you are your obstacle
we are all what is standing in our own way
✨you did it! ✨
You were brave, you ventured forth and started that new thing- that hobby you were always too shy to try, that side hustle you’ve been meaning to dive into, or maybe that creative endeavour that’s been calling to you to create.
Whatever the pursuit was, you began (or began again, in some cases); and while it’s all very exciting, it’s also all
very new.
Upon wading further and further into this new territory, have you ever gotten the sense as though there always seems to be an obstacle, some blockage, that appears? It pops up in varying ways, shapes or forms, and it seems to stand right in your way, halting you from the experience being everything you thought it was going to be?
It’s that obstacle, that block, that has the capacity to cause an unfortunate chain of events, chalk-full of limiting mindsets that reverberate into a myriad of decisions we make moving forward with our endeavour.
When trying new things, be them personal, professional or creative- it’s almost as if this block almost immediately gets a text, and zippily heeds the call to confidently appear (sometimes seemingly out of thin air), lands smack-dab in the middle of your path, and gains a serious dose of your HP-points by inhibiting you from taking the next step forward.
Now, once you notice the blatant obtrusiveness of the blockage (not to mention your previously-full HP draining by what feels like the second), you may come to realize that, hey, there’s a million reasons not to try and break this block down...
I mean, you probably won’t enjoy running as a new hobby, anyway...
And your boss? They’re already so busy at the office, there’s no use asking for that raise right now...
And forget about writing out that new song idea, it would be a certain waste of time given you haven’t practiced singing or playing guitar in way too long, and you just know it’s not going to sound like you’d want it to...
..Sound familiar?
The good news is, we got our finger on the pulse of what this block really is. What the obstacle is.
Are you ready?
The block..
..is you.
Yes, we hate to come off as the bearer of bad news (albeit this is actually good news, but more on that later), but the obstacle is just you, and you alone.
We are all our own obstacles. While it may not seem like the most groundbreaking of realizations, it packs more of a punch (strictly the good kind) than you may realize.
The thing is, we are all what is standing in our own way, and our brains, in their infinite glory, try their best to help us by rearranging this fact through attributing the blame of all of our problems to all these external factors- timing, other people, specificities of circumstances.. You name it.
But the reality is, we are our problem, but we are also our solution.
And the obstacle?
The obstacle is the way forward.
It’s important to differentiate the external and internal perspective that’s being suggested here. The outside factors, that is, things outside of our control, will always be there. You know how it goes, we conquer one mountain, and another always seems to appear, right?
With this logic, therefore, the external obstacle is always going to be there.
It just changes costumes.
..So, where’s the good news we alluded to in all of this?
We’re so happy you asked! The internal perspective, that is, what’s within the realm of what we can control, is the good news! It’s precisely what we’re emphasizing to be both the obstacle, or problem, as well as the way forward, or the solution. To dive a little deeper, we turn to Marcus, for some much needed Stoic contextual wisdom..
✨ ✨ ✨
Marcus Aurelius, former Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher extraordinaire, talks about obstacles in his work Meditations. He expresses that “the mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting”. We understand Marcus to be saying that our mind, as we mentioned earlier, has this incredible ability to attach meaning to the obstacles we face within, and our decisions on how to face such obstacles are a direct reflection of that.
He goes on further to say:
“The impediment to action advances action.
What stands in the way becomes the way.”
Now, here is where the ✨magic✨ lies.
✨ What if the obstacle, that blockage we talked about- what if its presence wasn’t there to stop you, but rather, to show you the way?
✨ What if instead of a problem, it was a solution?
✨ What if YOU are the obstacle, and YOU are also the way forward?
Navigating new terrain is always scary, to some degree.
The reality is that after a certain point in time, the excitement naturally wears off, and the adrenaline reaped from starting anew fades away.
What doesn’t need to be as scary, though, is knowing that the obstacles, in all their splendour, will and must enter the scene-
and you have everything you need to handle them.
You can face your obstacles, your blockages, head on, knowing that it’s not important what they look like, how big they are, or how quickly you overcome them.
