Barriers aren’t necessarily bad things. They can function as a failsafe or a precautionary measure. They can evaluate preparedness and similarities.
They can also be misused, preventing potential candidates from ever joining the ranks of whatever it is the barrier is managing the flow into.
Such barriers can be financial, physical, or even time. Learning to play an instrument has the following barriers: the cost or availability of the instrument; it’s maintenance; an instructor; and time to practice.
In that particular case, the barriers to entry aren’t difficult per se. They just require a level of commitment.
Consider Harvard, one of the premier Ivy League schools. Beyond the roughly $80,000 you’ll need per year – tuition, books, housing, and meals – you’d also want an SAT score of 1580 or higher, or a 35 on the ACT. Also recommended to carry nearly a 4.2 GPA.
Those happen to be high barriers to entry, though, not as high as some other situations. And again, with determination, and being mindful of how cold Cambridge gets in the winter, it’s possible to fulfill that dream – if that’s what you want.
These obstacles and challenges we face when trying to achieve something, or join a particular field, or pursue our goals – they can manifest in various forms. Sometimes it’s financial constraints or a lack of resources. Maybe there’s limited access to education or training. And even the familial and societal pressures we face.
It can be discouraging to individuals pursuing their goals and not finding the proper footing. Or even looking at the obstacles, sadly, many don’t even begin.
When you consider that everything, though, is a choice of some kind. A trade off. And every decision has some sort of cost attached, whether it be minute – a bit of time or exertion – or astronomical – quite literally, in the case of becoming an astronaut!
It’s all a matter of how you frame those choices.
Michael's Musings 