5 Tips to Overcome Life’s Challenges

We are constantly faced with challenges such as passing an exam or reviving a collapse business. One thing is certain in these circumstances; we are left with choices to embrace, yes choices– to give up or to overcome. This article entails strategies you can use to tackle and overcome any critical challenge you might face in life.





1. Assess the challenge
Many people make the mistake of trying to solve a challenge without critically assessing it to know the reasons of its occurence, assuming the right solution for the wrong problem. But unfortunately, this will result into unfruitful effort with wasted resources. Next time you are bashed with life’s challenging circumstances, assess the challenge to see what caused it using the root cause analysis approach where you list out factors that contributed to such challenge to identify its real cause, this will guide you in mapping out the right strategy to overcome the challenge.

2. Map out your strategy
Direction per time is essential to winning a war; soldiers after gathering intels will strategise the methodology to win the war. The mistake most people make is to allow their emotion drive the way they think and set out to face a challenge even after assessing it without a clear cut direction and strategy on how to win. What this brings is that you won’t be able to measure your progress and know the point you are in the war. This is the same reason why people experience near-success syndrome. Map out the necessary strategies after assessing a challenge.

3. Have the right attitude
Nothing can make you inferior without your permission. Challenges will try to take away your motivation but you have the responsibility to stay focused and remind yourself why you started – your goals. This desire must continually fuel your self-motivation mechanism. With the right attitude towards facing challenges, you will see challenges as examination whose joy comes after seeing your A grade. This approach will keep your head floating when your resources and human capital are all inadequate and you feel like giving up. Never allow the thought of giving in find root in your heart, apply the extinguisher of self-motivation ad infinitum.

4. Get mentors
A Leo watches her mother as she carefully hurts her prey until the young lion can attain the same feast and go after his prey. Life challenges can be solved to a large extent if people can swallow their pride, can walk up to people (mentor) who have trod the path they are in and ride on their experiences in avoiding pitfalls on their path, a problem shared is half-solved. A student struggling with good grades should walk up to a senior who has passed the same class for assistance; this applies to any other scenario. This simple act will increase success rate by over 70%. Mentors are invaluable in overcoming  critical challenges, having a mentor to guide you is like a 10 year old boy with 50 years brain using 30 years experience.
''I can see farther because I stand on the shoulders of giants'' -- Sir Isaac Newton

5. Read books
Most people are limited by their experiences and knowledge thereby addressing a challenge with bias and insincerity. I hear people say they could not solve a problem because no one has experienced it in their locality but they never checked through books. Books are weapon that can make you experience how others think and take you to places where the same challenge you are currently facing has been solved. Wisdom is profitable to direct and it is indispensible to get understanding in all your ways.

Folarin Oluwasayo is a final year student of Civil Engineering, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is a fellow of Nigeria Student Leaders Program Class of 2016 and a Common Purpose Alumni. He loves reading, writing and solving societal problems.