ON USING OBSTACLES AS A FUEL FOR THE FIRE...

YOU DON’T SUCCEED IN SPITE OF YOUR OBSTACLES, YOU SUCCEED BECAUSE OF IT.

You succeed through your perseverance. Pouring all your heart and soul into a cause that you truly believe in is all-consuming, no matter how simple it looks. Every journey- personal or for a greater purpose- requires you to not only be passionate but also extremely patient, for actions don’t always bring immediate results, and quite often there exist more forces to push you down than help you up again. But you succeed, in spite of your obstacles. 

You firmly place one foot in front of another. You falter, you stumble, but you keep walking. The process tests you in every way- it makes you question your decisions, then it questions your techniques. Makes you compare yourself with others, constantly making you wonder what went wrong. It calls you insane, tells you that you are missing out on things you can easily live with at peace. Then come in the audience. The ones who can make or break you. The ones who would watch you from the sidelines and offer you the advice you never asked for, recommend things you don’t need. Of course, there are some who truly care for you and it’s easy to identify them- they trust you (sometimes even more than you trust yourself). Next up making a grand entry is the luck factor-some prefer to call it destiny- when you watch the universe letting you down even when you are doing your best every day. Telling you to give up on the path you’ve chosen and to return to the place you came from. So you halt and take a few steps back, initially horrified, only to sprint on your way ahead. Because you realize something you have known all along.

 You succeed because of your obstacles. 

Now you have begun to enjoy it. You even try to predict the next obstacle (it’s a sad but fun game), trying not only to think of ways to overcome it but also understand what to learn from it. You strategize, you have your backups, you face it head-on, you fall, you rise back up. The process feels fun, like a blessing in disguise. You tell destiny to play its cards to go with its flow. You internally smirk when you see the stunned expressions and the embarrassed looks of the people who spoke behind your back. It’s almost like you want to record their speechless voices. Most importantly, you are happy. The peace you always yearned for, is right here. You thank destiny, you thank yourself and you thank your obstacles- for showing you the real people, and what you are truly capable of. You never give up and when you look behind, you don’t see the obstacles anymore, just the landmarks of your progress. You succeed. 

- Srushti Shetty(Instagram)