What stands in the way helps you on the way.

Where this comes from

Marcus Aurelius ruled the Roman Empire and kept a private notebook of reminders to himself, written in Greek about 1,850 years ago. In this one he noticed that the thing blocking his way could become part of the way: dealing with it was the work.

How you could say it to a five-year-old

“Oh no, it fell again! Now you know where it wobbles.”

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.20. We put these lines into plain English ourselves, staying close to the original and to public-domain translations.