When Life Puts Stumbling Blocks in Your Way

There are times in life when you know exactly where you want to go, but getting there seems harder than you ever imagined. You may have made your plans, set your goals, and told yourself that this is the year you are going to make a change. Then life starts putting stumbling blocks in your way.

The sky begins to look grey.

You look for work, but nobody seems to be hiring. You send out applications and hear nothing. You may have qualifications, experience and a willingness to work, yet the opportunity still does not come.

Money stops flowing the way it should. Bills continue to arrive. Food still has to be bought. Transportation still has to be paid. Children still have needs. Something in the home breaks down at the worst possible time. Just when you think you are catching yourself, another expense appears.

Then there can be pressure from relatives and other people around you. Sometimes the very people you expect to encourage you can become another headache. They may want your time when you need to work. They may want money when you are already struggling. They may question what you are trying to accomplish or tell you that your idea will never work.

When all these things start happening together, you can become overwhelmed.

You may sit down and ask yourself:

Where do I even start?

Start With What Is In Front of You

When ten things are going wrong, trying to fix all ten at the same time can leave you fixing nothing.

Start with what is immediately in front of you.

What needs your attention today?

What can wait until next week?

What can you control?

What is completely outside of your control?

These questions matter because sometimes we exhaust ourselves fighting situations that we cannot change while ignoring the small things that we actually can change.

You cannot force an employer to hire you.

You cannot force somebody to support your dream.

You cannot make money appear simply because you desperately need it.

But you can decide what your next move will be.

That is where you start.

When You Cannot Find Work

Not finding work can be one of life's hardest stumbling blocks because employment affects almost everything else.

You may wake up every morning looking for vacancies. You apply. You wait. You check your phone. You check your email. You ask people if they know of anything available.

Nothing happens.

After enough rejection—or even worse, complete silence—you can begin questioning yourself.

But while you continue looking for employment, ask another question:

What can I do in the meantime?

Maybe you know how to cook.

Maybe you can sew.

Maybe you know how to braid hair.

Maybe you can clean yards, wash vehicles, repair appliances, tutor children, grow vegetables, make craft items, bake, sell food, provide transportation, do electrical work, make natural products, or provide another service somebody needs.

It does not necessarily have to become your lifelong career.

Sometimes something small is simply a bridge between where you are and where you are trying to go.

A small income is still income.

A temporary opportunity is still an opportunity.

And sometimes the little thing you started because you couldn't find employment becomes something much bigger than you originally imagined.

When Money Is Not Flowing

Money problems can make every other problem feel heavier.

When money is flowing, you have choices. When it is not, even simple decisions can become stressful.

You begin calculating everything.

Can I pay this bill now?

Can this one wait?

Do I have enough for transportation?

Can I afford to buy what I need for the business?

Can I help this relative?

What happens if another emergency comes?

When money becomes tight, this is not the time to pretend that everything is fine. Look carefully at what is coming in and what is going out.

You may have to reduce something.

You may have to postpone something.

You may have to say, “I cannot afford that right now.”

There is no shame in recognising reality.

If you only have enough money to handle three things, you cannot spend as though you have enough to handle ten.

And sometimes getting through a difficult financial period means protecting the little you have until you can create another source of income.

Sometimes Family Can Become a Stumbling Block

Family is important. Relatives can be some of our greatest supporters.

But that is not always the reality.

Sometimes relatives can become part of the pressure.

They may expect you to solve problems you cannot afford to solve. They may expect you to always be available. They may discourage you from trying something different because they do not understand what you are building.

Sometimes they may even laugh at the small beginning.

You say you are starting a business and somebody asks, “What kind of business is that?”

You say you are going back to school and somebody tells you that you are too old.

You say you are saving money and somebody wants to know why you cannot lend them some.

You say you have work to do and they cannot understand why you don't have time to sit and talk for hours.

At some point, you have to understand that everybody does not have to understand your direction for you to continue moving in it.

You can love people and still establish boundaries.

You can help when you are able and still say no when helping somebody else would pull you backwards.

And you do not have to explain every decision you make for your future.

When the Sky Looks Grey

There are also days when nothing dramatic happens, but everything simply feels heavy.

You wake up and don't feel encouraged.

Yesterday's problems are still there.

You have been trying for months and cannot see much improvement.

Somebody tells you to “stay positive,” but positivity does not pay the electricity bill. It does not automatically create employment. It does not make difficult relatives disappear, and it does not guarantee that the business will suddenly start making money.

Sometimes the sky really does look grey.

You are allowed to acknowledge that.

You don't have to pretend that everything is wonderful in order to continue.

The important thing is not to allow a grey day to convince you that every day ahead will also be grey.

Weather changes.

Circumstances change.

Opportunities change.

People change.

And sometimes we change.

Look Around the Stumbling Block

A stumbling block is something in your path.

That does not necessarily mean it is the end of the path.

Maybe you cannot go straight through it.

Can you go around it?

Can you climb over it?

Can you take another road?

Can you wait until circumstances change?

Can you learn something that gives you another option?

Suppose you wanted to start a business but discovered that the equipment you need is too expensive. Your first thought might be, “Well, I cannot do it.”

But perhaps the real answer is, “I cannot do it that way right now.”

Those are two very different statements.

Maybe you start smaller.

Maybe you use different equipment.

Maybe you save towards what you really need.

Maybe you offer one service first and add another later.

Maybe you learn more before investing your money.

Changing the route does not always mean changing the destination.

Don't Let One Bad Season Define Your Whole Life

When you have been struggling for a long time, a temporary situation can begin to feel permanent.

You start saying things like:

Nothing ever works for me.

I will never get ahead.

I will always be struggling.

Every time I try something, something goes wrong.

Be careful with those conclusions.

You may be describing this season of your life, not your entire life.

There are people who struggled for years before finding stability.

There are businesses that started with almost nothing.

There are people who went back to school later in life.

There are people who lost jobs and eventually discovered another direction.

There are people who had to start again after believing they had already established themselves.

Starting again is difficult.

But starting again is still starting.

Rest If You Need To, But Don't Surrender Your Future

Sometimes you are not lazy.

You are tired.

There is a difference.

If you have been carrying financial pressure, looking for work, managing family problems, trying to build something, and constantly worrying about what will happen next, eventually your mind and body may need rest.

Rest.

Think.

Reorganise.

Give yourself a little room to breathe.

But when you regain your strength, look at the road again.

The stumbling block may still be there, but you may see something you couldn't see when you were exhausted.

One Problem at a Time

You don't have to solve your whole life this week.

If you need employment, keep looking while examining other ways of earning.

If money is tight, deal with the most important expenses first.

If relatives are draining your time or resources, establish reasonable boundaries.

If your original plan isn't working, examine the plan before abandoning the goal.

If you don't know something, learn.

If you made a mistake, correct it.

If you failed, find out why.

If you need rest, rest.

Then get up again.

Because life will have stumbling blocks.

Some will be small.

Some will stop you for a while.

Some will force you onto a completely different road.

And some may eventually teach you something you could not have learned on an easy journey.

The sky may look grey today.

The work may not have come yet.

The money may not be flowing.

Your relatives may be giving you a headache.

Your plans may not be moving at the speed you expected.

But before you decide that you cannot go any farther, ask yourself:

Is this really the end of the road—or is it simply a stumbling block that I have not yet figured out how to get around?

You don't need every answer today.

Find your next step.

Take it.

And when the next stumbling block appears, deal with that one too.

Sometimes moving forward is not about having a clear road. It is about learning how to keep going when the road is anything but clear.