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January 20 - January 26, 2021
“Dig within. Within is the wellspring of Good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig.” – Marcus Aurelius
areté directly translates as “virtue” or “excellence,” but it has a profounder meaning—something like “expressing the highest version of yourself in every moment.”
“To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden.” – Seneca
Our passions cause us to act far beneath of what we’re capable of.
Stoicism has nothing to do with suppressing or hiding one’s emotions or being emotionless. Rather, it’s about acknowledging our emotions, reflecting on what causes them, and learning
to redirect them for our own good. In other words, it’s more about unslaving ourselves from negative emotions, more like taming rather than getting rid of them.
“A brave man isn’t someone who doesn’t experience any trace of fear whatsoever but someone who acts courageously despite feeling anxiety.”
He tells us that euthymia, which gets translated as tranquility, is all about knowing your path and walking that path. It’s the feeling we get when we truly and utterly trust ourselves. You’re confident that what you’re doing is right, and you don’t need to listen left and right for what others have to say. You don’t need to second guess and compare yourself to others all the time. You trust in what you’re doing because you’re trying your best, and you’re living accordingly to your values and know it’s all you can do.
“A good character is the only guarantee of everlasting, carefree happiness.” – Seneca
The hands are dealt by chance; you have no say in what you get. So the cards don’t matter, they’re neutral, indifferent. What matters is how well you play them.
The gap is only a potential gap because if we’re not aware enough, there will be no gap, and we will mindlessly go with the default (or auto-) response. Awareness, mindfulness, or attention as the Stoics call it, is necessary for you to be able to step in between stimulus and response. Depending on your awareness, the gap becomes bigger or smaller or even nonexistent.
No matter what uncontrollable challenges you’re facing in life, you have the power to decide what these events mean to you, only you have the freedom to choose your best reaction. Your reaction will either delight or harm you.
That’s why Epictetus advises to always have two rules ready at mind: (1) there is nothing good or bad unless we choose to make it so, and (2) we shouldn’t try to lead events but follow them. Resistance is futile, take things as they come, and make the best of what’s in your power.
Don’t be satisfied with mere learning, but practice, practice, practice! Because if time passes, Epictetus says, we forget what we’ve learned and end up doing the opposite, and hold opinions the opposite of what we should.
Do your very best to succeed . . . . . . and simultaneously know and accept that the outcome is beyond your direct control.
“Devastation—that feeling that we’re absolutely crushed and shocked by an event—is a factor of how unlikely we considered that event in the first place.” By considering challenging situations to pop you, you prepare yourself so that you won’t feel crushed and shocked by them if they happen. And you’ll be able to be your best.
