Early in Sir Michael Caine’s acting career, during an acting lesson, he was blocked from entering the stage due to a misplaced chair. When he expressed concern to the director, the advice he received was to “use the difficulty” — to turn the obstacle into part of the performance. For a drama, the suggestion was to move the chair with force or pick it up and smash it; for a comedy, he could trip over it.

“Use the difficulty” became a guiding principle in his life, inspiring him to find ways to leverage challenges rather than letting them hinder progress.

Facing adversity can reveal new opportunities or perspectives. By reframing obstacles one can avoid defeat and gain control over the situation.

Roman emperor and philosopher king Marcus Aurelius said, “What stands in the way becomes the way.”

It is the obstacles and difficulties that set the stage of our life; how we respond is what defines us.

It is not our good luck. It is not our bad luck. It is not our circumstances.

How we *respond* is how we write our life story.

We often think difficulty is simply bad.

But difficulty is essential.

Struggle is necessary.

Almost every good book, movie, story has difficulty. And there is a hero that strives to overcome it.

You are the hero in your own story.

And you cannot be a hero without difficulty, because with it, there is no story.

Embrace the difficulty; on the other side of difficulty lies a story worth telling.

Chair, by Nicholas Holman