Obstacles are the aegis. Obstacles on the way to the goal: what to do? An obstacle is a test of our inner strength

For Boris Belozerov's team, the final started sadly - 0:3, 1:4. Then the experts began to approach the opponent, and several controversial episodes arose. For example, when answering the seventh round question (asked by student Alexey Lubinets from Kramatorsk): “Look carefully at this flag. In what year, for what reason, and under what circumstances was this flag raised in the capital of the USSR?” experts responded: “This is the flag of Los Angeles. We assume that by raising this flag in 1980 at the closing of the Moscow Olympics, the baton was thus passed from one city that hosted the Olympics to another, the next. The reason is the passing of the baton from one city to another. Perhaps they were trying to avoid raising the US flag at the height of the Cold War. It’s not that they were afraid, but the key reason is, as I understand it, the centuries-old tradition of passing the baton from one city to another.” And the correct answer turned out to be this: “The flag of Los Angeles was raised in Moscow in the summer of 1980 at the closing ceremony of the XXII Summer Olympic Games. The United States boycotted these games, and the next ones were to be held in Los Angeles. Therefore, the symbolic baton was passed not to the country, but to the city.” The presenter tried to clarify the situation with the help of defenders of the rights of experts and TV viewers, as well as with the help of members of the Academy of TV Viewers - and no one (in particular, Medvedev) questioned the completeness and accuracy of the answer.
In the seventh round, Ilya Shirokolobov from Krasnoyarsk asked: “What did the philosopher Bernard Suits call a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles?” The captain of experts mentioned sports and games in his answer, the first word was in vain. At the same time, the voice of Master of the Game Alexander Druz was clearly heard in the hall. The presenter considered this a hint, but the Saratov resident defended her rivals: “A friend simply said: “Belozerov is a real man.” TV viewer rights defender Verokhoshinsky tried to protest the verdict, but he was not allowed to speak out. The score became 4:4, after two more rounds - 6:4 in favor of Belozerov’s team.
After the game, many spectators doubted the fairness of the victory: “It’s a very strange feeling. On the one hand, well done, they didn’t fall apart after a difficult start, and on the other hand, two incorrect answers were counted. After all, in the question about the flag, the fundamental reason was why the flag was given to the city and not the country, and this is something the team did not answer. In the question “sports game” the answer was changed - this is also somehow not very correct,” “I don’t consider the victory of Belozerov’s team to be 100% pure. As they say, a sediment remained... After all, the whole country saw that the captain gave an unambiguous answer to one of the questions: “Sport,” the presenter had to accept such an answer and recognize it as erroneous. Instead, he began to lead Belozerov to the correct answer, “Game.” As a result, Belozerov gave a double answer: “Sport” and “Game”. And only Druz at the end of the game had the courage to say so.”

There is only one way to overcome obstacles - action. We do not consider the option when obstacles are eliminated by themselves, because if this arises, most likely the obstacle was not real or you have abandoned your goal.

That is, we need to act to overcome the obstacle. But what if this obstacle causes us feelings that do not contribute to our actions. For example, fear, doubt, mental discomfort, etc.

Let's imagine a situation where you are so tired of your job that you are going to change it. You have set a goal - to find a new job. Obstacles immediately appeared in front of you: what kind of work is this, where to look for it, how to look for it, and others. But what is important in this case is not the obstacle itself, but what feelings arise in you. How do you feel at the moment when you think about finding a new job and leaving the old one?

  • What if difficulties arise at the new job, but here there is at least some stable income;
  • what if it doesn’t work out;
  • Is it worth changing jobs?
  • or maybe he can endure it;
  • or he can change his attitude towards his work and continue working;
  • etc.

As you can see, our two strongest negative emotions are fear and doubt.

We already understand that in order to achieve our goal, we need to act, but how will we act if these negative emotions block our consciousness?

Typically people do one of two things:

  1. Act despite emotions
  2. Refuse to take action

The second option does not lead to achieving the goal, but it is used very often and by a lot of people. Let's not deny that we use it too.

The first option leads to achieving the goal, but you need to fight with yourself, overcome yourself. You feel bad, but you do what you have to do. If you challenge yourself often, you will create a habit and learn to act despite negative emotions. In this case, you will achieve your goal, but the path will be littered with these negative emotions and suffering. Of course, after you overcome yourself, you will feel great. But overcoming yourself is difficult. Is not it?

Now imagine that you have learned to manage your emotions, you can interpret any situation for yourself in such a way that you will feel good, overcoming any obstacles.

And instead of feeling fear and doubt about changing jobs, you feel challenge, interest, joy. In this case, will your emotions continue to stop you? No, and on the contrary, they will help you quickly complete the steps to find a new job.

Look, there is a certain impulse that causes emotions, and emotions contribute or do not contribute to our actions.

If we learn to create an impulse that will create pleasant emotions about a certain action, we will not have problems with the action and we will achieve our goals much more easily.

People often refuse to take action because their emotions and feelings say “No.” Would you like to learn how to change your emotions so that they say “yes” whenever you need them?

Now I will give short instructions on how to do this.

I will look at the situation using the example of work.

The first emotions that arise in us are fear and doubt.

Our goal: to change these emotions to positive ones, ones that would cause a desire to act.

Here's the action plan:

  1. Think about the benefits of a new job that you will get by working in a new job. Make a list on a piece of paper, the more the better. Use the brainstorming method (write everything that comes to your mind and do not analyze).
  2. You've already made a list on paper. Now your task is to select those items from the list that evoke the greatest positive emotions. For example, you wrote (write much more than I did. I wrote this as an example, and not to solve the situation about changing jobs):
    • I will earn more
    • I will have more free time for my family
    • I will get more satisfaction from my work
    • I'll run away from the old team that I hate
    • I will work in a prestigious company
    • I will be able to express myself more fully
    • Etc.
    Now we choose those that evoke the strongest emotions. For example:
    • I will have more free time and be able to pay more attention to my husband/wife and children
    • I can realize myself more fully
    • The pleasure of communicating with a new team

    You must choose at least 5 very strong emotions.

    By doing this you will get motivated.

    True, there is a “problem” that this motivation is delayed, that is, you need to work, and then you will receive it. This, of course, is better than nothing, but sometimes it is still difficult even in this case to force oneself to act, because the person wants the reward now, and not later.

  3. Now our goal is to gain motivation to act right now. In other words, find why we should love what we will do. In our case, look for a new job. What we have done in the previous point will convince your mind that it is worth looking for a new job. But in order to act now, we need to change the emotions that arise now. Having stopped at point 2, you try to cover up the negative emotion with a positive emotion, and if the positive one turns out to be stronger, you will do what you should, if it is weaker, you will not do it. In many cases this is enough.

    What do I need to do?

    Our job to achieve our goal will be to find a new job. What good will your new job search activity do for you NOW?

    • You will remember how to write a resume :)
    • There will be another topic for conversation with your girlfriends/friends, what they can offer you. What if there is an opportunity for partnership instead of work?
    • Be creative about finding a new job
    • You will be like a secret agent. You work at one job, look for another, and do everything so quietly that no one at your old job finds out about it.
    • Imagine how you will say goodbye to your old job. Imagine how you will send your boss away :)
    • Etc.

    I gave these points as an example. Think about them for yourself. It’s difficult for me to cite truly valuable points here, because for me, looking for a new job is “something out of the ordinary” (although even after writing these points, somewhere far away a thought crept into my mind, and maybe I just so try, because I have never looked for a job).

    I assure you, if after writing such points (they cannot be called very exciting), even I have such a thought, and I am far from looking for a job, then by writing your own points, you will get a huge surge of energy and enthusiasm about looking for a new job.

    By completing this point, you will change your attitude to a positive one.

    Now for you the path to your goal will be easy and joyful, just like the goal itself. There are no obstacles and you will quickly reach your goal.

    Let's look at an analogy to make it easier for you to imagine what's happening.

    Imagine you are driving a car at a speed of 100 km/h.

    For example, your goal is to get to Moscow (let’s say it’s 100 km from where you are now).

    For an ordinary person, everything happens like this:

    He sets a goal. Emotions say “No” to this goal for various reasons. In our analogy, you take your foot off the gas pedal and put a brick on the brake pedal and drive on. How long will you travel? Not for long.

    Having completed steps 1.2, you put your foot on the gas pedal and press as hard as you can, but there is still a brick on the brake pedal. How long will you travel? Well, you will, a little, but you won’t get to Moscow. Sooner or later you will stop.

    After completing step 3, you remove the brick from the brake pedal.

    Now your foot is on the gas pedal and the brake is released. How long will you travel? Until you reach your goal!!!

    Do you understand???

    Go ahead, start practicing!!!

We love games very much. In many classes of our courses, we arrange game activities and conduct unusual trainings. So why do we love to play so much and why is it not just a great way to spend leisure time, but also a useful activity?

What is the game

Game is a tool known to humanity since its inception. It allows you to learn and teach, imitate real situations and simulate hypothetical ones, identify certain qualities of the player, etc. At the same time, games are, first of all, entertainment, so all of the above can take place in an easy-to-understand, relaxed atmosphere.

What exactly makes the game so effective and why has this particular tool become so actively used in training and work? Most studies on this matter show that any activity in the format of a game promotes more productive brain function, emotional openness, willingness to cooperate and socialize, the ability to focus on a problem and search for constructive solutions. One of these studies provides such a table.

SOURCE

JOB

A GAME

Tasks

rehearsal, boring

rehearsal, cheerful

Feedback

once a year

constantly

Goals

contradictory, vague

The path to perfection

Rules

unclear, opaque

clear, transparent

Information

too much and not enough

the right amount at the right time

Failures

prohibited, punished, not discussed

expected, encouraged, amazing, bragging rights

User status

transparent, temporary

Promotion

sycophancy

meritocracy

Cooperation

Speed/risk

Autonomy

medium - low

Narrative

only if you're lucky

Obstacles

random

conceived

So, we see that the solution to almost any problem will be more effective if the problem itself is presented in the form of a game. The main challenge here is to formulate the rules so that the game adequately simulates the real situation, but at the same time is its simplified form.

Games at work

An excellent example of this approach and the use of games in work is the so-called Scrum poker, or planning poker. This is an estimation technique most often used to determine the complexity of the work to be done or the relative size of the tasks to be solved in software development. Group members express their opinions by placing numbered cards on the table, number down (for example, Ace, 2, 3, 5, 8 and King. King literally means: “This item is too big or too difficult to evaluate”). After this, the cards are revealed and the players discuss the scores. The point of hiding ratings at the first stage is to avoid the anchoring effect, when the first announced rating creates a precedent and affects the ratings of subsequent users.

Similar to this example, the game approach is possible in many other areas:

  • Team building - games like “10 in common”, where, to introduce people from different departments, they are divided into teams and asked to find 10 similar interests or characteristics that are common to all members of this team.
  • Planning is a pre-mortem where participants are asked to discuss the reasons why a project might fail miserably before it is launched.
  • Education - ESL games used to teach English to adults.
  • Problem solving is an “anti-problem” method where players must solve the opposite problem of the actual problem, such as “how to reduce the number of customers” instead of thinking about how to increase it. The point of the game is to force participants to look at the problem from a new perspective.

Game occurs when rules and goals are added intentionally to make the experience more interesting. There are many definitions of games depending on one's point of view, but my favorite is: "to play a game is to voluntarily attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles." Fun arises precisely as a result of overcoming yourself to achieve your goals.

The idea of ​​interactive, engaging learning is not new. An old Chinese proverb says: “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and maybe I'll remember. Make me participate and I will understand.” Despite this, this tool is used surprisingly rarely in trainings, courses and meetings. But it can serve as an excellent way to “introduce” a person into a new environment, test him or prepare him for further, more complex tasks.

Using games to achieve real goals does not necessarily mean that the process will be devoid of seriousness. Instead, events should be designed to allow room for creativity, experimentation and innovative solutions. It is in this state that a person is ready to take on serious challenges and perform fairly complex tasks. In addition, games involve cooperation, which in most situations allows you to achieve results that cannot be achieved alone.

Another irrefutable advantage of games is that they teach the brain to learn. During the game, a person learns something new and makes difficult decisions. If he did everything correctly, the game immediately rewards such behavior with a prize. Games teach you not to be afraid of difficult tasks. Everyone knows the phrase “it’s not a cow you lose.”

This is why it is so important to sometimes play at work and design games on business topics. This is a great way to look at daily work from a different perspective, solve long-standing problems and develop the potential of employees.

In order to safely overcome obstacles, you need to know well the geometric cross-country ability of your car. If the size of the obstacle exceeds the ground clearance of your car, it is not advisable to pass them under the bottom, otherwise there is a high risk of getting stuck or damaging the car. If there is an obstacle with the size of the ground clearance, then most likely the car will overcome it, but be prepared for possible minor damage. Carefully inspect the car for vulnerable units and body parts that are close to the ground. Try to build such a trajectory of movement so that all vulnerable points are as far away from obstacles as possible.

Before starting to move, engage all-wheel drive, lower gear, and, if necessary, lock the center differential. Then we lower , which will increase the contact patch of the wheel with the surface, so the tire will crawl onto the obstacle, like a caterpillar. During this time, tire pressure is usually reduced to 1 atmosphere.
Drive through high or deep geometric obstacles, as well as anything that has O-shaped, U-shaped, L-shaped, etc. It is better at an acute angle, for example, at 45 degrees, and also with the front wheels turned towards the obstacle. In this case, the very front part of the car, the first point of contact will be the inverted wheel, which, in fact, will run into the obstacle.
Try to hit an obstacle with the front wheel on the driver's side, so you can better control the process and, if necessary, stop in time.
Remember that if one side of the machine goes up, the other will inevitably go down. Take this into account when passing obstacles with difficult terrain, so as not to climb under the ground.
As soon as the turned out wheel rests against the wall of a curb or stone, we add traction; when the wheel hits an obstacle, we continue moving so that the second wheel hits the obstacle along the same trajectory. Next, keep the gas steady and drive the rear wheels.
When descending a step, where there is room for maneuver, we try to position the car parallel to the step close to the exit point. We turn the front wheels towards the exit and move off smoothly. We slowly descend, first with one and then with the other front wheel, holding the car with the brakes so that the car does not flop down and hit obstacles with its bottom. We also carefully lower the rear wheels from the step.

Driving through a ditch or ditch

If you are crossing a large ridge, once both front wheels are on the rise you need to straighten them to cross the ridge tangentially. If you cross a ridge with the wheels turned out, you risk getting stuck on your bottom, but you need to cross the ridge along a tangential trajectory so that the wheels hang out as little as possible and so that the car does not go into a sideways slip.
When crossing a log, you need to follow the same algorithm as when hitting a high curb. If the tree is damp and slippery, then apply more gas, but without fanaticism. When driving off a log, slow down in the same way as when driving off a curb, do everything smoothly and softly, but do not stop so as not to slide off the trajectory if the log is slippery and do not turn the steering wheel until you have completely driven over the obstacle.
When crossing a ditch or trench, check in advance how hard the bottom is; if the soil is viscous and unstable, it is better to abandon this idea, otherwise you will definitely get stuck.

The sharper the approach angle, the better, as there is less chance of the front end hitting the opposite edge of the ditch. Turning the front wheels towards the ditch, we carefully descend at low speed, perhaps even holding the car with the brakes, and at the same time do not stop anywhere. A ditch or ditch should be crossed at a slow but uniform speed. As soon as the front wheel begins to climb along the opposite wall of the ditch, set the wheels straight and continue moving in the same direction in which you approached the obstacle.
When crossing a ditch, it is important not to lose momentum, because at the moment when one of the front wheels rolls onto the opposite slope, a horizontal suspension will most likely occur - one or two wheels will find themselves hanging in the air. In this situation, it will be very difficult to move a car that is not equipped with inter-wheel locks or a system for simulating them.

Training video on overcoming geometric obstacles