It is hard to see obstacles as anything but stops. You bang you head against the wall and it will not move. One way to get past this is to change the only thing you can. Your perception of them. If you see an obstacle and think of it as a blessing instead of a curse your mind will start to go in that direction. How is it a blessing to you that you get rejected from a publisher or lose your job or get sick. Just by looking at it as a new thing that will eventually help you will make you relax more and you will begin to see the possibilities. If you were in solitary confinement in a jail cell, then you options are limited but at least you can still think.
Most of us do not have that extreme of an obstacle and we always can do something in the world to move ahead.
I always try and think of all the things I have right now and they always outnumber the obstacles. Always. If you are not scared and looking only at what bad thing happened, you are free to think of how to use it to your advantage. If you only look at the obstacle you will be totally unable to move. The obstacle will own you. Change your focus and any obstacle will be unable to stop you from moving ahead.
Muralist and Fine Artist