MSS #0166: When Life Blocks the Door, Don’t Remove It

MSS #0166: When Life Blocks the Door, Don’t Remove It

14 Mar, 2026

🕒Read time: 2.7 minutes
🚀 In a hurry? Jump to “Use the Difficulty” for a reduced reading time of 1.2 minutes.

If this subject line caught your eye, good.

Because this week’s idea is simple.
Uncomfortable.
And quietly powerful.

It comes from an unexpected place.

The world of acting.

And a lesson passed down between generations.

A Lesson Michael Caine Never Forgot

Early in his career,
Michael Caine was struggling.

He was on stage,
blocked by something that wasn’t meant to be there.

A chair.
Stuck in the doorway.

Blocking him from entering the acting area on stage.

He told an older actor he couldn’t enter.

The response was immediate.

“Use the difficulty.”

Confused,
Caine asked what that meant.

The actor explained:

If it’s a comedy,
fall over it.

If it’s a drama,
pick it up and smash it.

Don’t fight the obstacle.
Don’t complain about it.

Use it.

That phrase stayed with Caine for life.

He later said it shaped not just his acting,
but how he dealt with setbacks off stage too.

Why This Works on the Mind

This isn’t motivational fluff.

It’s psychology.

When something goes wrong,
our instinct maybe resistance.

Most likely denial.

“This shouldn’t be happening.”
“This has ruined everything.”

That thinking wastes energy.

It fixes the mind on ‘Why me. Why now’ thinking.

And focuses on excuses and wishing it was different.
And fuels stress.

Using the difficulty does something different.

First it fosters acceptance (that’s not wishing it was so).

Simply acknowledging – this has happened (like it or not).

It’s here.

It asks the brain:
“How can this help me?”

That question alone changes things.

• Resistance drops

• Creativity increases

• Agency returns

• Victim mode dissolves

The obstacle stops being an enemy.
It becomes material.

Something workable.

Use the Difficulty

Here’s how to apply this in real life.

When something blocks your path,
pause.

Then ask:

“What would it look like to use this?”

Not remove it.
Not avoid it.

Use it.

• A setback reveals what matters

• A delay creates space to rethink

• A failure shows where to adapt

• A conflict exposes a boundary

• A loss clarifies direction

You don’t need to like the difficulty.
You just need to engage with it differently.

That shift alone reduces suffering.

Linking Back to Last Time

In MSS #0160 31^st Jan 2026,
I shared my Nan’s advice.

Find the ONE opportunity after a disaster.

This is the same idea.
From a different angle.

My Nan said:
Look for the opportunity.

The actor said:
Use the obstacle.

Both are teaching the same skill.

Don’t let events decide your inner direction.

Summary

Difficulties are unavoidable.

But how we meet them is not.

You can resist them.
Or you can use them.

And sometimes,
using the difficulty is the very thing
that moves your life forward.

Quick recap:

• Michael Caine learned “Use the difficulty” early in his career

• Obstacles can become material rather than barriers

• Resistance increases stress and suffering

• Engagement restores control and creativity

• Every difficulty can be worked with

  
  Next time life blocks the door —
  don’t remove it.

Use it.

See you next week. One more thought 👇

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That's it for this week. Thanks for reading, really hope this helped. Contact me if you think I can help you further at [email protected].

Happy thinking.