Overcoming Life Obstacles Through Lessons in Ancient Stories
We all face obstacles in our lives. Your life is likely to be full of obstacles, dead ends, and wrong beginnings. Don't worry, because facing life's obstacles and overcoming them is a part of life.
Fortunately, overcoming life's obstacles is easy because the ancient stories that we are all used to hearing have secret meanings and teachings that really tell us how to overcome the obstacles of our lives, such as the Iliad, the Odyssey, and others.
The best part is that many of these ancient stories date back thousands of years, and the lessons learned from them have been verified and proven. Continue reading to learn about six tactics to overcome the obstacles in your life, in addition to obtaining information on how to recognize an obstacle and use it to your advantage using the teachings of the threshold guard.
How can we recognize life's obstacles?
According to the dictionary, an obstacle or hurdle is anything that stands in a person's way or prevents their progress and obstructs it. We could say that the word 'obstacle' is self-explanatory. Nevertheless, it is important to make sure that we all understand it in the same way. So, a life obstacle is anything that hinders your progress or anything that gets in the way of the path you want to take in life.
If you want to start a new career but you don't have the experience, then your lack of experience is an obstacle to change. If you want to stop caring what other people think of you but you are constantly worried, then your mindset is an obstacle to change.
Why are obstacles important?
You will always have obstacles in life. Anytime you do something that contains more than one variable - that is, people and things other than yourself - you are liable to encounter an obstacle, which is okay as you will always face obstacles in your life. Obstacles are not a bad thing, rather, it's a good thing because it's a sign that you're trying to do something outside of your comfort zone.
Nothing ever goes according to plan, but it does not mean that you should not try to do something in your life. This simply means that you will definitely encounter obstacles in your life along the way. There are an infinite number of variables in the world, and we can only control one of them, which is ourselves. So it is logical that you will face an infinite number of forces that oppose you when you are trying to do something in life. The form of the obstacle is manifested through these forces.
You are likely to encounter an obstacle in life at any time you open your door and leave your safe home in the harsh world. The obstacle may be something simple like forgetting the keys, or a major matter, like getting fired from your job. Regardless of that, we are bound every time we go out into the outside world to face one or more obstacles in life.
So we should not try to avoid obstacles, instead, we should accept them with open arms because this is a sign that we are on the right track. These obstacles are a test to make sure that we deserve what lies on the other side. We can continue to talk about obstacles, but the lessons found in the old stories are better and more significant.
What does the threshold guard teach us about life's obstacles?
The idea of the threshold guard comes from the work of the famous linguist Joseph Campbell and the reintroduction of Campbell's work by Christopher Vogler. All good stories have specific personal original models. This is based on a detailed analysis of all the popular stories throughout the ages, from 'Himeros' to 'Shakespeare'.
Each of these early models represents a real type of person or situation that we might encounter in real life. This is why these stories remain so popular throughout the ages, as they still seem real thanks to the original models of the very real characters.
These archetypes include people such as:
- The hero (the main character).
- The mentor (the teacher).
- The ally (the friend).
The list goes on, but let us stop here because the most important model for this article is the threshold guard.
According to Campbell and Vogler, who studied thousands of ancient and contemporary stories, the threshold guard is an obstacle on the hero's path to his adventure or journey. All good stories have heroes who try to get out of their comfort zone to grow as people, and threshold guards who guard - literally - the threshold between "the current main character" and "the person that this hero is supposed to become".
Campbell points out that this process is like entering a new world. When heroes grow as people and become better, they effectively enter a new world in which they have new knowledge and understanding of things. So, according to Campbell, the guardian of the threshold is what stands between the old world and the new world during personal growth.
The threshold guardians in ancient stories may be presented in characters such as "the Sphinx" in "Oedipus" and "Darth Vader" in the "Star Wars" series. They block the path that leads heroes to the lives they want. However, the hero in your life is not Oedipus or Luke Skywalker, it is you.
The purpose of the character of the threshold guard
Christopher Vogler tells us that the primary function of the threshold guard is to test the champion. When the heroes encounter a threshold guard in a story, it is up to them to choose to solve the puzzle or pass the test. If they pass it, or otherwise beat the threshold guard, they will be able to cross into the new world and become better people.
The threshold guard is there to ensure that the hero deserves what lies ahead. The guard will successfully disable the hero if they are not worthy, or if they do not have the skills or mentality to cross the threshold. However, if the hero deserves that new world, then the hero will demoralize the threshold guard and become a better person because they crossed the threshold.
The purpose of a threshold guard in general is to ensure that those who cross the threshold deserve what they want to have. For example, the guard might be a recruiter evaluating your experience level, a venture capital fund reviewing your company's financials, or it could be a failing relationship that requires more time and attention.
If you deserve it, you will cross the threshold and get the new job, receive the funding you desperately need, or mend that relationship. If not, you will be rejected and you will have to focus on acquiring the necessary skills to succeed.
What does the threshold guard represent in your life?
To be clear, you are the hero of your own life, and no one else but you. Therefore, the guards of the threshold are a test and a challenge for you to pass. Only those who deserve to pass the test reach the other side, while those who are not worthy are rejected in order to try again at another time.
Threshold guards represent the life obstacles we discussed earlier. You will face a guard on a threshold every time you encounter an obstacle in your life. The life you want is on the other side, and you can't cross the threshold and cross over to that side unless you deserve it.
Threshold guards can manifest as any kind of obstacle in our lives. They can be physical things like weather or people, or they can be metaphysical things like the demons that hide within us. Therefore, all that is stopping you from living the life you want is a threshold guard and an obstacle in life that you have to overcome.
There is something that opposes you every time you try to make a major change in your life. However, these guards are not evil. They are there to test you and make sure that you are worthy to join the new world you aspire to.
How can a threshold guard help you overcome life obstacles?
Well, all of that information looks great, but how can we translate the ancient idea of threshold guards into our modern daily life? Just as in our old stories and their display of the threshold guardians, there are also themes of how a hero can defeat these guardians. So let's take a moment to discuss each of these tactics for defeating the guardians, and then discuss how you can use them in your own life.
How does the hero overcome the threshold guard?
According to Campbell, there are six tactics that heroes use to defeat the guards and reach the new world, which are as follows:
- Running away from them.
- Facing them.
- Using cunning or deception.
- Using bribery or appeasement.
- Alliance with them.
- Grasping their strength.
The first five points are somewhat self-explanatory. These points are similar to our own evolutionary survival tactics, with some differences. For example, 'escaping' and 'confrontation' are different forms of 'hit-and-run'.
However, the sixth tactic is the most effective, and also the most important. Absorbing the power of the threshold guard is the behavior in which their power is used against them. Christopher Vogler calls this process gaining the sympathy of the enemy. If done right, the hero will become more powerful and cross the threshold, and the guardian will become an ally rather than an enemy. So grasping the power of the threshold guard is a way of using the obstacle as an advantage for the hero.
The most successful heroes in our ancient myths are those who pass the threshold guards and not the ones who eliminate them. So think of it as it is in bodybuilding, for example, the greater the resistance, the greater the potential strength. Therefore, the most successful heroes from our past are those who use resistance to become stronger and pass their old world trying to bring a new one.
How to become the hero and overcome the obstacles in your life?
Author Evan Tarver tries to clarify this by explaining an example from his own life: “I love self-development and personal growth. I'm always looking for ways to calm my mind, focus on the positive and truly enjoy life.
It is difficult, but it clearly has its benefits, as self-improvement leads to improved life satisfaction. However, there are an infinite number of obstacles that stand in my way. For example, the resistance I encounter every time I sit down to meditate is a form of threshold guard in my life, which leads me to the example I'd like to bring up.
One of my goals in life is to stop caring about what other people think of me. I use meditation and other positive tactics to calm my mind trying to stop. I thought I was doing a good job for a while until I hit an obstacle that turned into a threshold guard.
Believe it or not, there are a few people in my life who don't like me. They oppose me and my desire for self-growth. However, what makes them angry with me is not important now. The point is that every time I feel that I did let go of my negative feelings and overcome them, I see these people dragging me back into a world where emotions control me and not otherwise.
Every time I think I've crossed a threshold into a life where I don't care what other people think of me, I meet one of these guards and fall back into various forms of the negative thought loop and wonder: "Why doesn't this person love me?"
But knowing perfectly the primal personality model of the threshold keeper, rather than getting angry with myself and these people, I accept that I am not worthy enough to cross the threshold and that I still have work to do in controlling my own mind and not caring about the thoughts people have of me. So instead of getting angry at the obstacle that faces me in my life, I smile and go back to the starting point, knowing that if I adjust a thing or two, I may soon be worthy of the new world I aspire to.”
How do you track the direction of obstacles in your life?
Threshold guards and life obstacles are good things in general. They are a sign that you are moving in the right direction, and that you are close to the change you want in life. As Vogler says in his book (The Writer's Journey): "You may have encountered resistance when you tried to make a positive change in your life in daily life. People often oppose you - even those who love you - when they see you change.
They are familiar with your neural disorder and they found ways to take advantage of it. Therefore, the idea that you change may threaten them. It is important to realize - in case they resist you - that they are simply acting as threshold guards and testing you to see if you are determined to change. Successful champions learn not to count the guards as a threat, but rather, as useful allies and early indicators that new power or success is coming.
The threshold guards who appear to attack the heroes may be doing them a great service. Heroes also learn to view resistance as a source of strength. Instead of attacking the threshold guards' power directly, heroes learn to use it so it doesn't harm them. It actually makes them stronger. In this way, the guardians are defeated and fused into the hero's body. Finally, the heroes feel compassion for their enemies and seek to pass them rather than destroy them".
In conclusion
Remember that you are the hero of your life story, and just like any hero, you will encounter seemingly insurmountable obstacles along the way. However, if you could start seeing the obstacles you encounter as positive rather than negative things, you will soon cross the threshold into the new world that you desire.