Quotation
Last reviewed:
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
Marcus Aurelius · Stoicism · Ancient · c. 170–180 CE; this English 2002
Part of:Stoicism in 5 steps →
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading is that a block to an external result need not block the rational aim, because the obstacle becomes material for the virtue the moment requires. A competing reading, the popular one, hears stubborn optimism: the original outcome will arrive by magic if you reframe hard enough. The Greek is Meditations 5.20. Gregory Hays's 2002 English is a forceful modern rendering; George Long stays closer to the mind converting a hindrance into an aid.
Did Marcus Aurelius really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. The Greek passage is secure. Hays's English is a forceful modern rendering, not a word-for-word crib. George Long (1862) is closer to: the mind converts a hindrance into an aid, and an obstacle on the road helps us on the road.
Where it comes from
Meditations 5.20, in Gregory Hays's translation (2002)
Approximate date: c. 170–180 CE; this English 2002.
How to use it
When a supplier misses a delivery before a Saturday market stall, rewrite the task as what good action is possible now that this is true: a smaller display, an honest sign, a calm conversation. That is the move the Greek describes. It does not promise that the missing stock will appear because you were philosophical.
A mindset reading
The popular line can sound like a productivity charm. Marcus is talking about the aim of reason, not about getting the original outcome. The habit is to change the description of the task before you pretend the world has changed.
Understand the philosophy
The chapter says other people are the proper object of our care and, when they obstruct, an indifferent, like sun or wind. An indifferent, in Stoic terms, is something that is neither virtue nor vice. The mind's work is to turn the block into part of the action that is still fitting. Hays made that work into a sentence people now tattoo.
- resilience
- change
- mind
FAQ
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading is that a block to an external result need not block the rational aim, because the obstacle becomes material for the virtue the moment requires. A competing reading, the popular one, hears stubborn optimism: the original outcome will arrive by magic if you reframe hard enough. The Greek is Meditations 5.20. Gregory Hays's 2002 English is a forceful modern rendering; George Long stays closer to the mind converting a hindrance into an aid.
Did Marcus Aurelius really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. The Greek passage is secure. Hays's English is a forceful modern rendering, not a word-for-word crib. George Long (1862) is closer to: the mind converts a hindrance into an aid, and an obstacle on the road helps us on the road.
Which work is it in?
Meditations 5.20, in Gregory Hays's translation (2002) Approximate date: c. 170–180 CE; this English 2002.