It's Not Always About Fighting For What You Want
The path of least resistance—found or created?
10 years ago, the course I’d set for myself turned out to be really bumpy; very difficult. Not like, “worthwhile” difficult. Like, “caught in a washing machine of crashing waves in the surf break, unable to reach the calmer water farther out” difficult.
5 years ago, while recovering from a traumatic brain injury, I had plenty of time to examine the progress I’d made. It was substantial. I’d learned a lot, and found many new ways to strengthen my resilience.
But at what cost?
Today, while enjoying some scheduled rest, I’m grateful for the choices I made to lean into the pull of the tides on my journey instead of continuing to thrash.
Sometimes we have to fight for what we want. Other times, it’s the choice not to fight that brings us where we wanted to go all along.
The Mill at Lewis Creek in Vermont offered good reminder that the journey is never a straight line, and that the path of least resistance is often found rather than created.
Roger Federer gave a fantastic commencement speech at Dartmouth where he explained how “effortless” is a myth.
He weaved really valuable insights into a storytelling format full of light-hearted, but sincere, nuggets of wisdom.
I found this fascinating:
“In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches”.
Of the 80% that he won, he only won 54% of the points in those matches.
The difference between winning and losing boils down to being 5% better, 50% of the time. Wow. Federer framed this really well, “sometimes you’re going to lose. A point, a match, a season, a job: it’s a roller coaster, with many ups and downs…Most of the time it’s not about having a gift. It’s about having grit.”
His message was clear: hard work will get you there. And I love that he made a point to speak about what hard work can look like in practice, saying: “Even when I was in the top five, it was important to me to have a rewarding life, full of travel, culture, friendships, and especially family”.
You can watch for yourself below. It’s worth your time.
Thanks for being here.
See you next time.
onward.
-dmac
Here are my favorite resources for becoming unobstructed that you can use this week.
watch.
Jazz band covers Nirvana on the spot (ft. Ulysses Owens Jr.).
Dr. Gabor Mate on the connection between ADHD, Anxiety, and Trauma.
listen.
Russel Brunson’s sales and marketing coaching lesson with Ali Abdaal.
David Epstein on why the 10,000 hour rule is wrong with Steven Bartlett.
Timm Chiusano on courage, creativity, and finding purpose with Ryan Holiday.
read.
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss.
How to keep a writer’s notebook by Katherine May.
Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins.
Welcome back or welcome to Becoming Unobstructed.
I’m Derek, a former outdoor guide climbing my way through the tech world. Every week I write essays on personal growth, leadership, and building mental wealth.
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