Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his

The words of E. Joseph Cossman, “Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal,” shine with the fire of discipline and the stern clarity of purpose. In this teaching lies the secret of unwavering focus: that the road to any great achievement is strewn with trials, but they appear insurmountable only when one forgets the destination. The goal is the flame in the darkness, the star by which the traveler sets his course. When the gaze is fixed upon it, the stones underfoot matter little. But when the gaze falters, when the mind turns to doubt, then even the smallest stone seems a mountain.

The ancients themselves understood this truth. The Greeks told of Odysseus, who, though battered by storms and tempted by sirens, never forgot his homeland of Ithaca. His journey was long, his trials relentless, but his eyes were fixed on his goal, and so he endured. Had he dwelt on the obstacles, he would have surrendered to despair or delay. But because he held the vision of home in his heart, he pressed on until he arrived. So too, Cossman reminds us, the essence of success lies not in the absence of obstacles, but in the constancy of vision.

History offers us another witness in the life of Helen Keller. Born deaf and blind, her world was enclosed in darkness and silence. Many around her saw only the obstacles, the impossibility of education, the futility of hope. But Helen, with her teacher Anne Sullivan, fixed her mind on the goal of learning language and opening her spirit to the world. Though others saw walls, she saw her purpose, and thus the obstacles became only passing shadows. Her life became a testament that even the heaviest chains cannot bind one whose eyes are fixed on a greater end.

The meaning of Cossman’s words is both fierce and liberating. Fierce, because they demand discipline of mind: to keep the goal ever before you, to refuse the distractions of fear, failure, or complaint. Liberating, because they reveal that obstacles are not the true enemy; distraction is. The mountain is not the obstacle—it is your vision that makes it either a barrier or a stepping stone. Focused on the goal, the mountain becomes part of the path. Focused on the mountain, the goal disappears.

Let us take this lesson into our own lives. Too often, when hardship arises, we stare at it with paralyzing fear. We forget why we began, what we seek, what fire burns in our hearts. And so we stumble, not because the obstacle is too great, but because we have lost sight of the horizon. To live greatly, we must train ourselves to return, again and again, to the goal that gives meaning to our struggle.

The practical action is this: write down your goals, speak them often, keep them before your eyes as a lamp in the night. When difficulties rise, remind yourself why you began. Do not give your energy to complaining about obstacles; give it to advancing, even if by a single step. Celebrate progress, however small, for each step keeps your gaze fixed forward. Surround yourself with those who remind you of your purpose, and remove from your path voices that dwell only on obstacles.

Therefore, O listener, engrave these words upon your heart: “Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.” Fix your gaze upon the end you desire. Let no storm, no stone, no delay distract you. For the one whose eyes remain upon the goal will find that obstacles shrink to nothing, while the goal itself grows brighter, drawing them ever onward to victory.