The Obstacle is the Way - Book Review

If there ever was a time to overcome obstacles it may be now. We’ve gone through a pandemic and now have rising inflation and the threat of a World War. There are always obstacles and problems in our way. How you respond to them can make your life better or worse.

The book – The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday offers timeless principles on how to turn your toughest trials into triumphs. Ryan has studied the great stoic philosophers like Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus and offers their strategies to help you with your problems in a quick and easy way to digest. He also highlights stories from highly successful people like Lincoln and Edison showing they too had struggles to overcome. Their challenges made them better than if they’d never faced adversity at all and yours can too.

Marcus Aurelius said, “choose not to be harmed-and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed-and you haven’t been.” Or put another way by Shakespeare, “nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” The book starts with how to control your mind. It all comes down to our attitude and approach. He says, we must try:

? To be objective

? To control emotions and keep an even keel

? To choose to see the good in a situation

? To steady our nerves

? To ignore what disturbs or limits others

? To place things in perspective

? To revert to the present moment

? To focus on what can be controlled.

Cool headedness comes with practice, so don’t avoid the hard stuff because challenge will make you better.

The last two sections of the book describe the importance of taking action and having discipline of the heart and soul – Will. You must acknowledge the pain and trod onward in your task. Deal with this fate with cheerfulness and compassion. Bitterness is a burden. No one is born with a steal backbone we must forge that of ourselves. Be the type of person who gets things done with everything you got and accept whatever comes your way. Those who attack problems and life with the most initiative and energy usually win. Persistence is an asset. Action requires courage. Ordinary people shy away from negative situations, great people do the opposite.

Focus on what you can change. That’s where you can make a difference. It’s the Serenity Prayer. And what is it that we can control:

? Our emotions

? Our judgments

? Our creativity

? Our attitude

? Our perspective

? Our desires

? Our decisions

? Our determination

This book is a reminder of the timeless principles on how to live a good life. It’s how to be a good person. It’s the kind of people I want to work with and be around. I wish the world was filled with people that did their best to live this kind of life. I recommend this book.