Obstacles are what make simple things hard to do. When a problem approaches you to make a practical change, often the real need is addressing the hidden obstacles that thwart progress.

For example, if the goal is setting control of one’s schedule, the real issue may be standing up to others’ demands and saying no or completing what seems to be boring responsibility instead of chasing the excitement of a new dream: or admitting that you’re addicted to work. Change is rarely as simple as it looks on the surface. It is helpful to remember: “If it was easy, you’d have done it already.”

Obstacles can be practical, external factors, like time and money: or internal barriers such as fears, beliefs or needs.

Below are questions for surfacing these different types of obstacles.

Identifying External Obstacles

• What is stopping you?
• What makes this hard so you are unable to get it done?
• What do you need that you don’t have to reach your goal?
• What external factors will your plan have to account for if it is going to work?
• When you’ve tried to make changes like this in the past, what got in the way?
• Is there a key obstacle here, that if you conquered that one thing, it would make a difference in reaching this goal?
• What one resource or tool would make all the difference if you had it?

Identifying Internal Obstacles

• What goes inside of you when you think of trying to overcome this problem? Feel free to name an emotion, a physical sensation, a memory, anything.
• Relax for a minute and pay attention to what’s going on in you. Where do you feel pressure or strain or stress around this idea/situation?
• You have identified that it’s hard to make this change. What do you gain from not changing?
• What would you lose that’s important to you if you did change?
• What’s your worst case scenario here? What’s the fear behind that? Think about where this could be rooting from?
• What’s driving your responses?
• What belief is behind your responses? How well is that belief serving you?
• What’s the critical voice in you saying about this situation?

Identifying Obstacles Exercise

• What obstacles came to the surface?
• How did you discover them?
• What did you learn about yourself through the process?

Obstacles are where many people get stuck from moving forward. What steps can you take this week to break free?

What are your next steps?

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