Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Hurdles are very helpful

Yes, hurdles help you in many ways than you think. It is not about the challenging freaks who are bent on taking risks and cannot bear a life of any less adventure. It is also not about the high adrenaline levels that movies and television soaps feature. It is more about the common story of life. The only common thing about the lives of the billions of people is that they are all filled with hurdles. It might be difficult to think of a person who led life without any hurdle. Indeed, birth and death are the biggest hurdles and we take our time to get used to these things. You might be wondering how hurdles can be helpful to a common man in the workplace. Here are some interesting observations.

Hurdles make you more competitive. Yes, competition is the biggest hurdle that anyone can face in the corporate life and it is this hurdle that makes you more competitive. It is not as confusing as it appears. It is just that hurdles and competition are synonymous and if you take them in the right spirit, you grow by leaps and bounds. However, if you are bogged down by every little hurdle and every inane competitor, you might never end up becoming the entreprenuer the way you always dreamed.

Hurdles keep you up and running. Imagine a life without hurdles. You will never step out and venture doing anything. You might be so content in your life that you ultimately become sedentary. Hurdles remind you of the fact that you must strive towards improving things and your life. It is not a suggestion to lead a restless life. Indeed, they are an indication that you deserve a lot more and you need to work in that direction.

Hurdles bring out the best in you. Many great people have known their hidden talents only when they had to face some hurdles. Here is a small example: (Source: Wikipedia.org)

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks became famous for refusing to obey bus driver James Blake's order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. This action of civil disobedience started the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which is one of the largest movements against racial segregation. In addition, this launched Martin Luther King, Jr., who was involved with the boycott, to prominence in the civil rights movement. She has had a lasting legacy worldwide.

She also detailed her motivation in her autobiography, My Story
“ People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in. ”


When Parks refused to give up her seat, a police officer arrested her. As the officer took her away, she recalled that she asked, "Why do you push us around?" The officer's response as she remembered it was, "I don't know, but the law's the law, and you're under arrest." She later said, "I only knew that, as I was being arrested, that it was the very last time that I would ever ride in humiliation of this kind."

Visit this link for further information about Rosa Parks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks

You cannot but appreciate the fact that this hurdle added fuel to the fire and triggered a series of events that changed course of American history. So, never underestimate the significance of hurdles in your life.

Hurdles add to your experience and keep you prepared for everything. Thomas Alva Edison strived for one and a half year experimenting different elements to come up with an incandescent lamp. Finally, he found one with a filament of carbonized thread that burned for thirteen and half hours. The rest is history. You must therefore accept the fact that successful people are unfazed by hurdles. They indeed take advantage of the hurdles and strive to reach their goals.

So, begin today by looking at the positive side of hurdles.

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