Perception is how we see and understand what occurs around us. It’s also how we decide what those events mean to us and how we respond to them.

In his book The Obstacle Is The Way, Ryan Holiday says perception is essential to overcome obstacles that stop us or slows us down from achieving what we want in our lives.

By changing how you see things can help greatly to overcome them. To this Holiday suggests:

Be objective
Obstacles are neither good nor bad. They just are! We have a choice to see the obstacle as a negative or positive experience. Typically, most of us will see obstacles as a negative and that determines how we deal with it. The longer you stay in the negative the more likely you will not find a solution.

Choose to see the good in a situation
When you can see the good you are more likely to take action. By seeing the obstacle as a positive, you will deal with it differently and be able to find a solution a lot sooner than if you let your negative emotions take control.

Live in the present moment
You can’t deal with an obstacle if the only things you think about are what should have happened and what might happen. We need to focus on what we can do not what we cannot do. By focusing on what you can control allows you to deal with the obstacle you are facing not worrying about what you have no influence or control over.

Often just changing the way you see things is enough to find and answer or opens the door to where you will find an answer.

What in your life do you need to see differently?