Isn’t it frustratingly funny when you try to create a plan for your life, and it doesn’t go exactly as you expected? When I was younger, I was obsessed with planning my goals down to the smallest detail. I would get so frustrated whenever I met obstacles that I hadn’t foreseen while I was mapping everything out.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that’s just how life works. The Universe likes to throw different kinds of challenges at us, and we have to be flexible and adaptable to survive them. Some people might argue that perhaps the Universe is testing you, checking whether you truly want your goal or if you’ve earned the right to have it.

It is so easy to get anxious and scared when plans don't go as originally intended. I noticed this pattern within myself and I am working to change it. I realized the reason I feel this way is that I am predicting my future using my past pains. To combat this, I’ve decided to practice being mindful and staying in the present moment. It might sound like I’m just brushing off the pain, but it truly helps. Whenever I encounter an obstacle now, I observe how my brain begins to spiral. I see it recollecting past failures that caused me pain, creating unnecessary fear and uncertainty about what's ahead. But when I actively try to stay present, I remind myself that those imagined fears haven’t arrived yet. Right now, in this very moment, I am okay. Usually, a sense of relief appears.

Self-confidence and self-belief are vital here, too. When you’re faced with the fear of uncertainty, it’s good to acknowledge your insecurities while reminding yourself that your past failures have actually equipped you. You are now better prepared to deal with hardships than you were before. We have to trust the flow. This might sound easier said than done, but I have come to realize that this sentiment is true: life is a journey, and I have to trust that it will lead me exactly where I am needed. I try to detach meaning from the challenges I face because I’ve realized it’s the meaning I attach to things that causes me to suffer.

I came across a video once where the speaker said that problems are the privilege of the living; only the dead don’t have problems. I love that quote because it’s something I have slowly accepted. Life is always going to give you obstacles, and they are there to give meaning to our existence. I don’t have to engage with every obstacle, only the ones that matter. Nikolai Gogol once said that obstacles are our wings. They are there to make us stronger and more resilient, making life much better once we pass through the storm. It is only painful when we attach so much heavy meaning to the struggle; once we let that go, those same obstacles can be the very things that help us fly.