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August 22 - August 30, 2020
“Here is the rule to remember in the future, When anything tempts you to be bitter: not, ‘This is a misfortune’ but ‘To bear this worthily is good fortune.’”
Developing a virtuous life actually leads to a rich emotional life, one in which you are skillful with those emotions—cultivating the positive, while quickly overcoming the negative.
A core belief that separates Stoic thought from most other ancient philosophies—and modern ones—is that virtue is the only good. Stoics claim that only virtue is good in all circumstances. Justice is always good. Wisdom is never bad. The things many consider “good”—money, fame, and even health—can work to your benefit, no doubt, but can also play out in damaging ways.
Fate guides the willing, but drags the unwilling.”
“Not to feel exasperated or defeated or despondent because your days aren’t packed with wise and moral actions. But to get back up when you fail, to celebrate behaving like a human—however imperfectly—and fully embrace the pursuit you’ve embarked on.” —Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5:9
The Stoics particularly enjoyed a Pythagorean practice that asks you to review your day by asking, “What have I done wrong? What have I done well? What have I left that must be done tomorrow?”
“As long as you do what’s proper to your nature, and accept what the world’s nature has in store—as long as you work for others’ good, by any and all means—what is there that can harm you?” —Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 11:13
Epictetus explained the point of controlling desire and aversion with a simple truth: If you never get what you want, you will never be happy, and if you run into what you’ve been trying to avoid, you will lose whatever happiness you have. To develop consistent happiness, you must train yourself to desire only what you can always have, and fear only what you can always avoid.
The Stoic mind-set involves understanding what you can control and what you cannot. You ask yourself—what desires can I always obtain, and what things can I always avoid? The Stoic answer is if you only desire to be your best (to live with virtue) and if you only avoid moral mistakes (called vice), then you can always succeed because these are things that you control.
When confronted by a challenge, ask yourself: •How can I benefit from this? •What virtue can I draw on to meet this moment?
“If you have received an impression of any pleasure, guard yourself and create a delay. Then think of the time you will enjoy the pleasure, and the time after, when you will repent and be disappointed with yourself. On the other side, imagine your happiness if you resist the temptation and get to commend yourself for the victory.” —Epictetus, Enchiridion
A love of humanity shapes all Stoic actions.
Remember that our efforts are subject to circumstances, you weren’t aiming to do the impossible. Aiming to do what then? To try. And you succeeded. What you set out to do is accomplished.”
When you have to decide whether to abandon a particular project or not, ask yourself two things: •Have I done the best that I could? •In this new situation, what opportunities do I have to be my best self? After this, do what wisdom tells you is best.
The Discipline of Assent requires your attention. Stoics saw assent as a three-step process: •First, something happens to you (initial impression). •Next, you recognize what happened (objective representation). •Finally, you add your own spin on events (value judgment).
“You are just an appearance and not at all the thing you appear to be.” This is a phrase given to us by Epictetus specifically to help with the Discipline of Assent. Whenever an overwhelming value judgment forms in your mind, pause and repeat that line. Say no to the judgment until you’ve examined it further.
Epictetus said, “Whatever, then, we shall discover to be at the same time affectionate and also consistent with reason, this we confidently declare to be right and good.”
Stoics consider virtue the only absolute good, the only thing that is always healthy, the only path that will constantly allow you to thrive.
“Never stop sculpting your own statue, until the splendor of virtue shines out.” —Plotinus, Enneads
Modern philosopher Pierre Hadot defines the virtues as follows: •Wisdom, “the science of what ought or ought not to be done.” •Courage, “the science of what ought or ought not be tolerated.” •Justice, “the science of what ought and ought not be distributed.” •Moderation, “the science of what ought or ought not to be chosen.”
Chrysippus (quoted by Cicero in De Officiis) provides part of the picture in this quote, “He who is running a race ought to endeavor and strive to the utmost of his ability to come off victor; but it is utterly wrong for him to trip up his competitor, or to push him aside. So in life it is not unfair for one to seek for himself what may accrue to his benefit; but it is not right to take it from another.”
Epictetus says a Stoic will be “patient, gentle, delicate, and forgiving, as he would toward someone in a state of ignorance, who missed the mark when it came to the most important things. He will not be harsh to anyone, for he will have perfectly understood Plato’s words: ‘Every soul is deprived of the truth against its will.’”
If you desire only virtue, then you can be reasonable in what you want and generous with what you have been given.
All things are impermanent. What you have today will be used up, might break or be taken away, and won’t be yours forever. If you live as if things are permanent, in a world where that is never true, it will hurt to lose them. That hurt comes from unrealistic thoughts. If you assume that good health is your right, then even a simple cold will seem unjust and cause you to act poorly. If you believe your job will last forever, a layoff will devastate you. It doesn’t have to be this way. If you accept that things are only yours for a time, then you can be happy you had them while you did and not
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As you grow in that practice, you will understand the things you do not control also don’t have to control you: Your opinions, thoughts, and actions are yours to choose, and no one and nothing can influence them without your consent.
Stoicism says that your virtuous self already exists, you can choose that version of you right now if you choose.
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The greatest blessings of humankind are within us and within our reach. A wise person is content with their lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what they have not.”
“The only possession the wise person has is virtue, and of this they can never be robbed. Of all else they have merely the use on loan.”
The secret involves not aiming directly for happiness—because it isn’t a destination. Happiness merely accompanies you on your journey when your travels are virtuous.
“People try to get away from it all—to the country, to the beach, to the mountains. You always wish that you could too. Which is idiotic: You can get away from it anytime you like. By going within. Nowhere you can go is more peaceful—more free of interruptions—than your own soul.
You have reasonable desires for the world and your future, but you’re invested in how you work toward those goals, not specifically in the outcome.
When a man has said: ‘I have lived!’, every morning he arises he receives a bonus.” —SENECA,
The present-focused Stoic would instead concentrate on the things she controls. She would not seek pleasure in indifferents but would instead find joy in virtue. In fact, Pleasure’s opposite is Joy, the state of mind that finds positivity despite the impermanence of things.
when anything presents itself to you, stop and define it at its most basic. Do not add value judgments. If you are about to partake in something you know goes against your best interest, strip that thing into its component parts. Clear away its mystique so you can move forward with a clear head.
“Don’t panic before the picture of your entire life. Don’t dwell on all the troubles you’ve faced or have yet to face, but instead ask yourself as each trouble comes, ‘what is so unbearable or unmanageable in this?’ Your reply will embarrass you.
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What can you let go of for a while that would help you see your virtuous self as independent from your possessions? You could eat the same, basic meal every day for a week. Many Stoics use cold showers as a way to accept discomfort as an indifferent. You could quit TV or the internet for a few days.
“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work—as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for—the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?’” —Marcus Aurelius,
why should you allow another person to take the harmony you’ve worked so hard to attain?
it is your function to defend yourself firmly, respectfully, without passion. Otherwise, you have destroyed within you the son, the respectful man, the man of honor.”
It is always appropriate to stand up for yourself, as long as you do so with virtue in mind.
there are two communities—the one, which is great and truly common, embracing gods and humans, in which we look neither to this corner nor that, but measure the boundaries of our citizenship by the sun; the other, the one to which we were assigned by the accident of our birth.” —Seneca,
Serving your community is healthy. It can help you feel engaged with a world that can often seem distant and overwhelming. In particular, acting at a local level can help you when larger issues feel completely outside your grasp.
