Break Through Your Challenges

By Terri Norvell

Have you ever broken a board with your bare hand? No? Most people believe they can’t do it because a wooden board appears harder and stronger than your hand.  It looks intimidating. Many don’t believe that the feat is possible and have a hard time focusing on that outcome.

Well, the board is actually a tangible analogy for whatever might be holding you back. Just like it seems impossible to break the board, it often seems impossible to overcome other challenges. We often feel that same level of apprehension when trying to effect change, when we feel stuck or at an impasse.

However, the power to break through any obstacle is within you at all times. It will be there when you are ready to trust in yourself and call on it. It takes a keen focus on what you want to achieve versus what is standing in your way. (Go back and read the previous sentence again…it’s very profound!)

Now imagine you are facing that wooden board, you take a deep breath, you raise your hand in preparation of striking, you can feel all of your energy, concentration and focus, you have nothing in your mind other than going beyond that board—going right through it like butter! And when you succeed, you feel the exuberance of success, the adrenaline rushing through your body, the thrill of victory! You did it!

And then, that quiet calm comes over you. You sense the meaning of what you achieved by doing something that only minutes ago you thought impossible. You just gained proof. Proof that you can also break through whatever challenges seem insurmountable in your life.

In a board-breaking exercise, the moment your hand connects with the wood is your touch point, your moment of truth.

If you are ready, willing and focused on going through that wood, then you will successfully break through! If however, you simply meet the wood or deliver a half-hearted attempt, you will not break through. You in effect have chosen to stop yourself, to not trust yourself at the moment when you are so close to reaching beyond what has previously seemed impossible.

When you are committed and more focused on what you want to achieve than what’s in your way, you will easily break through.

In my most recent surveys, findings indicated that the fear of failure is one of the most notable obstacles that people feel limit their success. This fear of failure shows up in many forms. It includes lack of self-confidence, holding back rather than speaking up, feeling insecure, and dealing with too much change.

Certainly our economic fluctuations are cause for challenges, many times our work and our families help us to see personal challenges, and with any new beginnings you may be anticipating challenges. Each of these concerns is like a board, an obstacle in the way of becoming who you want to become, performing how you want to perform and achieving what is desired.

Do you have any mental obstacles and challenges you are facing in your life right now? The physical process of breaking through that board with your bare hand gives you the inner trust and proof that nothing is impossible! How exciting to know that you have the personal power within you to accomplish anything you focus your mind on. You are very powerful indeed!

Warning: Do not attempt a board-breaking exercise on your own. There is more to this process than simply a piece of wood. To achieve the outcomes you want for yourself and your team plan to attend “Break To What Really Matters” on May 18, 2011. It’s one of the most powerful experiences you will have. Promise!  Register for this event today on www.charlestonapartmentassociation.com.

Terri Norvell is a break through expert and success master. She assists individuals and teams to be their best... to thrive with change, overcome obstacles and take targeted actions to achieve their goals. Participants in her sessions gain proof and confidence that they can achieve whatever they focus upon! She has a proven track record of success as vice president for a $1.2 billion property management and development firm, general manager for a $9 million temporary housing company and with many business start-ups. To learn more or to schedule a performance session for your team go to www.TerriNorvell.com or contact Terri at 303-439-0077 or terri@TerriNorvell.com.