In his book The Obstacle Is The Way, Ryan Holiday has written about the art of acquiescence thus:
‘Thomas Jefferson was born quiet, contemplative and reserved — purportedly with a speech impediment. Compared to the great orators of his time — Patrick Henry, John Wesley, Edmund Burke — he was a terrible public speaker.
His heart set on politics, he had two options: Fight against this sentence, or accept it.
He chose the latter, channeling the energy into his writing, which others put into oratory instead. There he found his medium. He found he could express himself clearly. Writing was his strength.
Jefferson was the one the founding fathers turned to when they needed the United States Declaration of Independence. He wrote one of the most important documents in history, in a single draft.
Jefferson just wasn’t a public speaker — that doesn’t make him less of a man for acknowledging it and acting accordingly.
Same goes for Edison, who, as most people have no idea, was almost completely deaf. Or Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind. For both, it was the deprivation of these senses — and acceptance rather than resentment of the fact — that allowed them to develop different, but acutely powerful senses to adjust to their reality.
It doesn’t always feel that way but constraints in life are a good thing. Especially if we can accept them and let them guide us. They push us to places and to develop skills that we’d otherwise never have pursued.’
In conclusion, Holiday notes that the way life is gives us plenty to work with, plenty to leave our imprint upon — because we can chose to be robust and resilient enough to handle whatever occurs.
