Life is an Obstacle Course - Choose Your Player

Imagine you're standing at the starting line of an obstacle course. Now, this course is filled with all sorts of challenges like climbing walls, crawling under nets, balancing on beams, wading through muddy waters, and so much more. Each part of the course tests your strength, your speed, and your intelligence. You've got three goals to choose from on this course: one, you win; two, you finish in a decent time; or three, you finish outside of the time with people cheering you on. Not participating isn't an option. You're already standing at the starting line. Losing lazily also isn't an option because that's boring.

This isn't going to be easy. When you're facing an obstacle, it's going to be frustrating, exhausting, and hard. You'll want to give up, but you can't. Welcome to Alux! You've chosen your goal, so now it's time to go after it. Now, you've heard of this course before; you do it every day, right? You're doing it right now. Your life is the wildest, most challenging obstacle course ever created.

And despite that, so many of us don't train properly for it. We don't set proper goals, and we definitely don't understand what kind of players we are. How could we ever win if we don't do this? Your training might be different, but the objective is the same: to be successful, you have to develop your skills and knowledge, and you have to be committed to always learning and growing. But then there are times when all the skills and training in the world won't help you. The only thing that's going to pull you through is your resilience.

You have to push forward even through the most difficult times. It's up to you to decide if you're going to see the obstacles as problems that stop you in your tracks or challenges that push you to grow all the way to the finish line. So how do you achieve your goal? Well, you become one of three players: the Enthusiast, the Strategist, or the Team Player. Each player brings something different to the course, and each course mixes uncertainty, challenges, achievements, and teamwork to help you move two steps forward and one step back.

That's right, every time you make some progress, something will push you back. You need to be prepared for that. So, which one of these three players sounds the most like you? Or are you a mix of all of them depending on the situation? The Enthusiast dives into the obstacle course with lots of energy and excitement. They love the thrill and challenge, and they've got a positive go-getter attitude. They might not always have the best technique or the fastest time, but they're all about having fun and enjoying the experience.

They don't need a medal; they don't want to be famous. They're happy as long as they finish. They enjoy the sense of accomplishment, and it doesn't matter if they win or lose. They're the ones with big smiles at the finish line, just happy to have participated. The Strategist takes a more calculated approach to the obstacle course. They'll study similar courses before they even start or plan their moves carefully, thinking about the best way to tackle each challenge.

They're focused on improving their time or performance, learning from mistakes, and finding new techniques that will give them an advantage over everyone else. And they want to win. They've worked hard, trained, and studied the courses, so they should be on the podium, shouldn't they? In a perfect predictable course, yes! But that's not what this is about. There's always going to be unexpected challenges, and if the Strategist focuses too hard and rigidly on one way, an unexpected challenge is going to throw them off and freeze them up.

Then, there is the Team Player. Even if you're standing on the course alone, you'll come across challenges that are easy for you but incredibly hard for other people. What are you going to do? Help them and risk your own time, or keep going with your eye on the prize? There will be times when you're struggling, and it seems like a breeze to everyone else. It'll feel humbling to ask for help, but you might just have to do that to be able to achieve your goal.

The Team Player is great at encouraging other people. They'll help when others need it, and they'll strategize for the team's success rather than individual glory. They're great leaders and communicators, and even if they don't win, people look up to them. Their outcomes are more about the team's overall success and the camaraderie built through the shared challenge. They feel successful when the team works well together, and it doesn't matter who wins or loses.

Each player brings something different to an obstacle course. Everyone's got their own way of tackling challenges, and this adds to the fun and excitement of the course. It's important to know what kind of player you are and how each method affects the different parts of the course. So how do you tackle the elements of an obstacle course of life? How do you move through uncertainty, challenges, achievements, and teamwork?

At the starting line, you've got no idea what you're going to face. Humans have a fundamental need for security and predictability. We are wired to seek stability. We crave control over our environment. This control helps us to feel safe and reduces our anxiety. But you have no control over the course or external factors in your life, so you can only do two things: one, accept that uncertainty is a part of life, and you can't change it, so you may as well embrace it; and two, stop fighting the chaos and use that energy to learn and adapt.

Each player adopts both ways of thinking, but their methods of moving through uncertainty are different. The Enthusiasts tackle uncertainty with optimism and eagerness. They dive into new situations without thinking too much about the outcomes and just hope that their energy and attitude will get them through the challenges. They're willing to dive into new situations without overthinking the potential outcomes, relying on their positive attitude and energy to get through challenges.

Their adaptability and high energy levels are great qualities, but sometimes their overconfidence and impulsive nature can get them into trouble. The Strategists, well, they don't like uncertainty, but they know that it's coming, so they use their strengths to get them through it. They'll plan and analyze everything and try to predict which obstacles they'll have to face. They'll think of detailed plans to manage and mitigate risks, which makes them incredibly efficient.

They've planned their actions; they often achieve their goals without wasting effort or resources. And while they don't have control over the actual course, their planning gives them a sense of control and reduces some of the anxiety. But unfortunately, this also means they can rely too much on their plans and get analysis paralysis. Excessive planning delays action, and there's no time for that here. You're missing out on opportunities at a crucial time when you need to be thinking quickly.

But maybe the Team Player can help! Team Players handle uncertainty by working with other people. They rely on collective strength, pooling resources and ideas to navigate challenges. They've got the most creative solutions because they've considered everyone's feedback. All the stress and pressure isn't on them. They've happily recruited other people to join their race. Now, this might lead to Team Players relying too much on other people, but their exposure to different viewpoints and strategies also helps them to understand themselves.

The uncertainty is just the beginning, but how will each player handle the challenges? When it comes to challenges, the Enthusiast rushes in with gusto and will probably make some mistakes because they've thrown caution to the wind. They might slip up as they're trying to climb over the wall. They might run straight into a challenge without realizing there's a little hack you can use to go around it.

But it is fun to be around Enthusiasts. You'll have the best time, but you might not win, and if you're not careful, you might not even finish. At the same time, though, successfully handling an obstacle is just about overcoming it. It's about getting through it with your sanity intact and not allowing it to affect you as you move through the course. And Enthusiasts do this brilliantly.

In life, we're going to face problems, and sometimes we'll be great at overcoming them, and others we won't. But if we can be consistent with not allowing these problems to affect our future paths and decisions, if we can brush it off once we've moved past it, then we'll be unstoppable. On the course, the Strategist assesses each new challenge, which helps them to do it consistently well. In life, their ability to analyze and plan can turn sudden difficulties into manageable tasks.

If a new obstacle appears on a course that wasn't in the original plan, a Strategist would evaluate the best way to tackle it based on their training and knowledge. Strategists use similar tactics in life; when they're faced with a sudden problem like a project deadline moving up or a last-minute meeting with a stakeholder, they can fall back on a strategy they've already planned and make some adjustments to fit the current situation. As long as they stay calm and don't expect every new challenge to be exactly like the ones they studied, they're going to come out on top.

Here, planning and calmness allows them to think logically so they'll meet their new challenges without being thrown off course. Now, Team Players, on the other hand, shine brightest when they can leverage the strengths of their group to overcome unexpected challenges on an obstacle course. If a new tough obstacle presents itself, a Team Player would rally the group and encourage everyone to work together to overcome it. They're the cheerleaders of the group.

They're also going to give each teammate a different role. They'll offer emotional support, keep the morale high, and make sure everyone puts in effort to succeed. In everyday life, Team Players respond to unexpected challenges by pulling people together. If a crisis occurs at work or in their personal lives, they focus on open communication and mutual support. If a family member needs sudden help, a Team Player would organize other family members to pitch in and make sure everyone shares responsibilities.

So which player are you right now, and which player is going to help you achieve the goal you set at the beginning? These questions need a deeper dive, and that's exactly what we do on the Alux app. If you want to understand the type of player you are and see how the Enthusiast, the Strategist, and the Team Player fares in the other elements of the course, then come and join us on the app today, where we'll continue the discussion. Alux.com/app. We've got a 7-day free trial for you, and of course, I'll be there too.