As we travel along the path of life, barriers, challenges, and stumbling blocks are inevitable. And they come in all shapes and sizes. Some come out of nowhere, and some we're prepared for. Some are put in our way by other people. Still others we create or invent ourselves.

As any good personal development program (or wise grandparent) can tell you, it's the challenges in life, the hard times, that present us with our greatest opportunities, as well as our greatest lessons. Looking back over your own experiences, you can probably see evidence of the truth of this. I remember in my own life when I left home for college, having never really been away from home before. At the time, it was a difficult experience for me. Those first few months at college were among the loneliest and most challenging of my life, and I experienced many moments of doubt as I sat alone in my dorm room thinking about my life and my future. But I soon figured out how to get rid of fears and my homesickness and start enjoying the tremendous opportunities all around me. In fact, I finally realized that being away from home for the first time and all of the people I knew, presented me with an amazing opportunity to reinvent myself. And that's exactly what I did. When I look back on the challenge I faced and how I turned it into a tremendous new start for myself, I'm reminded of the power that comes to each of us when we step up to the challenges that come our way.

Of course, emerging on the other side of a life challenge as a stronger, wiser, and hopefully better person is directly dependent on our willingness to step into the unknown with courage and faith. And it's important to remind ourselves that overcoming challenges is a skill that has to be practiced in order to be perfected. Otherwise, the barriers we come across will thwart growth instead of encouraging it. Unfortunately, we can probably all think of someone we know who hasn't been able to get beyond a particular hardship or obstacle, and has suffered for it in one way or another. It takes courage, determination, creativity, optimism and faith to face challenges head on and move beyond them, and it's not always quick or easy. But in the end, the barriers you conquer are your greatest teachers.