The Rad Stoic #003

The list of Rad Stoics is growing! Thanks to those that have signed up for the "newsletter" in the last 2 weeks. I put "newsletter in quotes (twice!) because as you can see, this is just an email. My damn signature isn't even working yet. I am a failure and I will never amount to anything!!!

Annnnnnyway....here are 3 quotes and my reactions impressions and judgements of said quotes. Keep on being as Rad as you can!

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Discourses & Selected Writings - Epictetus

The faculty of choice distinguishes humans from irrational animals. Rational animals can hold off acting on impressions until they are scrutinized and assessed. If they are judged unreasonable - i.e. irrational or merely impractical - we can and should withhold our assent from them. "Don't let the force of an impression when it first hits you, knock you offer your feet; just say to it, 'Hold on a moment; let me see who you are and what you represent."

Discourses & Selected Writings - Epictetus

Discourses emphasizes the importance of freedom from the world and highlights humans' status as agents, who through their ultimate independence are responsible for their own happiness and independent of others. Happiness is attained through what we are capable of.

Mastery - Robert Greene

Think of it this way: There are two kinds of failure. The first comes from never trying out your ideas because you are afraid, or because you are waiting for the perfect time. This kind of failure you can never learn from, and such timidity will destroy you. The second kind comes from a bold and venturesome spirit. If you fail in this way, the hit that you take to your reputation is greatly outweighed by what you learn. Repeated failure will toughen your spirit and show you with absolute clarity how things must be done.

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Mentally removing yourself from the world around you and recognizing that you are a distinct and self-controlled aspect of the world. Give yourself that distance while also remaining fully a part of it. Carl Sagan said that we are all made from the dust of stars and that we are a way for the universe to discover itself. So we are very much a part of the world but, in our intelligence and evolved nature, have developed the talent and ability to assess the things within the universe which we are not -- the things around us - the things outside of our control.

But it comes back to the Stoic virtue of temperance where we do not want to be so removed that we constantly judge and avoid partaking in the world but we do not want to be so ensconced (like in velvet - Costanza!) in the world that we exist only with our reactions and allow them to dictate our actions. It is that 'faculty of choice' that is critical and that requires some time for us to process the outside world. And then our judgments of events and actions around us are more intentional.

For me, the idea of an impression knocking you off your feet - it happens to me. I hear something that is counter to my way of thinking and in that moment, I feel something happening in my body and brain that want to rise up and shove the words right back. But that is instinct and reaction - not thoughtful processing. As a self-described Stoic, that is not my desired state. But withholding for now and withholding forever are very different. The more you train yourself to take in external events, think on them, and decide to consider their impact on you, the faster you become and processing your thoughts. And you will fail, as I have. But the framework is there to try again the next time.

On the Greene quote, if you fail at applying these Stoic practices, it doesn't mean Stoicism or just intentionality doesn't work or doesn't work for you. If my daughter misses a free throw in basketball (and she better not!), that doesn't mean that basketball isn't for her. It means that she will get better with repeated practice.