Inspector's Corner: Life's Challenges - Obstacles or Opportunities

By Tomasz Krolak, Minnesota State Patrol; North American Inspectors Championship Jimmy K. Ammons Grand Champion

The journey of life is a winding road through mountainous terrain in a perpetual state of construction. With every twist and turn, we’re faced with challenges that test our commitment, intellect and resilience. These challenges may metaphorically include poor road conditions that require us to tread carefully or closed roads that demand detours. Whatever the case may be, we’re faced with challenges that will ultimately impact if, how and when we arrive at our final destination.

While on our journey through life, we may perceive challenges as insurmountable obstacles and turn back to our point of origin. Or, we may see them as obstacles that will eventually be resolved on their own – similar to waiting for a future road extension to come to fruition; or we may choose to see them as opportunities to take new, more scenic routes.

Most of the challenges we face require well-calculated and deliberate action. The action must be a conscious, thoughtful response to the stimuli and not a knee-jerk reaction just to get something done. We must use our intellect, which affects how we perceive these challenges, to adequately assess our situation and then rely on our commitment to keep us focused on the ultimate goal. We must also learn to be more resilient if we suffer any setbacks along our journey.

Many people, including me, become discouraged when faced with challenges, and risk never living life to its fullest potential. We don’t think the universe is aligned for us, or we believe life should have gone a different way when, in reality, we should have improvised and adapted to overcome those challenges. Even the most ambitious people who know what they want out of life will sometimes perceive their situation as dire, negatively affecting their thinking.

Why do I bring this up? To serve as a reminder to count your blessings and make the most of what you’ve been given. I’ve recently had several challenges present themselves on my life’s journey. Instead of dwelling on circumstances beyond my control, I decided to lean into the challenge. As a result, I’ve opened new avenues that present exciting opportunities that will help me grow personally and professionally. I’m learning more about hazardous materials, wastes and organic chemistry on this new journey. I’m unsure where this renewed interest in chemistry will lead, but it’s new and exciting, and I’m learning something along the way.

My message to you is this: many things in life are beyond our control or may take some time to overcome. We can only control how we respond to life’s challenges. Trying to control things beyond your thoughts and actions will ultimately lead to disappointment and fuel skewed views of reality.

The next time you’re dealing with a challenge or difficult situation, stop and think for a moment before you respond. Don’t look at the challenges as obstacles that garner negative thoughts and feelings. Instead, think of them as opportunities to get better at something, learn a new skill or step out of your comfort zone. When you do this, you may discover that a positive view of the situation will lead to better results and a feeling of achievement, which you can use to fuel your other ambitious goals.