--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why do some people, when they want to…" description: "\"Why do some people, when they want to practice, keep coming against problems and difficulties, and obstacles - inner obstacles and outer obstacles? It'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/tenzin-palmo-1431_adversity_why-do-some-people-when-they-want-to-pra_1722989.png" --- # Why do some people, when they want to practice, keep… ![“Why do some people, when they want to practice, keep coming against problems and difficulties, and obstacles - inner obstacles and outer obstacles? It's because of the lack of merit.” quote by Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/tenzin-palmo-1431_adversity_why-do-some-people-when-they-want-to-pra_1722989.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/tenzin-palmo-1431_adversity_why-do-some-people-when-they-want-to-pra_1722989.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/tenzin-palmo-1431_adversity_why-do-some-people-when-they-want-to-pra_1722989.png) > “Why do some people, when they want to practice, keep coming against problems and difficulties, and obstacles - inner obstacles and outer obstacles? It's because of the lack of merit.” [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People face inner and outer obstacles when practicing because they lack inner merit or confidence. **In simple terms:** Lack of merit creates obstacles in practice. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner merit to overcome challenges. Themes spiritual practice obstacle confidence merit inner growth Mood reflective determined Type advice motivational When to use this quote - meditation - training - personal development - overcoming fear Key Concepts psychology self‑efficacy resilience Questions to Reflect On - What inner qualities can you strengthen? - How can you address external obstacles? A Different Perspective Merit alone may not remove all external barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Obstacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacles/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) ## Related quotes > [For some people, every door opens, and they meet just who they need to meet when they need to meet them, all the conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/for-some-people-every-door-opens-and-they-meet-just-who-they-need-to/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Art is always about overcoming obstacles between the inner condition and the skill for expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/art-is-always-about-overcoming-obstacles-between-the-inner-condition/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Just entering into the dharma and taking refuge and bodhisattva vows is a tremendous amount of merit, but we need more and more and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/just-entering-into-the-dharma-and-taking-refuge-and-bodhisattva-vows/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [It takes a tremendous amount of merit to meet with the dharma - especially if you have an interest in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/it-takes-a-tremendous-amount-of-merit-to-meet-with-the-dharma/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Before I met Ayn Rand, I was a logical positivist, and accordingly, I didn't believe in absolutes, moral or otherwise. If I couldn't prove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/before-i-met-ayn-rand-i-was-a-logical-positivist-and-accordingly-i/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [There is no discussion inside this boardroom to say we've got to get into this or that. We look at every growth opportunity on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-packer/there-is-no-discussion-inside-this-boardroom-to-say-we-ve-got-to-get/) [James Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-packer/) > [Misfortune is the test of a person's merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/misfortune-is-the-test-of-a-person-s-merit/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense."... "We must treat each man on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/let-the-watchwords-of-all-our-people-be-the-old-familiar-watchwords/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. We are not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-we-may-say-against-collections-which-present-authors-in-a/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I could give you some names of Workshop participants who are as good as many who are being published but haven't had the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gunn/i-could-give-you-some-names-of-workshop-participants-who-are-as-good/) [James Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gunn/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity, the less they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-every-man-according-to-his-desert-and-who-should-scape-whipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The Iranian people have a proud past. They merit a great future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/the-iranian-people-have-a-proud-past-they-merit-a-great-future/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) ## More by Tenzin Palmo > [All of us are playing roles, and there's nothing wrong with playing roles because we have to live in this world - the problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/all-of-us-are-playing-roles-and-there-s-nothing-wrong-with-playing/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [The very best players, when they are practicing, put everything they've got into it. But then they leave it for a while. And it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/the-very-best-players-when-they-are-practicing-put-everything-they-ve/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [I really don't know what I could teach and don't really plan to teach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/i-really-don-t-know-what-i-could-teach-and-don-t-really-plan-to-teach/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [If you go to any nunnery and ask them what the main obstacle is, they'll always say low self-esteem and lack of confidence. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-go-to-any-nunnery-and-ask-them-what-the-main-obstacle-is-they/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [To really be of benefit to others as the Buddha always taught, we ourselves must first get out of the swamp. 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One has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/for-any-practice-to-work-the-mind-which-is-meditating-on-the-object/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [I've often said that the seventh paramita should be a sense of humor, so we don't take ourselves too seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/i-ve-often-said-that-the-seventh-paramita-should-be-a-sense-of-humor/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [If you take the time to study how to be a doctor and how to use your scalpel and your medicine, then there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-take-the-time-to-study-how-to-be-a-doctor-and-how-to-use-your/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [If we want to be musicians, dancers or sportspeople, we can download a certain amount and watch DVDs and read books, but in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-we-want-to-be-musicians-dancers-or-sportspeople-we-can-download-a/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Realization is wonderful, but you have to expand it until there's not a single defilement left in the mind and the mind is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/realization-is-wonderful-but-you-have-to-expand-it-until-there-s-not/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [It's not a matter of how much you know or can define, or how many millions of mantras or thousands of prostrations you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/it-s-not-a-matter-of-how-much-you-know-or-can-define-or-how-many/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [We have compassion because of the incredible pain and suffering which we as unenlightened beings cause to ourselves and all others through our ignorance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/we-have-compassion-because-of-the-incredible-pain-and-suffering-which/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [When I look back I can think that of course I've been lazy and haven't practiced as much as I could have and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/when-i-look-back-i-can-think-that-of-course-i-ve-been-lazy-and-haven/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [We do have the precious opportunity of this human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/we-do-have-the-precious-opportunity-of-this-human-life/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [I think the problem with Western students is they're very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/i-think-the-problem-with-western-students-is-they-re-very-ambitious/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) [Explore all 242 Tenzin Palmo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) ## More Adversity quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Friction is necessary. Ease of life leads to complacency and the atrophy of the human will and spirit. Within our struggles lives our strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-versey/friction-is-necessary-ease-of-life-leads-to-complacency-and-the/) [Jason Versey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-versey/) > [“Every adversity is just another opportunity to excel a little more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/every-adversity-is-just-another-opportunity-to-excel-a-little-more/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Just because she doesn't talk about it, doesn't mean she isn't feeling it. She hurts, but she won't wear it on her sleeve. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) James Buckham Kennedy > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) S.E. SEVER > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,001 Adversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why do some people, when they want to practice, keep coming against problems and difficulties, and obstacles - inner obstacles and outer obstacles? 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