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Arts, Literature, Philosophy

The Stoic: Control & Choice

CLARITY

“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own.” – Epictetus, Discourses, 2.5.4–5

The Pen

A metonymic adage, coined by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839.

THE single most important practice in Stoic philosophy is differentiating between what we can change and what we can’t. What we have influence over and what we do not. A flight is delayed because of weather – no amount of yelling at an airline representative will end a storm. No amount of wishing will make you taller or shorter or born in a different country. No matter how hard you try, you can’t make someone like you. And on top of that, time spent hurling yourself at those immovable objects is time not spent on the things we can change.

The recovery community practices something called the Serenity Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Addicts cannot change the abuse suffered in childhood. They cannot undo the choices they have made or the hurt they have caused. But they can change the future – through the power they have in the present moment. As Epictetus said, they can control the choices they make right now.

The same is true for us today. If we can focus on making clear what parts of our day are within our control and what parts are not, we will not only be happier, we will have a distinct advantage over other people who fail to realise they are fighting an unwinnable battle.

– The Stoic is a new series on site which aims to interpret powerful quotations and historical anecdotes through personal commentary.

Appendage:

stoicism

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Medical, Research, Science, Society

Research reveals a healthy diet helps to stave off dementia

RESEARCH

Dementia fighting foods. Research reveals a diet that is rich in these foods can lead to a bigger brain which reduces the likelihood of contracting dementia.

EATING healthily could ward off dementia and make your brain more than six months younger.

Researchers say people who eat a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, nuts and fish have bigger brains.

The findings are the latest evidence that ‘what is good for the heart is good for the head.’

A healthy diet, long known to protect people from heart problems, was found to add to brain volume, boosting people’s grey matter and the volume of their hippocampus – the brain’s memory centre. Across more than 4,500 people aged 45 and older, eating well was found to give people an average extra brain volume of two millimetres.

That is the equivalent of a brain being more than six months younger, as it shrinks with age. Having a larger brain is thought to ward off memory loss, which can often be followed by dementia.

Dr Meike Vernooij, co-author of the Dutch study from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, said: ‘People with greater brain volume have been shown to have better cognitive abilities, so initiatives that help to improve diet may be a good strategy to maintain thinking skills in older adults.’

He called for more research to ‘examine the pathways through which diet can affect the brain’. A healthy diet is believed to strengthen connections in the brain and ward off inevitable age-related decline.

The latest study, which was first published in the journal Neurology, involved people with an average age of 66 who were dementia-free. They were questioned on their diet, which was ranked with a score of zero to 14. The best were judged high in vegetables, fruit, nuts, whole grains, dairy and fish.

Participants then had MRI scans to determine their brain volume. Even considering brain-shrinking activities such as smoking and failing to exercise, those who ate well had an average of two millimetres more brain volume than those who did not.

Dr Sara Imarisio, of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said brain size was a useful indicator of brain health but the study did not allow any ‘firm conclusions’ about how diet quality relates to the development of dementia.

But she added: ‘Research suggests a healthy diet may help to reduce the risk of dementia, and Alzheimer’s Research is supporting pioneering research into ways we can encourage people at risk to adopt a Mediterranean diet.’

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