The Stoic Challenge: A Philosopher's Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient

by William B. Irvine

you can turn the setbacks you experience into vehicles for self-transformation.

our first priority should be to prevent ourselves from being flooded by negative emotions.

“Nothing seems to me more unhappy than the man who has no experience of adversity.

a wise man will welcome a degree of adversity

Negative visualization involves thinking about how things could be worse;

To become emotionally tougher, you need to tackle your fears

scared self lives in your subconscious mind, next door to your lazy self.)

there will be a last time for everything you do.

To last-time meditate, you periodically pause in your daily routine to reflect that no matter what you are doing, there is a chance that this is the last time you will ever do it.

he would spend the time that remained experiencing as few negative emotions as he can, with as little anxiety, fear, anger, and regret as possible. He would do his best to embrace the sources of delight that his life still had to offer.

The prospect of death will, at last, make us fully aware of how beautiful, how wonderful our life is.

we must keep in mind the Stoic principle that we should not concern ourselves with things we cannot control.

Another central principle of Stoicism is that we should be socially useful: we should, that is, do what we can to help those around us have better lives.