Review: "The Obstacle is the Way"

            The Obstacle is the Way is the first of a three-book series on the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius and other Stoic philosophers.  “Stoicism” has a bad name in modern times, but the name has been corrupted in a similar way to how the name “Puritan” has been corrupted.  Stoicism is – in many ways – what we now call Cognitive Behavioral Training.

            In this volume, Ryan Holiday introduces the reader to three wide themes of Stoic philosophy – and this is a practical and easy read – don’t worry.

            The first theme is perception.  In this, the Stoics said to look at your situation – what is happening – as objectively as you can.  What is this really?  Putting aside emotions and presuppositions – What do I actually have here, and can I turn it into a positive? (This is not positivity thinking but turning whatever is before you over – looking at it from every angle, understanding what is truly is and from what perspective it is good, bad, or neutral.)

            Once you have an objective understanding of what is before you, you then ask what is in my power and what is not in my power?  What can I change and what can’t I change?

            The second theme is action.  That is directed action.  This is a planned action to remove the obstacle in front of you and/or to transform it into the way in which you want to go.  You set you actions and keep doing more, because there is always more that can be done.  That does not mean there is no rest – you need to take action to rest, as well.

            “Persist in your efforts.  Resist giving in to distractions, discouragements, or disorder” (80).  Do your job and do it right.

            The third theme is will.  “Will is our internal power, which can never be affected by the outside world” (125).  This means to “bear and forebear.  Acknowledge the pain but trod onward in your task” (131).  This is the process of saying, I will do this and then I will do this, and so forth until my goal is accomplished.  There is no giving up. 

It is also to accept that no matter how well we perceive, no matter what actions we plan, we may fail to achieve what we desire.  The biggest realization to keep before us is that we will die – we are finite creatures.  Eventually, no matter how well we perfect perception, action, and will, we die.  It just is.  It is something we must accept.  We are not to be morbid about it, rather we accept it as truth.

In the end, if we perceive the obstacles rightly and considered what we can do and what we cant’t do, and then we set up a plan of action and act upon it, and we persist and will our way towards the goal, we will always be happy, because there is nothing more we can do. We will have done everything.

The book ends with an extensive “selected” bibliography and recommended reading list, as well as ways to get in contact with the author.

I am finding Stoicism to be helpful in working forward in my life.  I am also using his book, The Daily Stoic, which are short primary readings and commentary, as a devotional.  And I look forward to reading the other two books in the series.

[This review appears on my blog, my YouTube channel, Amazon.com, and Goodreads.com.]