Embracing Obstacles

This book is currently on sale for just $3 and it’s a hell of a deal.  I picked this up after hearing it referenced from several different groups of people in the span of a week, enough to make me curious.

“The obstacle is the way” presents an argument that much of what prevents us from achieving our goals in life is the perspective we apply to the objective reality of any given situation.  A challenging business negotiation can be seen as a stressful make or break deal, or a chance to further refine your negotiation skills.  The reality is that if you have one business negotiation it’s likely that you’ll have more in the future, thus taking the positive perspective of the situation will position you better for the next one regardless of the outcome.

When each obstacle you encounter can be re-framed into a learning experience, then everything compounds into more and more experience and skill.

The common approach that people take to a challenge is to give in – we say it can’t be done or we get angry when we try and fail.  There may be some learned helplessness, or emotional reactions that prevent clear thinking in these situations.  But stopping to get an external view can sometimes shead a lot of light.  We find it easy to suggest fixes to other people’s problems but often have a hard time thinking objectively about our own.

The book is a quick read, and worth checking out.