When my son was in preschool, he came downstairs with a concerned look on his face.

“I don’t think I can go to school today,” he told his mom and me. He generally liked school, so this was a little strange.

“Why’s that, Sweetie?” we asked.

“Something’s wrong with my throat,” he said. Now my wife and I were starting to get concerned.

“What’s wrong with it, Buddy? Is it sore?”

“No,” he said, “just listen.”

We leaned in close until we heard the telltale catch and release of a hiccup. “See?” he said.

My wife and I did our best not to laugh. Then we explained what hiccups were and why he was perfectly fine to go to school.

The Reality of Obstacles

Sometimes what we think is an obstacle is actually just a hiccup. Other times obstacles are very real barriers to the things we most want to accomplish.

As a writer you inevitably will face many obstacles. Writer’s block. Platform stagnation. Lack of traffic. The comparison game. No motivation. The list goes on.

I’ve worked with many writers over the past twenty years, and I’ve noticed a handful of strategies that really help them, regardless of the obstacle. In this post I’m going to share seven main strategies you can use right now to move through and beyond whatever difficulty you’re facing.

1. Check your perspective.

Like my son’s hiccups, sometimes what we think is a problem isn’t really a problem. I remember working with a client who was obsessed with his blog’s traffic and lack of subscribers. He had been blogging for just a few months, and already he was consumed with the extent to which people interacted with his content.

My advice was to stop measuring traffic and start measuring how often he published. “Get obsessed with that,” I told him, “because at this point that’s the only metric that matters.”

Stephen Covey said, “If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.” So check your perspective and make sure that your obstacle really is an obstacle. It may not be.

2. Reach out to a friend.

Sometimes it’s pride. Sometimes we’re so consumed with our own inner struggle it’s simply not on our radar. Whatever our reasons for not reaching out to a friend (and I’m as guilty as anyone here), generally speaking we all need to get quicker at this.

If you have a friend with some experience in whatever your struggle is, that’s terrific, but don’t get hung up on this. Often the simple act of explaining your problem out loud to someone who cares will help you move forward.

3. Ask, “What’s one simple thing I can do right now?”

I love the serenity prayer: “God, grant me the wisdom to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” I love it because it limits our responsibility.

Writer, you are not responsible for things you cannot do. You are only responsible for things you can do. So ask yourself, “What’s one simple thing I can do right now?”

Don’t get overwhelmed with the gigantic size of whatever obstacle you’re facing. That’s not your concern. Your concern is the small thing you can do right now to move forward.

4. Look for the easier path.

Sometimes we need to question our assumption that this thing we’re attempting is really difficult. Ask yourself a series of questions like this:

• What if this were easy? How would that look?
• How could I make this easier for myself?
• If this were to be done by tomorrow (or next week, etc.), how would I go about that?

Presenting these questions to your consciousness has a way of shifting the way you see your problem. Your brain will automatically get creative and often will serve up a solution you didn’t notice before.

5. Seek wisdom from those who are further along.

Sometimes we do need expertise from someone who’s “been there, done that.” Often you can find this advice via a Google search. Sometimes you’ll want to pay for such advice.

Just remember that your problem is almost never entirely unique. Someone has been where you are. If you can find them, you can save yourself a lot of time, pain, and energy.

6. Get started early.

Have you ever had a big project, like writing a manuscript or getting a book proposal ready for a writer’s conference, and it scared you so much you procrastinated getting started? Then you end up frustrated and even more scared because now you have even less time, and . . . nah, that’s never happened to you. Don’t know what I’m talking about, right?

The strategy I’ve seen work really well in these cases is getting started early, earlier than you think you should. Even if it’s just thirty minutes, there’s something about going from anticipating a project to actually doing it that is magic. You get some momentum going. You get some perspective on how much work this project is going to take. And you adjust accordingly.

7. Cultivate gratitude.

This whole thing is a gift. That you and I get to sit at our keyboards today or tomorrow and make stuff—it’s an incalculable privilege only a few people in history get to do. Don’t forget that. You are one lucky lady or dude. You were born at the right time, the right place, with the right skills, and here you are.

Yes, it’s up to you to get better, but the opportunity underneath it all? It is not our doing; we can’t take credit for it. What we can do is cultivate a sense of awe and gratitude. When we do, our obstacles become less daunting.

Your Turn:What’s an obstacle you’re facing right now, and which of these above methods do you find most useful? You can leave a comment by clicking here.