15 Biggest Obstacles You'll Have in Your Life

Hey there, Alaer! Welcome back. Today's chat is a little bit longer than usual because we really wanted to do all of these obstacles justice. You might not face every one of them in your life; we certainly hope not, but chances are you faced some of these already, and you've probably come across people who faced others.

Understanding the gravity of these obstacles for yourself and the people around you can help you appreciate how far you've come. It can motivate you to keep pushing when you just feel like you don't have it in you anymore, and it can inspire you with the power of human resilience. Our Alux app takes deeper, more comprehensive dives into different topics like these, so if you enjoyed this video, give the app a try. We've seen some exceptional results so far.

Oh, and one more thing—we're proud of you, okay? For listening, for learning, and for how far you've already come. But the journey's not over, my friend. Here are the 15 biggest obstacles you'll have in life.

Starting off with number one: being born poor. By far, one of the biggest obstacles and motivators anyone will face in life is being born into poverty. There are many levels to this, and each level before the supportive, comfortable middle-class line is a challenge. You could be right at the bottom—born into a family that struggles to put food on the table, parents who are hardly home because they work multiple jobs, and constantly needing to move homes and schools because your family can't afford to pay rent. You could also be born into a family with parents who seem to have good jobs on the outside, but they support multiple family members and there's loads of debt. So while you've got food on the table, the idea of going to college or getting any extra financial support is a pipe dream.

Being born poor is like needing to climb to the top of a mountain, and the poorer you are, the more weight you have on your back. As long as you keep pulling, slowly but surely, you'll get stronger and the weight will get more bearable. You will make it to the top with everyone else—maybe a little bit behind them, but way, way stronger.

Then there's number two: being born into a low-income country. Would you rather be poor in a developed country or a low-income country? Research shows you've got way more opportunities being born poor in a developed country because many of them, except the USA, have access to free education, health care, and social welfare. If being born poor is like trying to climb a mountain with a heavy weight attached to you, being born poor in a low-income country is like swimming in a stormy sea with that weight of a heavy ship trailing behind. Nothing is impossible. Someone might see you swimming in that stormy sea and come to help you, but for many people, the thought of making it to shore isn't even an idea that can be considered. Some do it, though. Through all of the challenges, they make it through, which is pretty incredible.

Number three: growing up too quickly and fear. Now, what could growing up too quickly and fear have to do with each other? Well, growing up too quickly should give you an advantage over everyone else because you have more self-awareness and a better idea of how the world works, right? Well, while that is kind of true, our brains are designed to develop at a specific pace. This pace helps us to conquer challenges just when we are ready for them.

When your mental growth is accelerated, you lose that risk-taking thrill that helps you let go of the fear of failure. Okay, so here's how this works: three parts of your brain work together to evaluate risk, process fear, and make decisions. They are the prefrontal cortex, the amygdala, and the hippocampus.

So, the hippocampus helps contextualize fear responses by recalling past experiences. If you have a difficult, fear-based life growing up, your hippocampus will be more dominant and will stop you from taking risks. If you watch the adults in your life show poor impulse control and decision-making, then your prefrontal cortex is likely to kick in early with its warnings. You're supposed to take risks when you're young; you're supposed to be fearless...