Wow! After overcoming challenges starting the New Year, a new wave of challenges come ready to test my resolve in hopes of breaking me down.
It started during the Holiday Season when poor planning towards my personal finances resulted in an $8000 credit card bill for the month. While I had money saved in a Health Savings Account (HSA) to help pay for a medical expense charged to the credit card, a change in the HSA provider through my health insurance company would mean that the funds would not be readily available. In addition, money saved in a savings account ran nearly dry after failing to adjust for expenses throughout the previous year. After doing the math and making adjustments to my savings rate, I came up with a solution. Treasure!
The following week, I received an e-mail notifying that my computer’s AC adapter is being recalled for a safety issue despite owning the product for more than three years. The Chipotle-esque Mediterranean restaurant I occasionally go for lunch closed, leaving me to settle for overpriced Panera Bread. Following my lunch, I was tasked to solve a problem by noon the next day where three months were given to do this. When I got home, I found out that my previous auto insurance provider is still charging me even after switching providers for a lower monthly premium. Furthermore, I received a notice that I need to clear my kitchen and bathroom because pest control is coming the following day to treat my apartment (seriously, what the fuck?!).
In the past, I would have tensed up and froze upon the tasks that lied ahead. Instead, I smiled, laughed, and said to myself, “I’ll do my best, and leave the rest up to someone up above who can handle it better than I can (hint: it’s God).”
I began by prioritizing what needed to be done. I filled out the information to get a new AC adapter for the computer, hoping my adapter doesn’t melt and leave me in a sticky situation. I called my current auto insurance provider to ask what needed to be done, and if fifteen minutes can somehow save me 15% or more. I cleaned my kitchen and bathroom while laughing and swearing towards the situation. I laughed at Panera’s slowly fading popularity, as they continue charging $2.49 for a cheese danish I can get for free on my birthday. I put off the urgent task at work until the next day. I went to bed humbly praying for strength to overcome the worries stemming from the challenges.
I woke up the next day ready to tackle the remaining problem. I finished the urgent task to the satisfaction of my boss. The apartment was treated, so it was time to return the belongings back to the kitchen and bathroom. Panera is still slowly fading, along with their microwaveable Mac and Cheese I can now buy at Costco. I celebrated my evening watching a Korean show, and then listening to crunk music while typing this post.
This series of challenges reminded me of a book I read a few months ago called, “The Obstacle is the Way” by Ryan Holiday. The book inspires the reader to embrace obstacles by sharing anecdotes of people who made an impact in history, such as Marcus Aurelius, Ulysses Grant, John D. Rockefeller, and Steve Jobs. It follows the principles of stoicism, a Greek philosophy that aims to eliminate negative emotions in order to build joy inside ourselves through enduring pain and hardship without complaint.
The goal of the obstacles in our lives is not necessarily for us to solve, but rather, solve us so we emerge a better version of ourselves.
Holiday divides the discipline of overcoming obstacles into three steps:
1. Perception: Our reaction to obstacles determine how successful we will be in overcoming or thriving in them. It is not the situation that breaks us down, but rather, how we react to them. It is up to us whether to give in to such feelings.
I made a decision to say, “I’ll overcome it, just like I have done before,” as the challenges poured on. Cue: Lil’ Jon’s “I Don’t Give A”. Yeaahhh!
2. Action: Our energy or creativity on breaking the problem down and turning it into an opportunity. It is only in struggling with impediments that made others quit can we find ourselves in untrodden territory.
I began prioritizing what needed to be done, and then accomplishing them one by one. It is through taking action, we learn a new part of ourselves. Think of it as unlocking an achievement as we go along each task, except it’s in real life not in a video game. I still miss you though, Team Fortress 2.
3. Will: It is our internal power that allows us to handle defeat and difficulty, and cannot be affected by the outside world. By facing problems, we are like runners who train on hills or at altitude so they can beat the runners who expected the course to be flat.
I smiled as I completed one task done after the other, knowing that it is only a brief moment in the flow of time, where I will emerge stronger than before so long as I persevere. The strength and knowledge we gain through overcoming our challenges become a part of us and cannot be taken away.
Holiday explains the concept of the Inner Citadel, which is the fortress inside of us that no external adversity can break down. This Inner Citadel must be built and actively reinforced through physical and mental practice.
I like to think each obstacle we overcome as a brick used to lay the foundation for our Inner Citadel. Similar to faith, the Inner Citadel is where we can take refuge during the times our situations are seemingly daunting. It is where we can take a step back, take a deep breath, redirect our moral compass, and go back outside to take action.
Once we finish an obstacle cycling these three steps, it will repeat indefinitely for as long as we live. Passing one obstacle simply tells us we are worthy of more. While it may sound like a pain, obstacles are the sauce that adds variety to our lives. As the cliché goes, “Variety is the spice of the life.” Without obstacles to challenge us, make us grow, and solve us, we’d be living a rather dull life. And who really wants to live a dull life?
The question life now asks us, “What are you going to do to overcome your own challenges, so you can grow?”