CREDIT: ANGELA MCINNES
Opinion: If you've hit a brick wall, remember - obstacles are an unending part of daily life, so don't be too hard on yourself.

I am trying to write this article after the need to pivot my game plan.

I was unable to secure my interviewees for an article I was commissioned to write. I attempted to look for different sources and with every failure I felt the time drain away. The deadline drew closer with every accelerated minute that passed with my ineffective attempts to save a story that appeared to be alluding me.

Obstacles appear every day and most often we rise to the challenge without much thought. In those moments, however, when our obstacles catch our attention, we can find ourselves being derailed by something that, upon looking at it from another perspective, we may find to be trivial. But many of us can attest that sometimes you feel so overwhelmed by wrenches in plans, scheduling and life in general, that you find yourself flailing about waiting to catch yourself and return to business without falling apart.


Here is a picture of the obstacles, imagined or real, to which I allude.

In this moment I am searching for something that I can share or report and continually lose the words in which to achieve that end. I begin to type, sewing together sentences to convey the point I am trying to make, yet all the while feeling disconnected from the words. I am beginning to worry myself in to an unnecessary fret about the ramifications of my inability to produce an article.

I worry if it will diminish any relationships with my peers and supervisors. I worry that I may submit work that I do not feel confident or proud about. I worry how a misstep may erupt any progress which I may have made to this point. Then I take a breath.

The thought enters my head about looking at the brick wall upon me from the perspective of a year from now, and my discovery causes a sigh of relief. A year from now, if I can even remember it, I might look to this event as insignificant. I might think to myself that it was not a contributory factor to my present lot in life. Another way might be that I look back on this situation and think to myself how grateful I was for it.

Maybe there was something within the perceived obstacle or events surrounding it that helped me to better navigate similar situations that arose from that time to the present. When we are in things everything is intensified. Everything feels dire and final.

Not to minimize the most serious and final of obstacles, but many of our everyday challenges are not a product of these. Life seen in the rear view is often much easier to consume than anticipating and contributing to self-fulfilling prophecies that paralyze our sensibilities and immobilize our actions.

The lesson isn’t new, but it was lost for a moment. The point that was made was one that reminded me of embracing hiccups as they come with open eyes and anticipation. The power of the frustration and anxiety lies in the fear of the illusions we project about unknowns and unknowns themselves.

Looking at these moments as learning experiences, I find, activates your enthusiasm to absorb new things. My embrace of my perceived obstacle has allowed me the opportunity to write a more intimate piece than the typical news-based articles I submit. Embracing the obstacle allowed me the chance to share a potentially helpful approach to something that people commonly face and struggle with.

Lastly, facing the obstacle required me to take a look at how I was feeling, what I was thinking and assess something that I may otherwise have not addressed.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.