.  (Excerpts from a Bob Proctor book)