The obstacle is the path
Meaning: Difficulties are not barriers to our goals but the very means by which we achieve them.
Origin: Posted as a Zen saying, but no Zen source has been traced. The closest documented source is the Stoic emperor Marcus Aurelius, who wrote in his Meditations: "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." Ryan Holiday's book The Obstacle Is the Way (2014) popularized the idea.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, and Japanese
- French: L'obstacle est le chemin (literally: The obstacle is the path)
- Spanish: El obstáculo es el camino (literally: The obstacle is the path)
- Japanese: 障害こそが道 (Shōgai koso ga michi) (literally: The obstacle itself is the path)
More proverbs about Challenge
- After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb — Every achievement reveals further challenges ahead; success is a continuous journey.
- Fortune favors the prepared mind — Success comes not from luck alone but from being ready to seize opportunities when they a…
- Every wall is a door — What appears to be an impassable barrier can be transformed into an opportunity.
- Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is — Anxiety and worry magnify threats beyond their actual size.
- It always seems impossible until it's done — Before any achievement, it appears beyond reach; only completion reveals it was always po…
- Turn your wounds into wisdom — Our deepest pains and failures can become our greatest teachers and sources of strength.