5 Life changing quotes I loved after reading THE OBSTACLE IS THE WAY by Ryan Holiday
In summary the book talks about a philosophy called stoicism. I’m not entirely sure of the definition but for me it’s all about changing your view on events and controlling your reactions towards it.
This is a great read for people who want to get better at:
Handling emotions
Controlling reactions to external events
Increasing their mental toughness
1. “Problems are rarely as bad as we think or rather… they are precisely as bad as we think.”
2. “ We get ourselves so worked up and intimated because of the overthinking that if we’d jsut gotten to work we’d probably be done already.”
When I was living back in the dormitory, I was with my roommates Calum, Jo and Alex. (Yes I had to mention them cause I miss them) and whenever I HAD A LOT, as in A LOT of things to do, I would talk about it for a long time and rant about it. I would bug Jo about what Youtube video is he currently watching. I would ask Calum about the next book he would read or new instagram post. I would inquire about Alex’s new computer game.
To be honest, I was just procrastinating because I really thought that all those things I had to do was an impossible task. So I’d rather distract myself with what my roommates are doing.
In the end when I would start late at night and end early morning.
“Punyeta I wish I started earlier” is what I’d say every single time.
In reality it wasn’t really that hard.
Instead of thinking how hard it is, I should’ve just spent my energy doing it.
Sayang oras gago.
A lot of our problems are just inflated versions of reality. Not all, but some.
Before : It’s not as bad as you think
Now: it’s how bad you think.
How bad do you think?
3. “That’s how people who become great at things do, they start. anywhere. anyhow they dont care if the conditions are right or if they’re being slighted. because they know that once they get started, if they can just get momentum they can get it to work”.
I used to put a similar quote on my phone.
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great”.
I’m writing right now and I pretty sure I’m not great. I’m not the best writer in the world. I’m not as popular as the others.
But I WILL NEVER be if I don’t start.
This might not be the best article that I’ve written but I know that as long as I keep doing it and as long as I am open to feedback and keep improving, I just might be great. Just might. Baka lang naman.
My brother and I started a Youtube Channel because it was a long lost dream of ours.
Are we great at it? No.
Are we going to be great in the future? Maybe.
If we didn’t start, those questions don’t really matter.
What are you waiting for? Do what you’ve always wanted to do.
Even if the first output will be as shitty as fuck.
4 . “We don’t get to choose what happens to us, but we can always choose what we feel about it”
We all tell stories about ourselves. Unconsciously or consciously.
This one strikes a chord in me because when I got to Ateneo, we had this ORSem (Orientation Seminar for freshmen)
I vividly remember having a hard time talking in English. As a freshman and from a high school that wasn’t used to speaking in English, I was terrified. I would fumble with my words and was afraid of talking to my English-Speaking friends.
After those days I would blame myself.
“I wish I was from an English speaking school”
“I wish I wasn’t from the province”
“Siguro kung ganun mas magaling ako magenglish”
Mentally, this is tiring. Have you ever felt like that? Blaming yourself for something that you couldn’t control.
I tell myself this story at times when I would have a hard time conversing with classmates or whenever I would feel insecure about the smart and successful people around me:
“I’m just a guy from the province who is inferior to these people who live here in Manila, they are probably smarter than me and better than me”
In the end, I adapted. But the story we tell ourselves has an effect on our well-being and ego.
I didn’t choose to be a person from the province who wasn’t used to speaking English at first.
Masaya ako sa pinanggalingan ko, mahirap na ireklamo kung saan ka pinanganak baka magalit nanay ko.
What’s your story?
5. “You will come across obstacles in life- fair and unfair- and you will discover time and time again that what matters most is not what these obstacles are but how we see them, how we react to them, and whether we keep our composure”
When I was young and encounter obstacles or problems I almost always had this automatic reaction
“Lord Bakit ako? Bakit hindi na lang yung iba ang malas ko naman”
Now I’ve realized that obstacles, problems HAPPENS TO EVERYONE. I have my problems and most likely you have one too.
And now I’m starting to think that one of the things that separates the good from the great is that the great are those react gracefully with their problems. They get mad or frustrated for a while and then afterward they just tackle it head on.
Deadline got moved from your project? “ I’ll just reduce my social media time, I’m confident I can finish this”
Groupmate not helping? Oh I’ll try to talk to him and if not I’ll do it myself, might learn something new as well.
What I really love about this last quote is the acceptance of obstacles in life. There will always, ALWAYS be obstacles in life. Instead of whining about it, Instead of inflating the problem, tackle it.
Because after we overcome it, we’ll become stronger that we were before.
