Stoicism: What if Obstacles Were Bridges?

Article by – Braden L.
Blog – Caffeinated Philosophy

Author Bio:
Originally from the United States, Braden Laster now resides in the mythical land of Finland, following his “Great Migration” halfway across the world. Other than learning a mysterious elvish language, his days are often spent writing poetry, fiction, and occasionally other things. Reading, researching, and pondering are other frequent pastimes.

He also enjoys having in-depth conversations on subjects such as psychology and philosophy. If you ever cross his path, say hi! He’d love to chat with you over coffee. Braden lives in a comfy apartment with his amazing wife and their two cats.

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Throughout Stoic works, there are several mentions of viewing adversity as potentially beneficial to us. There is the possibility of seeing challenges rather than struggles, feedback rather than failure, and bridges rather than walls. How often might we miss opportunity because it shows up dressed differently than we expected?

There is a great deal in life we can’t truly control. Among the things most in our control are our own thoughts and actions. For example, we can choose to try and fill our minds with gratitude rather than bitterness. Granted, I think most of us would agree that our capacity is limited even there, but it is significant nonetheless.

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“What would have become of Hercules, do you think, if there had been no lion, hydra, stag or boar – and no savage criminals to rid the world of? What would he have done in the absence of such challenges? Obviously he would have just rolled over in bed and gone back to sleep. So by snoring his life away in luxury and comfort he never would have developed into the mighty Hercules.”

– Epictetus

Here, Epictetus elucidates to us the manner in which greatness is made; he points out how the challenges we face often are the very things that bring out our potential, that actualize us as human beings. Without facing difficulties, how could we ever discover our wells of strength and adaptability hidden within?

While you probably aren’t interested in hydra-hunting as a life path and becoming Hercules, there likely are goals you wish to accomplish. Perhaps there’s an idealized version of who you could be inside your mind. To approach becoming that version of yourself, you’ll need to be exposed to some kind of challenges and face them in such a way as to grow from them.

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“Every difficulty in life presents us with an opportunity to turn inward and to invoke our own inner resources. The trails we endure can and should introduce us to our strengths. Prudent people look beyond the incident itself and seek to form the habit of putting it to good use.”

– Epictetus

It’s important to note, on the other hand, that I’m not suggesting that we should push ourselves to our absolute limits, at the risk of harming ourselves, as if more is better. Instead, we can seek a healthy balance of challenge in our lives, which will vary from person to person.

Some of us already have enough difficulty in our lives that more would not be useful for our development. Some of us may not have enough. That is for each of us to decide for ourselves. As balance is needed in physical exercise, so it is in life. Too little and we begin to atrophy; too much, and we sustain injuries; just enough, and we grow.

In our growth, and especially while facing challenges, it’s also important to be mindful of when you need help and asking for it. For some people, this may be a challenge in itself.

“Don’t be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to pull you up? So what?”

– Marcus Aurelius

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I’ll close with a quote from someone who wasn’t a Stoic, but who, in these words, conveyed something that would probably have left Epictetus and Aurelius nodding in agreement.

“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”

– Rumi

A beautiful way to think how hardship can turn out to be a catalyst for growth.

Image from Pixabay

Remember that a lotus grows out of the mud.

What challenges have you grown from? When has receiving help been the critical factor in overcoming a difficulty in your life? Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from all of you. Namaste. 🤍