Everything must be done in the service of the whole. As a discipline, it’s not any kind of action that will do, but directed action. This will be an incredible advantage for us in the fight against obstacles.Īction is commonplace, right action is not. We will see things simply and straightforwardly, as they truly are-neither good nor bad. While others are excited or afraid, we will remain calm and imperturbable. But it’s worth it, for what’s left is truth. It takes skill and discipline to bat away the pests of bad perceptions, to separate reliable signals from deceptive ones, to filter out prejudice, expectation, and fear. To prevent becoming overwhelmed by the world around us, we must, as the ancients practiced, learn how to limit our passions and their control over our lives. If we are emotional, subjective and short- sighted, we only add to our troubles. Our perceptions can be a source of strength or of great weakness. It’s how we see and understand what occurs around us-and what we decide those events will mean. The three disciplines build on one another. Obstacles are nothing more than an opportunity to “practice some virtue: patience, courage, humility, resourcefulness, reason justice, and creativity.” Making certain that what impedes us can empower us. So that setbacks or problems are always expected and never permanent. To act with “a reverse clause,” so there is always a way out or another route to get to where you need to go. Holiday believes the secret to “an art known as turning obstacles upside down” can be found in these words. The impediment to action advances action. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions.

The book is an exploration of stoic philosophy through the lens of the famous quote by Marcus Aurelius: They also form the structure for Ryan Holiday’s new book The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph. Perception, action, and will are the three disciplines central to the stoic philosophy. “The impediment to action advances action.

The obstacle is the way book summary