Overcoming obstacles can be a wild and challenging experience. We don’t see what’s causing our block, and sometimes we need more context. Unfortunately, we all lack a fortune teller ball that peaks into our future and tells us how we did it. However, if you want what’s on the other side, then you’ll need to put all your time, energy, and resources into figuring out how to overcome obstacles that pop up along the way. In this article, we’ll share the 13 ways to overcome obstacles that could work well for your situation.
13 Ways to Overcome Obstacles in 2025
1. Create a plan
One of the ways to overcome obstacles is to create a plan. When you sit down and think about a plan of action (and yes, you could get help on this if you need it), you think ahead to the possible solutions. If you were to imagine your future, the person and life you desire to have, what steps do you need to take to get there? What behaviors would you need to change? Who would you include in your inner circle? Who would you ask for mentorship help from? What alternative paths will help you reach your end goal?
Sometimes we can’t overcome obstacles because we’re not yet the person who can handle that obstacle. Instead, challenge yourself to change the only thing you can in this situation: yourself. Becoming a higher-level version of yourself will allow you to overcome obstacles you never thought you could. Acting like a leader or role model paving the way can let you handle such difficult situations with grace and confidence.
2. Learn from mistakes
When inventors create something new, we often look at the result with astonishment.
“How did they do it?” we quietly think to ourselves. However, they did it by fine-tuning and making revisions along the way. To overcome obstacles, you need to make multiple attempts in different ways until you find your way through. Learning from what didn’t work is a valuable lesson that helps you get to the point where you know what works.
If you don’t know how you made a mistake or why something didn’t work, ask for feedback from others. When you ask others for insights into why you failed, or something didn’t work out, it helps bring you closer to understanding what will work out. Feedback is the greatest gift for someone who wants to overcome obstacles. It educates you on what didn’t work the last time.
3. Meditate on it
Practicing a guided meditation is a great way to gain perspective after clearing your mind a bit. When you meditate, you’ll notice thoughts floating in and around your mind. Instead of attaching to those thoughts, notice them passing by. As you do this, you’ll calm the mind so that you have peace of mind. This helps you overcome obstacles in two ways. The first is by allowing you to get rid of the junk in your mind that makes you feel sad or makes you question whether or not you should give up. The second way is that sometimes your best ideas come after clearing your mind a bit. In the heat of the moment of defeat, we often beat ourselves up and discourage ourselves from thinking of solutions as we obsess with problems and mistakes. You can try a meditation video like the one below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGpgDfeDl8Q
4. Letting go of fears
When obstacles come our way, we often first think, “what is wrong with me?” because we question our ability to overcome obstacles like the one we’re facing. If you need to have a five-minute self-pity party before you amp yourself up, do it now and get it out of the way. To meet this obstacle head-on, you’re going to need to let go of all the doubts and fears running through your mind. You’re going to have to transform those thoughts into encouraging, supportive, and kind ones instead.
Let go of the past and the person who failed to overcome that obstacle the first time. You’ve already learned something from that failure. Now, it’s time to elevate yourself so you can overcome obstacles like this easily the second, third, or even fourth time around. Sometimes, it takes many attempts. But keep trying; we know this is what you need and want. So, put in the work physically, mentally, and emotionally.
5. Asking for help
Businesses don’t make billions of dollars with only one person at the helm. Succeeding in life always requires a large group of people to help you get there. You need to find your cheerleaders, mentors, and support system. Winning is typically a team effort, even in solo sports. There are always coaches, trainers, and assistants who support the person who ends up succeeding in the end. Find the people who will help you achieve what you set out to do.
6. Hype yourself up
The difference between the people who succeed and the people who don’t comes down to the thoughts played in their mind. If your happy thoughts tell you that you can do this, you’ll train harder and longer. If your negative thoughts tell you that life sucks, you won’t try as hard because you’ll be devastated if you try and fail. Instead, if you don’t try at all and you end up failing, you don’t need to blame yourself because no effort was put in. It’s a mental trick people do that hurts them in the end.
So, instead, be your hype fan. Look at your beautiful face in the mirror and tell yourself, “I’m the best. I’m going to overcome this obstacle and many others. I’m going to come up with several ideas on things I can do to work on overcoming this obstacle so I can jump this hurdle and the next twenty.”
7. Breaking it down
Overcoming obstacles becomes more manageable when breaking the solution into parts. If you want to overcome rejection from a company you applied to, you might choose to work at another company to build up experience to try again later. Or you might ask for freelance opportunities from that company so that they can build trust with you to eventually hire you. Breaking the goal down into chunks or different pathways can allow you to get closer to overcoming obstacles like the one you have ahead of you. There’s always a way to jump over an obstacle, but you’ve got to change your perspective on it.
8. Take a step back
There are times when we can’t overcome obstacles, and eventually, we realize it’s because it’s not what we want. So often, we live life for other people. People typically want us to do the things they want from us rather than letting us do what we want. When was the last time you asked yourself, ”Is overcoming obstacles like this what I want out of life or what someone else wants out of my life?” You might realize that maybe you’re hitting a roadblock because the mental block in your head is telling you that this isn’t your passion or path. Reflect on what overcoming obstacles like this mean to you. Do you want to push forward or turn to a new direction? No matter what the decision is, let it be your decision to make.
9. Never give up
Now, if you decide that this path is the one you want, you must never give up on it. You’re so talented and intelligent. Don’t let obstacles get in the way of that. People will do backflips, jump, climb, or walk the long way around the barrier to get through, but eventually, they make it, and you will too. There are millions of ways to reach your goals in life. Don’t let the inner critic stop you from achieving your dreams. Being given the opportunity to live is a huge feat. Now, make the most of your life by doing everything you can to overcome obstacles to get what you want out of life. As long as you don’t stop you, it doesn’t matter who stands in your way. All that matters is that you still keep trying and persist.
10. Find out the truth
Often, when we’re presented with an obstacle, we don’t have the whole story. Sometimes, people will tell you one thing, while behind your back, the story they tell is entirely different. The general rule of thumb is that if you tend to be brutally honest with people, they will usually dish it back to you. So, be honest and persistent about finding out why these obstacles are in front of you. Have people spill the truth to you no matter how painful it is to hear. Practice, patience, hard work, and effort will make overcoming obstacles easier. But you can’t move forward until you know the real cause of the block. So force it out of people so you can make hard changes and push forward.
11. Improve your skills
When overcoming obstacles, consider reading books, taking courses, chatting with people who’ve overcome the same barriers, and learning as much as you can about what you need to do to improve your skills. The more you obsess with learning how to overcome obstacles, the easier it’ll be to overcome them. Whatever skills you need to know to allow you to push through to the next stage, learn them from as many sources as you can. Ultimately, the more context you have from books, people, courses, friends, family, or anyone you know who’s been through it, the likelier it’ll be for it to click so you get the lightbulb moment.
12. Pivoting in a new direction
The line towards overcoming obstacles is never straight. There’s a lot of loops and hoops to go through. You’ll always need to learn as much as you can to get through to the next level. However, if you decide that maybe this goal isn’t for you, it might be time to pivot somewhere else entirely. Believe it or not, as long as you stay true to your values, you can achieve so much happiness no matter what you do next.
If you realize you aren’t happy with what’s beyond the obstacles, it might be time to consider a new path altogether. So, sit down, think about where you see yourself in five, ten, and twenty years, and work towards that direction. Achieving goals is never easy, but you need to want it bad to move forward. It’s okay to admit that sometimes, this isn’t what you want. You can still be successful and happy on a different path.
13. Practice makes perfect
After learning all you can about what it’ll take to overcome this obstacle, you’ll need to put it into practice. Start acting like the person you want to be or the type of person who could handle the obstacle you’re facing. For example, if your obstacle is a lack of money, you might start behaving like a person who has money. You might begin to budget, invest the little money you have, act like a person in a senior leadership role, or improve your physical appearance to present a wiser and richer image of yourself. By living the values of a person who has overcome obstacles you’ll face, you’ll inch closer to jumping over the challenges you face.
Conclusion
Overcoming obstacles is always possible. As long as you know this is what you truly want for yourself, you can achieve anything by learning, getting mentorship, building a support system, and trying other pathways to the other side. If this isn’t what you want for yourself, it’s okay too. Focus on what would make you happy and successful in another way. It’s never too late, no matter your age. Don’t allow limiting beliefs to get in the way of your thinking. You’re unstoppable, so don’t stop pushing through to overcome obstacles that stand in the way along the course of your life. We believe in you, and you should believe in yourself too.
