Stoic Meditations

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384. That which you cannot reform, it is best to endure Jun 12, 2019

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Is Stoicism about going through life with a stiff upper lip? No, but enduring what cannot be changed is part of the philosophy. Modern Stoic Larry Becker called it the "axiom of futility."

383. No matter what trouble you mention, it has happened to many Jun 11, 2019

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Seneca reminds us that, regardless of how terrible a problem or event appears to be right now, plenty of others have gone through something similar before. They can be an inspiration to us to overcome whatever is happening in the same way.

382. What illusion about myself do I entertain? Jun 07, 2019

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Without knowing about modern psychological research, Epictetus figured out that we all too easily fool ourselves. Here are three Stoic techniques to at least partially remedy the problem.

381. What things you can be robbed of, and what things you can't Jun 06, 2019

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Cicero explains that we may lose any external good, because it isn't truly ours, but rather on loan from the universe. However, our judgments, considered opinions, and consciously embraced values are truly ours and cannot be taken away.

380. How to do a premeditation of adversity Jun 05, 2019

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Seneca talks about the premeditatio malorum, an exercise that allows us to be mentally prepared for possible negative outcomes of our action. The key to it is to engage your reasoning faculty, not your emotional reactions.

379. Life is like a journey: some things that you don't like will be thrown at you Jun 04, 2019

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Seneca uses a metaphor of life as a journey, or as a trip to the thermal baths, to make the point that obstacles will be thrown our way, either on purpose or by accident. The question is: how do we deal with them?

378. "Busyness" is no proof of happiness Jun 03, 2019

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Seneca anticipates modern social psychological research in arguing that keeping oneself busy for the sake of being busy does not lead to happiness. On the contrary.

377. People will do the same things even though you would burst with rage May 31, 2019

Show notes

Marcus Aurelius joins Seneca in his rejection of anger as a valid or effective motivator of human action. We should, instead, be moved to act by positive triggers, such as a sense of justice, or duty, or love.

376. The most important contribution to peace of mind is never to do wrong May 30, 2019

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Seneca explains why not doing wrong is your best bet toward achieving serenity of mind. Of course, it's also the virtuous thing to do.

375. What goads people into destroying other people? May 29, 2019

Show notes

Seneca gives a disturbing list of reasons why we kill each other. Most of them are precisely the kind of negative emotions that Stoic training is attempting to move away from.

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