Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle is the Way is one such book. In fact, the central idea of the book might just be one of the most powerful concepts I have ever come across. It can be truly life-changing. It is the basis of the philosophy of stoicism, but beyond that, it is an excellent framework on which to base your life, decisions, and choices, especially when dealing with adversity. Not intuitive, right? At least not immediately. What stands in the way, becomes the way. This is not just a simple, if I see a wall, I’ll beat my head against it until I break through it kind of a thing. It is not about stubbornly pushing through no matter what. It is not about ignoring all signs and evidence that a change in approach is needed. Rather, it is about embracing challenges. It is about looking at what is to be gained from a challenge, rather than being depressed at the first sight of trouble or maintaining course no matter what. It is perhaps the most powerful example of REFRAMING, which is not only the key tool in terms of self-help and personal growth but also a powerful element of cognitive and mental health therapy.
Before diving into my takeaways from the book, briefly about who is Ryan Holiday. Author of several books about stoicism, Holiday is partially responsible for the growing interest in this ancient brand of philosophy. Holiday has hit the nerve with his books — there is clearly a demand for a way to help us navigate today’s stressful environment, at our jobs, businesses, and personal lives. Stoicism offers a useful framework for that. John Stuart Mill called Stoicism “the highest ethical product of the ancient mind”. Tim Ferris called it “a no-nonsense system designed to produce dramatic real-world effects. Think of it as an ideal operating system for thriving in high-stress environments.” High praise indeed. Life is a trial. Or rather series of trials. We can choose to go through our lives drifting, or we can choose a method to help us deal with whatever life throws at us. Stoicism is one such method.
Ryan Holiday’s books The Obstacle is the Way, Ego is the Enemy, Stillness is the Key, Courage is Calling and the latest, Discipline is Destiny each takes a stoic concept and break it down with excellent examples to illustrate different aspects of this belief system. His Daily Stoic offers a daily one-page topic for reflection and meditation. His Stoic Diary is a journal with daily prompts, I have been using the Spanish version of it for almost a year — and I am planning to continue using it for reflection, meditation as well as for language learning. Finally, in his Lives of the Stoics, Holiday explores a different angle of educating us on stoicism, through the examination of the lives of prominent stoics, including Zeno, Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius.
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