Last Week

The Daily Stoic

The Practicing Stoic

Meditations

How to Be a Stoic

If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool, H/T mindyourbusiness:

The Stoic Challenge

Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.

 

May 14

“Those obsessed with glory attach their well-being to the regard of others, those who love pleasure tie it to feelings, but the one with true understanding seeks it only in their own actions. . . . Think on the character of the people one wishes to please, the possessions one means to gain, and the tactics one employs to such ends. How quickly time erases such things, and how many will yet be wiped away.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6:51, 59

I can’t depend on being happy if I use other people or outside things to give me that feeling. External forces are fickle. Pleasure as an end in itself leads to over indulgence and bad decisions. If I keep anger at bay, do my job, and try to be a good person, I can control my happiness.

 

May 15

“Don’t set your mind on things you don’t possess as if they were yours, but count the blessings you actually possess and think how much you would desire them if they weren’t already yours. But
watch yourself, that you don’t value these things to the point of being troubled if you should lose them.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.27

There are a few things I wish I had: a newer car for myself and my wife, a lift in the garage, a house with more land in the middle of nowhere, and some other things along those lines. There are also many things I have that are very nice: I put my truck back together and she is a joy to drive, a large garage with an 80 gallon air compressor and a well stocked tool chest, a house with no neighbors with a half acre on the lake. I try to remind myself that I have about 90% of my wish list and 90% is pretty damn good. If I lost these things, I would be troubled, but I was poor once, I can survive being poor again, if it all goes south.

 

May 16

“If you don’t wish to be a hot-head, don’t feed your habit. Try as a first step to remain calm and count the days you haven’t been angry. I used to be angry every day, now every other day, then every third or fourth . . . if you make it as far as 30 days, thank God! For habit is first weakened and then obliterated. When you can say ‘I didn’t lose my temper today, or the next day, or for three or four months, but kept my cool under provocation,’ you will know you are in better health.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.18.11b–14

I haven’t been angry for a week and a half. Even though last week I flew to Florida for work. I HATE the TSA, and while going through security did bother me, it did not have me seeing red like I used to.

My return flight got delayed leaving, and then we had to divert to Philadelphia because of weather. The plane refueled and we made it back to Norfolk through a gap in the weather. I then had to drive 45 minutes home. I got home around midnight. The next day my wife said she was expecting me to be grumpy when I arrived, but I was only tired. This is a lot of words to say that I am still a long way from perfect, but I am a hell of a lot better than I used to be.

 

May 17

“Show me someone sick and happy, in danger and happy, dying and happy, exiled and happy, disgraced and happy. Show me! By God, how much I’d like to see a Stoic. But since you can’t show me
someone that perfectly formed, at least show me someone actively forming themselves so, inclined in this way. . . . Show me!”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.19.24–25a, 28

To be a perfect Stoic might be impossible. It might not even be desirable, unless you become a hermit. I am trying to blend my humanity with Stoicism and using it to better myself is a worthwhile goal. I like the title to The Practicing Stoic because it implies I am not fully there and have to practice the things I want to improve.

 

May 18

“Pay attention to what’s in front of you—the principle, the task, or what’s being portrayed.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.22

I screw up when I try to do 2 things at once. Usually this is when I try to read and listen to a podcast or TV show at the same time. I have severely cut back on my podcast listening as a result of not being able to listen and work in my garage. Either I rewind the podcast, or I forget where I put a tool or some bolts. If I actually pay attention to what I’m doing I have these problems less often.

 

May 19

“That’s why the philosophers warn us not to be satisfied with mere learning, but to add practice and then training. For as time passes we forget what we learned and end up doing the opposite, and
hold opinions the opposite of what we should.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.9.13–14

It is good to recognize when an opportunity to actually use the Stoic philosophy happens. At a layover in Baltimore, I realized I forgot my ID. Without my ID, I might not be able to get on the base or onto the ship. I know last year I would have been pissed at myself for forgetting and dreading what might happen when I tried to go on base. I was able to say “It is what it is” and not worry about it the rest of the trip, but that took some effort. Once I got to the base, I was able to get on with two forms of ID after security called the ship for verification that I was expected. That would have been a lot of internal stress and anger for no reason.

 

May 20

“What’s the point of having countless books and libraries, whose titles could hardly be read through in a lifetime. The learner is not taught, but burdened by the sheer volume, and it’s better to plant the seeds of a few authors than to be scattered about by many.”
—SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 9.4

I have read many books, but there are some that I reread, and some that I have read many times. I have gotten more out of reading the auto biography of Frederick Douglass many times than if I had read many other books once. The books listed at the top of this article are a small sample of the Stoic books available, but I think they all hold up to multiple readings for a deeper understanding.