Obstacles are often seen in purely financial or practical terms, but they can also be emotional or internal. This is particularly the case where money is concerned, as money can give rise to the powerful and debilitating emotions of fear, envy and anger.

 

However, obstacles need to be dealt with or else our aspirations will never become reality. Indeed, the first place to start dealing with obstacles is in our goals themselves, hence Henry Ford’s view that: “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes of the road”. Whether Ford was talking about the experiences of early drivers or on a more metaphysical level is not clear, but the message remains the same. With a clear destination and a road map, obstacles fall by the wayside. Goals are more than just a list of aspirations; they give us energy, courage and discipline to deal with obstacles.

Dealing with obstacles is about meeting reality head on and seeking the truth about ourselves, and that often causes pain and discomfort. To create and live the roadmap to our goals and an authentic life requires us to overcome that pain, which in turn requires dedication to our goals and our true selves. Any discomfort we experience in dealing with obstacles should be welcomed. It may involve a journey through our own “dark wood”, but as Dante and many others have observed, that is often what is required to achieve the goal.

So in dealing with obstacles its necessary to revisit our goals, relighting the torch time and again. It is necessary to confront internal obstacles head on, especially dependency, innocent beliefs, integrity blocks and ignorance. And of course it is necessary to deal with external o b s t a c l e s , especially financial obstacles and the implications of our goals for our longer-term financial security. For this, a lifetime cash flow is essential, and we will look at this next month.