Epicurus once said that the wise will accomplish three things in their life: leave written works behind them, be financially prudent and provide for the future, and cherish country living.
Since the vast majority of our words and actions are unnecessary, corralling them will create an abundance of leisure and tranquility.
Ask yourself: Is that really worth it? Is it really that pleasurable? Consider that when you crave something or contemplate indulging in a “harmless” vice.
Best,” to the Stoics, did not meaning winning battles. Superior did not mean accumulating the most honors. It meant, as it still does today, virtue. It meant excellence not in accomplishing external things – though that was always nice if fate allowed – but excellence in the areas that you controlled: Your thoughts. Your actions. Your choices.
Leisure historically meant simply freedom from the work needed to survive, freedom for intellectual or creative pursuits. It was learning and study and the pursuit of higher things.
La adversidad puede endurecerte. O puede soltarte y mejorarte, si se lo permites.
True will is quiet humility, resilience, and flexibility;.
Each of us must break the link in the chain of what the Buddhists call samsara, the continuation of life’s suffering from generation to generation.
This book will share with you their collective wisdom in order to help you accomplish the very specific and increasingly urgent goal we all share: overcoming obstacles. Mental obstacles. Physical obstacles. Emotional obstacles. Perceived obstacles.
I refuse to acknowledge that. I don’t agree to be intimidated. I resist the temptation to declare this a failure.
The path of least resistance is a terrible teacher. We can’t afford to shy away from the things that intimidate us. We don’t need to take our weaknesses for granted.
Both egotistical and insecure people make their flaws central to their identity – either by covering them up or by brooding over them or externalizing them.
I am going to be myself, the best version of that self. I am in this for the long game, no matter how brutal it might be.
The little compulsions and drives we have not only chip away at our freedom and sovereignty, they cloud our clarity. We think we’re in control – but are we really?
Nothing can ever prevent us from trying. Ever.
Though of course we don’t control reality, our perceptions do influence it.
It’s one thing to not be overwhelmed by obstacles, or discouraged or upset by them. This is something that few are able to do. But after you have controlled your emotions, and you can see objectively and stand steadily, the next step becomes possible: a mental flip, so you’re looking not at the obstacle but at the opportunity within it.
Give more. Give what you didn’t get. Love more. Drop the old story.
Many of the things that upset us, the Stoics believed, are a product of the imagination, not reality.
Careful as someone crossing an iced-over stream. Alert as a warrior in enemy territory. Courteous as a guest. Fluid as melting ice. Shapable as a block of wood. Receptive as a valley. Clear as a glass of water.