Anticipate Obstacles As Opportunities

Anticipate obstacles as opportunities. Remind yourself at the onset of a new endeavor or setting a goal that obstacles are in integral part of growth. Decide to see them as one of the ways that life shows us capacities we didn't know we had or reveals potentials in a situation we couldn't see before.
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian (from her book The Jewel of Abundance)

Consider the obstacles that you face in your life today. For those relationships that seem to present obstacles, can you re-interpret them as opportunities for you to grow? This Thanksgiving, I found that an apology opened the way for a better level of sharing with someone I have trouble communicating with. As a younger man, I began a couple of unfortunate careers that only seemed to present dead ends, but eventually I took one skill set I had acquired and turned it into success in an entirely different field. How could you re-interpret apparent obstacles as opportunities for growth or guidance toward new paths?