OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

THE FORCE OF CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

It is not what problems you are confronted with; it is your response to them that shapes your outcomes.

Problems are doorways to opportunities. The challenge with us is seeing it as such. Often we are one dimensional in thinking and approach. We need to be creative and innovative at problem solving. Achievers are willing to vary their approaches to solving problems.

Anyone remember Dick Fosbury? He developed the high-jump technique used by many top performers today, well-known as the Fosbury Flop.

Where previous athletes used the straddle method to high jump, in which they went over the bar while facing it, with one arm and one leg leading, Fosbury's technique was to go over the bar head first with his back to the bar.

Fosbury recalled: "I was told over and over again that I would never be successful, that it was not going to be competitive and the technique was simply not going to work. All I could do was shrug and say, 'We'll just have to see'"

Well, the world did see it when He won the gold medal in the 1968 Olympics at Mexico City, shattering the previous Olympic record and setting a new world record in the process.

He varied his approach in the pursuit of his goal and did not succumb to the doubters, mockers and naysayers. If you can make some adjustments to the problem you are working to overcome, you'll surely find what works better and be successful.

As we see in Dick Fosbury's case, the challenge is not the problem that confronts you, or the goal you seek to achieve; it is the approach you've taking to solving it, or reaching that goal.

Make a change today, and see what outcome you'll enjoy. Like Fosbury, do not give in to the doubters and naysayers. The fact that it has not been done before does not mean it cannot be done.

Every success…