The best tool for overcoming life’s challenges lies within you.

It would be great to think that life is one big joy ride whereby one is able to live in a manner which pleases them, with no worries and hardships or even consequences for their actions, but let’s be realistic, that is simply being delusional. Thus the hurdles we face in our daily lives are simply inevitable - big or small something unexpected, stressful and emotionally draining is bound to happen regardless of how prepared we think we are for it. So it is wise to be knowledgeable and skilful enough to know how to deal with the obstacles you are facing in a manner which will enable you to not only overcome them but also build your character and liberate you as an individual.

It begins with you, regardless of the reason why you are in your situation at the moment, you are there to learn from it and that is why the challenging experience becomes the tool for transition into a more rational, peaceful and understanding you, that is being the best person you can be at this point in your life.In order to navigate through personal hardships with direction and courage, here is a simple 5 step guide to assist...

- Be calm you - have probably heard this a lot more than you can recall , but it is essential to keep calm because only when you are calm , your emotions are at ease which helps you in being more rational about your thoughts.

· Self-introspect- this is the part where you need to break away from the internal and external noises (chaos, conflict, doubts, faults, responsibility, blame etc) and be alone .In this time you use it to be in touch with who you are, how you truly feel about the situation and your role and responsibility in it. This allows you to gain perspective of what you are able to do and how you will do it in order to try make things better for you. (Do not deplete your resources as it will only make you feel helpless and frustrated if things do not work according to your plan.)

· Think like a survivor- thinking like a winner is good but its more about thriving or competing in favourable conditions, while a survivor on the other hand is even better as you mentally equip yourself to survive in the most unfavourable of conditions; basically doing whatever you can to stay afloat again. Thinking like a survivor not only keeps you focused, it is also liberating as you learn more about yourself (strengths vs. weaknesses) and discovering more things about you that you identified when you pushed yourself to the limit in order to survive.

· Focus on you - in most cases the difficulties you face correlates with someone else’s involvement in one way or the other and playing the blame game seems in order, but fight that selfish urge of doing it. Besides it being a waste of time it does not change the situation at hand so in order to progress and keep your sanity focus on your part of the deal, be the better person.

· It is important to be positive through the journey to overcoming your dilemma and truly believe that what you are going through is temporary, simply a learning curve. So when you look for solutions objectively, learn more about yourself within that process because the experiences you go through now, equip you for a better future.

These are 5 basic steps to help you deal with obstacles which put you between a rock and a hard place but yet enabling you to be the better you!

Remember that how you feel and perceive yourself in times of distress, predetermines how your entire journey of getting out of your situation will unfold..