Overcome obstacles by going with what you know Published Feb. 15, 2012 By Chief Master Sgt. Terry Kirkbride 349th Air Mobility Wing acting command chief TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Often the things blocking our path in life can help us find the way to our goals. Understanding those obstacles can help us focus on our goals and give us clues to overcome the barriers. When encountering an obstacle, remind yourself that obstacles are not your enemies; they are your teachers. Every day we are faced with life challenges. Sometimes the challenges defeat us and sometimes we are victorious. It is from both the experience of winning and losing that we learn and grow. Sometimes we let our mind drive us too far forward with our daily challenges. If you get too far out there, fears, worries and unknowns tend to make us feel overwhelmed, like a person lost in the wilderness. When you find yourself feeling lost, stop, think and take an objective look at the obstacles in your life. The knowledge you find might help you understand the roles obstacles play in your life and help you get them to work for you instead of against you. The truth is, the scene we played in our minds rarely unfolds as reality. You must keep in mind that what you know is partial and incomplete. Experience can help you fill in some of the pieces. As we take on the challenges of the day we need to walk in the clarity of what life has taught us. All of us face both minor and major challenges in our lives. How we deal with those life challenges determines how we experience life - as a struggle to survive or as an ongoing adventure in growth and fulfillment. When you feel overwhelmed, ask yourself, have I been here before? Maybe not this exact place, but with some other event from the past or a situation like this that made you feel the same. At that instant ask yourself how you coped? How you dealt with it? Then take a breath and go with what you know.