"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." - Marcus Aurelius.

In his book, The Obstacle Is The Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph (New York 2014), Ryan Holiday outlines how we can overcome the trials and tribulations of life through the use of action, perception, and will. He describes each principle and then offers several stories from real-life historical figures to illustrate his point. Holiday based this literary work on the writings of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the Five Good Emperors of the Roman Empire.

In the preface to this book, the author states that while Aurelius was on the front lines of the war in Germania, he penned a series of meditations that were not for publication but instead letters to himself on how to overcome not just in spite of what stands in our way, but because of it (p. xiii). Please invest the time to read Holiday's best-selling work on overcoming life's obstacles. I will now share a concrete example from a recent experience in my own life. Although this story is not serious, it does illustrate the point.

Last month, the 12-year-old Mini Cooper I owned needed an alternator replacement. I thought, "no big deal," as it was probably time for this service. The car was in the shop for several days and returned to me in sound condition - or so I thought. Ten days later, the battery needed replacement (I should have replaced it with the alternator as it was several years old). Again, no big deal. I took it to the shop, and they returned it to me the same day. The Mini was ready to ride again. However, the obstacles continued to mount in the passing days.

I put less than 50 miles on the car when it experienced hard starts. I returned it to the mechanic, and after analysis, they determined the replacement alternator needed replacement. Fortunately, it was under warranty, and the next alternator cost me nothing. Once again, I was without my car for over a week (during this waiting period, Judy and I decided to sell the Mini and get a new car). I picked it up, drove it home, cleaned it up, and prepared to take it to a dealer or CarMax to get the cash I would use to make a down payment.

I finished the cleanup the next day, and we went to the dealer (or so we thought). The car would not start as the new battery was dead - with only two miles on a new alternator. My frustration and anxiety elevated to levels I had not felt in years. We jumpstarted the battery, immediately drove it to the mechanic (closed for the weekend), put the keys in the after-hours drop box, and followed up on Monday. I wanted this car out of my life.

I barely slept that weekend. However, we moved forward, visited dealer lots when they were closed, made a short list, researched, and settled and chose our new vehicle. One obstacle stood in our way of making this happen - the return of the Mini so we could sell it and use the money to make a down payment on our new purchase. Time dragged on as we waited for the mechanic to tell us why we had the two-mile dead battery. My stress levels continued to mount as the week passed. The new car seemed out of reach.

At some point in this long week, I settled down, and it entered my mind that we could make an alternate choice toward our goal. I asked Judy, "Why are we waiting to get the Mini back? We have available funds to make a downpayment on the new car. Let's sell the Mini later when we get it back from the shop." After a short discussion, we made our decision.

We moved forward and bought a new car. Two days later, the mechanic returned the Mini, and we immediately drove it to a dealer who made a cash offer. We completed the paperwork and parted ways - out with the old and in with the new.

I learned a lesson the hard way by allowing my emotions and angst to get the best of me and impede the critical thinking necessary for problem-solving. When emotions go awry, logic gets pushed aside. It is better to step back, breathe in, breathe out, and move on. Our field of vision expands in calm waters. Until next time -

Namaste,

Tim

References

Holiday, R. (2014). The Obstacle Is The Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph. New York: Penguin Publishing.