Since a good friend of mine asked me to not spoil Toy Story 5 which I saw with my family yesterday, I will instead spoil Inside Out 2. Not for spite, but in service of Stoic analysis of Disney cartoon movie films - which you have all repeatedly beckoned for.
The villain of Inside Out 2 (which I also saw in theaters with my family - just not yesterday) was Anxiety (even though Disney no longer has 'villains' - just folks that lost their way only to be welcomed back into the circle of trust within 90 minutes).
The protagonist, Riley, loved playing ice hockey. But her anxiety about not being good enough, the pressure she put on herself, the need to fit in - put her in a downward spiral that, despite all good intentions from Anxiety and a good amount of rationalization, eventually caught up with Riley as she sat in the penalty box fuming about her state of affairs which she felt was not her fault.
She was frustrated that she lacked the control necessary to control her teammates thoughts, stop the opponent in their tracks, and ensure her old friends didn't hate her. But all of these problems and her frustrations about her lack of control were spun up by Anxiety.
Marcus Aurelius said "today I avoided anxiety. Wait -- I discarded it. Because it was in me the whole time." (LOVE this one)
Seneca said "we suffer more in imagination than in reality."
As I sat in the theater and watched the final boss battle between Joy and Anxiety as Joy jumped off the top turnbuckle and elbow slammed Anxiety like Macho Man Randy Savage and then Disgust and Sadness performed a team clothesline on Ennui, that slinky bastard, I could only sit and wonder how much the writers of Inside Out 2 wanted to directly convey the tenets of Stoicism to a younger audience.
(Ok the WWE scenario I described above was me taking some liberties but just go with it)
It was only when Joy approached Anxiety in a tornado of franticness and allowed her to turn off the Anxiety and just be. Anxiety is going to be there. Instincts and reactions are at the ready....always. We don't need to kick Anxiety out of our heads. That's impossible. But we can acknowledge it, consider how it can be used for good and have the Temperance to not hand it the keys. Checks and balances here people!
As I've said before, authors and writers do not need to stand up and yell "THIS IS STOICISM" but the folks in the know, know. Good advice is good advice. And if you hear good advice, there's a chance, perhaps a strong chance, you can find that advice within Stoic teachings.
The mismatch between events and expectations in your happiness equation is often a matter of feeding your thoughts with wrong information, not a matter of what life actually presents to you. The events we factor in are distorted, and our expectations are inflated.
— -- Mo Gawdat, Solve for Happy
Life is not about one obstacle, but many. A determination that we will get to where we need to go, somehow, someway, and nothing will stop us. Persistence is an action. Perseverance is a matter of will. One is energy, the other, endurance.
— -- Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle is the Way
Be satisfied with being just and kind.
— -- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Rads Take
Do we want the world to meet our expectations? Or would we rather complain?
There are times when we talk about our life, our day, and we need to find the imperfection. Is the imperfection the obstacle? If it is, do we embrace the obstacle? So interweaving Mo and Ryan's quotes here, we need to consider that the obstacles will never stop. If we expect that to be the case, then we will come out on the right side of the happiness equation.
Our expectations of obstacles will be met by the reality (and our perception) of the events around us. But it all comes with forethought, training, preparation, awareness. Someone that is prepared is less frantic, spastic, and surprised.
"But I like to be surprised."
I think we all do. But what do we want to be surprised by? I would say the thing we don't want to be surprised by is how poorly we handled a situation. Other surprises, OK. But if we surprisingly disappoint our future selves, that's the one we should batten down the hatches again.
Holiday then says persistence and perseverance are key. An action and a mentality. Impact the world while maintaining intentionality within your own head. Dichotomy. Control and no control. This and that. Yin and yang. Our mind and things that aren't our mind. That really underlies much of this philosophy.
The third quote from, my favorite, Marcus Aurelius, is simply put and on point. If you expect a parade for doing the right thing and being kind, that may lead to you being unkind when you don't get it. Do the right thing because it is the right thing. Not for the fanfare.
Speaking of fanfare, sounds like we got some fireworks going off on this Thursday night before July 4th. Happy birthday America! 250! Go Team USA!