“Wanna Go For A Run?”
“Wanna go for a run?”
After a slow start to our Sunday morning, both quite comfortable with a book and a cup of coffee in-hand, I asked Julie if she wanted to head outside for a run to get out and play. We went back and forth a bit, procrastinated, found all sorts of other little things to do, slugged down our remaining coffee, and, 45 minutes later, we were finally headed out the door.
While we weren’t jumping for joy about this little endeavor, I think we both had a sense of accomplishment for actually lacing up our shoes—getting over inertia—and heading outside for a run.
As we locked the door, though, and headed down the stairs, I think it hit us at the same time: rain.
We both got to the door to head outside and, defeated, just stood there. We kind of chuckled and, simultaneously, said…
“Really?”
The Obstacle Is The Way
Recently, I’ve recently been pretty engrossed in reading a couple of books by Ryan Holiday. On a whim, I picked up his book, Ego is the Enemy, and tore through it. I couldn’t get enough. Intrigued by what he had to say, I picked up one of his earlier books, The Obstacle Is The Way. Inspired by Stoicism—a philosophy asserting that virtue is happiness and judgment should be based on behavior, rather than words; that we don’t control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and our responses—Holiday argues that, “we can turn our own adversity into advantage.”
In a sense, by simply doing what is in front of us, rather than thinking about the task, we are able to unlock success.
Success in behavioral outcomes, cognitive outcomes, and emotional outcomes.
By addressing the obstacle in front of us—by doing—we unlock our creative potential when we just engage in the process.
In the words of Marcus Aurelius, the emperor of the Roman empire and a Stoic philosopher, “The impediment to action advances actions. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
The obstacle: rain
Juxtaposing our running dilemma—“really? rain?”—with where the two of us were over a year ago when training for our respective Ironman events, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Obstacles—when the goal is clear—are simply moments to play.
Moments to train.
Moments to get a better understanding of any possible scenario that can come our way.
Moments to tell a better story.
Obstacles: Moments To Tell A Better Story
Rewind to over a year ago, the rain would simply be another step toward our goal. Today, though, the rain seemed insurmountable.
You see, obstacles, when the vision is well-defined, don’t seem like obstacles.
Obstacles seem like opportunities.
Opportunities to develop.
Opportunities to improve.
Opportunities to learn something.
Opportunities to get out of the proverbial box.
And, the best part, obstacles encountered when pursuing goals carry lessons for the future. You can “dig from the well” to inform solutions to similar obstacles encountered at a later date. By embracing obstacles, you add tools to your toolkit of success.
The solution: play and look for the story.
Play & Look For The Story
“Let’s just make it fun.”
Outside we went.
Watches started. Rain on our faces. On our jackets. Toes wet through the mesh of our shoes.
Embracing our inner kid, we each stomped through a puddle.
An awareness of fall colors.
A rainbow.
A lightness about our effort.
A world of opportunity.
A world of color.
A better story.
As Julie and I made our way through the run—dodging cars, splashing through puddles, waving to people who were also out—we ended our run with smiles on our faces without feeling like we even did a workout.
We felt free.
The obstacle became the way.
Our mind is the obstacle…not the elements.
Go for that run! Tell a better story.