The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

Behind mountains are more mountains. Elysium is a myth. One does not overcome an obstacle to enter the land of no obstacles. On the contrary, the more you accomplish, the more things will stand in your way.

We tell ourselves that we’ll get started once the conditions are right, or once we’re sure we can trust this or that. When, really, it’d be better to focus on making due with what we’ve got. On focusing on results instead of pretty methods.

“The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.”

Everything in his life had been an obstacle, and he turned as many of his experiences as he could into openings.

opportunities and benefits that lie within adversities. We know that in overcoming them, we emerge stronger, sharper, empowered.

He says the best way out is always through And I agree to that, or in so far As I can see no way out but through.

It is the act of turning what we must do into what we get to do.

It’s one thing to not be overwhelmed by obstacles, or discouraged or upset by them. This is something that few are able to do. But after you have controlled your emotions, and you can see objectively and stand steadily, the next step becomes possible: a mental flip, so you’re looking not at the obstacle but at the opportunity within it.

You’re going soft. You’re not aggressive enough. You’re not pressing ahead. You’ve got a million reasons why you can’t move at a faster pace. This all makes the obstacles in your life loom very large.