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Welcome to The Stoa Letter, the newsletter on Stoic theory and practice.
Today’s piece comes from Stoa co-founder Michael Tremblay and is adapted from his Better Everyday With Epictetus course on the Stoa app.
🏛️ Theory
It is always tempting to feel bad for ourselves.
We want to point fingers and place the blame elsewhere. Why did this happen to me? Why was I so unlucky? Why are things so unfair? One Epictetus’ students embodies this mentality when he complains about a runny nose.
Epictetus snaps back: “For what purpose then, slave, have you hands? Is it not that you may wipe your nose?”
This may seem harsh, Epictetus was a strict teacher. But it is not cruel. There is a lesson here.
In any situation there are two perspectives you can take. One about how bad and difficult things are for you. Another about the tools you have to fix the situation, and the benefits that come from it.
A Stoic trains themselves to take this second view. They snap themselves out of complaining, into action.
Epictetus goes on to ask his student:
What do you think that Hercules would have been if there had not been such a lion, and hydra, and stag, and boar, and certain unjust and bestial men, whom Hercules used to drive away and clear out? And what would he have been doing if there had been nothing of the kind? Is it not plain that he would have wrapped himself up and have slept?
Hercules only became a famous hero because he faced adversity. He became excellent by overcoming challenges. This is the second perspective, the Stoic perspective.
The purpose of life is to live well. Feeling bad for yourself when challenges arise does not help you do that, but thinking about the tools you have to improve your situation does.
Hercules would not have been Hercules if he just slept in bed. And you will only be the best version of yourself if instead of focusing on what’s wrong with your life, you focus on how to improve it.
🎯 Action
Today, commit to taking on one challenge enthusiastically, with energy.
🔗 Links
🏛️ We just uploaded 7 new days of routines to our Better Everyday With Epictetus course on Stoa. Check it out in the Stoa app.
As always, if you truly cannot afford a subscription to Stoa reach out to us and we’ll set you up.
💭 These thoughts from Alyssa from the last letter on Seneca and embarrassment stuck out to me:
Cringe is the cost of success. Instead of merely refocusing on moving forward, cringe, a sign of discomfort, should be pursued in order to reach excellence. The virtue of courage can only be found when one is face with a discomfort in the pursuit of common good.
As always, thanks for reading and leaving your thoughts on the letters.
All good things,
Caleb
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