For most of my life, I had goals and would get irritated by obstacles that got in my way. I heard a wonderful quote the other day, but don’t recall the original source. The quote went something like this:
Having obstacles in your life is a sign you aren’t settling for what life gives you, but are getting out of life what you want.
In other words, a life without any obstacles is arguably a life lived passively. You take whatever comes your way. While there is certainly enormous value in expressing gratitude for what you do get out of life (this is one of the keys to happiness by the way), it is still worth striving for what YOU want out of YOUR life.
So my question for you to think about today is:
Do you have enough obstacles in your life?
If not, are you striving for what you want out of life? If yes, be grateful as it’s a sign you are striving for what you want out of life. You might not get what you want, but if you don’t try at all you are guaranteed to not get what you want.
Here’s another way to look at it.
Using the logical construct of cause vs. effect, there are two ways to view the world:
- The world is the cause, and you are its effect.
- You are the cause, and the world is the effect.
Here’s my second and final question for today:
Which paradigm are you viewing your life and the world through?
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31 thoughts on “The Value of Obstacles”
But what if the source of obstacles is not you trying to get more out of your life? That’s excactly when the life might knock you down.
Other things I have never even considered as obstacles as they just little steps one needs to take to achieve something.
Reminds me of a quote: “Character is not made up of sunshine and rainbows…like steel; it is forged in the fire, between the hammer and the anvil”
I believe that instinctively, we know that we need and should pursue obstacles in our lives. A survey of myths, stories and pop culture from across the world would demonstrate this. The heroes we tend to idolize and admire are the people who have faced and overcame obstacles; and emerged, stronger and wiser from their struggles.
This also reminds me of a scene from the matrix – in a conversation between Neo and Agent Smith where Agent Smith stated that the first matrix was built to be heavenly but people would accept that version of the matrix and kept on waking up.
Two great questions, Victor.
Steve Jobs famously answered the 2nd question, noting that”…everything around you called life was made up by people no smarter than you,” or to use your language, “you are the cause, and the world is the effect.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvEiSa6_EPA
Of course, in reality, the relationship between the world and us is reciprocal; we impact the world, which in turn, impacts us.
On the first question (do you have enough obstacles), I love the analogy of working out in a gym.
In the same way that resistance (or lifting heavy weights) works to build muscle through a cycle of “tear and repair,” the resistance of life is what builds emotional muscles. As Tony Robbins says, “the universe gives us problems because they help us sculpt our character.”