The World's Best Book Summaries
Can you really free yourself from suffering? And if so, what does it take? Suffering is a fact of life, but Buddhists believe that you can attain freedom from suffering. The first step is to change your perspective on suffering: Instead of viewing suffering as inherently bad, look for a silver lining in every situation that makes you suffer. Here are four strategies to free yourself from unnecessary suffering.
What does Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way teach about Stoicism? What is the key message to take away from the book? Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way is Stoicism applied. The key premise can be distilled into two basic truths: 1) no event is inherently good or bad, and 2) you can choose to see every problem as an opportunity. These truths are Holiday’s foundational beliefs about the world that lead him to conclude that you can transform any problem into an opportunity that benefits you. Keep reading to learn about the key premise of Ryan Holiday’s
Do you tend to overthink things when it’s time to take action towards your goals? How do you get over this action paralysis? When faced with the need for action, we too often procrastinate and make excuses. But consistently putting in the effort is how you build the momentum necessary to reach your goals, and momentum is more important than anything else. If you don’t take action to achieve your goals, your risk becoming soft and complacent. Here is why it’s important to take consistent action towards your goals and never stop moving forward.
How does one develop resilience? What can you do to become better at handling the curve balls that life throws at you? One of the cornerstones of Stoic philosophy is to be invulnerable to hardship and any external stress. Most modern people don’t have this kind of Stoic resilience because our powerful technology lulls us into thinking we can control everything that happens around us—we forget that life is unpredictable. Here’s how to build Stoic resilience, according to Ryan Holiday.
What is the Stoic take on suffering? How does subjective perception cause suffering? According to Stoics, suffering is, to a great extent, the result of our inability to see things as they are. In contrast, Stoics view events neutrally—that is, they observe only the facts of any given situation, without judgment. Here is how our inability to see things as they are leads to unnecessary suffering.
What is happiness to you? Do you think happiness is the natural state for humans? Are your beliefs about happiness rooted in reality? People have many misguided beliefs about happiness. These widely held beliefs trap us in vicious cycles that actually increase—rather than decrease—our suffering. In this article, we’ll explore four common myths about happiness, and debunk them with human psychology rooted in empirical evidence, rather than cultural misconceptions.
Can you free yourself from suffering? How can embracing suffering help you free yourself from it? According to Buddhism, suffering is inherent to human existence. That’s why the first step toward eliminating suffering is, paradoxically enough, to accept it. There are four strategies to embrace suffering: 1) don’t take things personally, 2) stop feeling guilty, 3) contemplate your mortality, and 4) stop resisting change. Let’s explore each in more detail.
What is virtuous life? What exactly does it mean to live virtuously? According to Ryan Holiday, the author of The Obstacle Is the Way, we have a moral obligation to live a virtuous life. A virtuous person, by Holiday’s definition, is someone who honestly works to improve their lives and the lives of others as much as possible. Here’s what it means to live virtuously, according to Holiday.
What does Buddhism say about suffering? Can you really be free from suffering? According to Buddhism, suffering is an inescapable fact of life. That’s why—paradoxically enough—freeing yourself from suffering requires that you first accept it as inherent to your existence. Let’s explore the Buddhist take on suffering as a part of life and why you shouldn’t fight it.
What is Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way about? What is the Stoic secret to staying calm and unperturbed in the face of adversity? The Obstacle Is the Way is an instruction manual on how to solve life’s toughest problems, based on the teachings of the Stoics of Ancient Greece. Ryan Holiday argues that by adopting the Stoics’ historically proven formula for success, you can redirect the forces that typically work against you and will them to push you toward your goals. The following The Obstacle Is the Way review covers the book’s context, background, and critical reception by