Are problems that we face in our life barriers to success, or just life challenges we can overcome?

A few years ago, I went to spectate the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon to cheer on several friends who were competing in the event to challenge themselves, their bodies, and particularly their minds.  I expected to see men and women of all different ages, body types and shapes, and varying levels of training programs, striving to complete the event and perhaps achieve a personal best.  What I did not anticipate was the young boy (I estimate that he was about 12-13 years of age) clicking off a 5.5 minute mile (speedy!), the vast array of emotions of the relay teams and individuals supporting charities and causes held so important to them, and another sight that captured the day for me . . . the sight of one particular woman competing . . . the woman whose left leg was amputated below the knee and who was racing with a prosthetic, finishing strong and with the most glorious look of accomplishment on her face as she crossed the finish line.

This woman signified to me the strength of our human resolve.  Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about her, yet I stood in awe (cheering, of course!) because she had completed a triathlon with a circumstance that might have been an impasse to some, yet was “only” a hurdle to her.

And so it begged to me a question, “can we choose to reduce things that seem like barriers to mere hurdles?”  Perhaps not with all circumstances.  Yet with determination, a solid plan and fans cheering us on, perhaps we can find that some of life’s “dead ends” are not ends at all, but are challenges we can work toward overcoming.  I remain, to this day, inspired by that woman’s determination and resolve not only to complete the race, but to do so much faster than most of us could!