How to Use Difficulty to Your Advantage
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I can’t stop thinking about this quote from Marcus Aurelius:
“The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
This reminded me of Michael Caine, a British film icon who appeared in more than 160 films over eight decades. In a 2002 interview, he shared his life philosophy:
"Use the Difficulty."
As a young actor, Caine was rehearsing a scene when a chair got stuck in the door, blocking his path.
Another actor told him,
"Use the difficulty. If it's a comedy, fall over it. If it's a drama, pick it up and smash it."
This idea became Caine's mantra:
"There's never anything so bad that you cannot use that difficulty. If you can use it even a little to your advantage, you're ahead."