The Obstacle is the Way 2

There are only two paths: the Easy Path, and the Right Path. (Paul Jarvis)

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Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“The Right Path is the Path of the Obstacle.

Obstacles are an essential nutrient. Without obstacles, we would not grow.”

“When you say ‘growth’, what do you mean?”

“There’s many ways you can think of it. One of them is growth as expansion. For instance expansion of our comfort zone, which expands our possibility-space.

You could say, obstacles are oracles that reveal our limitations, and the limits of our comfort zone.”

“You use a lot of metaphoric models.”

“It’s a kind of perspective-taking. Each model offers a different perspective, which adds nuance to the idea.”

“What other metaphoric models do you use for obstacles?”

“Obstacles as…
– nutrients/nourishment
– oracles

– beautiful opportunities
– stepping stones
– creative limitations
– teachers
– design space
– reminders/memento
– fuel (for our Inner Fire)
– quests
– training ground (for acquiring and maintaining skills)
…”

“How does failure fit into your model?”

“Failure is just another obstacle. I call it the failure-obstacle.”