The obstacle is the way
Shifting your perspective when times are tough
Hi! The message on today’s sticky was particularly useful when I was laid off last year then diagnosed with breast cancer. The note is:
The obstacle is the way.
This is author Ryan Holiday’s1 interpretation of Marcus Aurelius’s statement, The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way. Marcus Aurelius was Roman and wrote his Meditations in Greek, not English, so that phrase is also someone’s interpretation of what he meant. I think Ryan Holiday got it right for contemporary audiences, shortening and labeling “what stands in the way” to simply “the obstacle”.
So what do you do with this message? No one has to take this perspective. But it’s a reminder that it’s possible. People have taken this view and still do, from ancient Stoic philosopher emperors to contemporary misfits. I’ve needed this when other people were quick to say I was the victim and at the mercy of my situations (layoffs, cancer). I don’t want to blame others (or myself) or otherwise sit around feeling sorry for myself. I believe everything that happens in life is a setting me on a path to become the person I choose to be. Things don’t happen to me, they happen for me.
What do you think?
Love,
Kate
Check out The Obstacle is the Way, a book by Ryan Holiday where he explores this concept in more depth. https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/the-obstacle-is-the-way-10th-anniversary-edition-pre-order-releases-october-1st