Читать книгу Summary: The Obstacle Is the Way. The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph. Ryan Holiday - Smart Reading, Ольга Ганкова - Страница 3

Perception is how we see and evaluate reality. In order to learn to see things as they are, it is necessary to restrain our emotions, filter our fears and prejudices, and distinguish reliable signals from erroneous ones. It is not the obstacles themselves that are important, but how we respond to them. Where some see an unsolvable problem, others see new opportunities. Some are blinded by success, others remain clear-headed and cautious.

John Rockefeller was the son of an alcoholic criminal who’d abandoned his family. He took his first job at the age of 16 for minimal wage. In 1857, when he was a novice investor in Ohio, a massive crisis erupted there, which Rockefeller himself later called "the school of stress and unhappiness." His composure and rationality helped him to learn from the mistakes of others and learn a lesson that is best formulated in Warren Buffett's famous maxim: "Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful." Within twenty years Rockefeller would alone control 90 percent of the world oil market.

Our brains evolved in an environment where survival depended on quick responses. Now that the conditions of life have changed significantly, we continue to react emotionally to threats, whether they are real or imagined. For example, criticism expressed by a boss or squandered money does not seriously threaten our well-being. We always have a choice: to succumb to animal instincts or control them and assess the situation reasonably. There are a few things to keep in mind when faced with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. We must try:

▶to be objective;

▶to control our emotions and keep an even keel;

▶to ignore what disturbs or limits others;

▶to revert to the present moment;

▶to understand that this problem is only an episode, to see things in perspective;

▶to focus on what can be controlled.

Realize your strength. Only we decide what to feel in a particular situation. A person can be deprived of property, physical freedom, but our thoughts and views depend only on us. You can give up, come apart, or stay true to yourself. If we do not want to feel offended, we cannot be offended.

Rubin Carter, at the peak of his career, was wrongly accused of triple murder and sentenced to three life terms. The only thing he could control in this situation was himself and his perception. He announced to the prison authorities that he would not allow them to treat him as a prisoner: he refused to wear prison clothes, take prison food, go to disciplinary committees asking for the term reduction. He spent every free second studying his own case, reading books on jurisprudence and philosophy. In the end, the verdict was declared unfair. After his release from prison, he continued to live as if nothing had happened, and refused to consider himself a victim.