To overcome challenges, the old mindset first need to be ditched. We see confirmation to support an already existing belief in new experiences. That is what the confirmation bias tells us. If you believe something is out to get you, every corner you look, you’ll probably find closed doors and a sign that whatever it is that’s after you is closing in on you. It is about your perception, how you see the obstacle before you. The essence of this is the very first step to overcoming obstacles and challenges.

But what these beliefs do is take back control from the unknown force that we would so eagerly believe is out to get us and see us fail and give it back to us because there is no way we would design failure ahead of ourselves, or like the Christians attribute power of the challenge to God, because God would never in his loving kindness design failure for us. Obstacles are mostly seen as a thing that is meant to destroy and beat us face down into the ground because it was placed ahead of you for that very purpose. It tells us that something beyond us is in control, someone’s watching out for us and with whom we cannot fail, because they’ve got our back-be it God or ourselves. The idea is so fundamental that it has over time pushed the necessary will and grit that we humans naturally possess to the surface when we need it. They are meant to give the believer a hope that transcends earthly power, a sense of control and domination over every challenge humans could possibly encounter. These two beliefs provide a fundamental way humans are supposed to view challenges and obstacles in their way in life. The Christians believe that they would never face any temptation they wouldn’t be able to bear and stand against, but that God would with every temptation provide a way of escape.

Every challenge a person chooses is one they would be able to overcome and would push them to learn and grow but would not defeat them. The Celts have a legend that says, just before a person is born they are allowed to choose every hardship that they would experience during their life time. So without further ado, let’s get into this.

The Obstacle Is The Way is a collection of stories and principles about Stoicism, a philosophy I stumbled upon last year and I’ve found very helpful, thanks to books like this and authors like Ryan Holiday who also wrote The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living. I actually wrote this last year after reading the book, but seeing Tim Ferriss recommend it again in his newsletter made me decide to share this:

Books like the obstacle is the way