After hearing author Ryan Holiday on a podcast, I was intrigued with his knowledge of Stoicism and just how the philosophy aligned with my core values. After purchasing The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living and Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius I decided to document my journey. Here I will share my anecdote while learning and reflecting on Stoicism and how I plan to apply it to my life.
“I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune. You have passed through life without an opponent — no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you.”
- Seneca, On Providence, 4.3
“We must undergo a hard winter training and not rush into things for which we haven't prepared.”
- Epictetus, Discourses, 1.2.32
“Men, the philosopher's lecture-hall is a hospital — you shouldn't walk out of it feeling pleasure, but pain, for you aren't well when you enter it.”
- Epictetus, Discourses, 3.23.30
“The rational soul is stronger than any kind of fortune — from its own share it guides its affairs here or there, and is itself the cause of a happy or miserable life.”
- Seneca, Moral Letters, 98.2b
“Whenever you take offense at someone's wrongdoing, immediately turn to your own similar failings, such as seeing money as good, or pleasure, or a little fame — whatever form it takes. By thinking on this, you'll quickly forget your anger, considering also what compels them — for what else could they do? Or, if you are able, remove their compulsion.”
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 10.30
“Anything that must yet be done, virtue can do with courage and promptness. For anyone would call it a sign of foolishness for one to undertake a task with a lazy and begrudging spirit, or to push the body in one direction and the mind in another, to be torn apart by wildly divergent impulses.”
- Seneca, Moral Letters, 74.31b-32