The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday
The Obstacle Is The Way is a book that draws inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience.
The book offers individuals a framework to flip obstacles into opportunities, an approach crafted by Holiday. It’s three interdependent, interconnected, and fluidly contingent disciplines: Perception, Action, and the Will.
The book emphasizes that we don’t control when things get hard, but we always control how we respond. We can show patience, courage, humility, resourcefulness, reason, justice, and creativity. The things that test us make us who we are. The Stoic grows stronger and better with every obstacle they face.
Useful Takeaways:
- Focus on the things you can control, let go of everything else and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, and tougher.
- Identify the weaknesses of large obstacles and use them to overcome even the biggest challenge.
- Use your will to accept what you cannot change and change the things you can.
- The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
- We don’t control when things get hard, but we always control how we respond.
What I Liked
Really good book. Well-paced and practical.
What I Did Not Like
Not a whole lot – I’m a fan of anything Ryan Holiday writes or recommends.
- Provides a practical framework for turning obstacles into opportunities
- Emphasizes personal control over responses to challenges
- Well-paced and engaging writing style
- Not a whole lot to dislike
