Tag Archives: Awareness

Arts, Philosophy

(Philosophy) The Stoic: ‘Accurate Self-Assessment’

AWARENESS

“Above all, it is necessary for a person to have a true self-estimate, for we commonly think that we can do more than we really can.” – Seneca, On Tranquillity of Mind, 5.2

Most people resist the idea of a true self-estimate, probably because they fear it might mean downgrading some of their beliefs about who they are and what they’re capable of. As Goethe’s maxim goes, it is a great failing “to see yourself as more than you are.” How could you really be considered self-aware if you refuse to consider your weaknesses?

Don’t fear self-assessment because you’re worried you might have to admit some things about yourself. The second half of Goethe’s maxim is important too. He states that it is equally damaging to “value yourself at less than your true worth.” Is it not equally common to be surprised at how well we’re able to handle a previously feared scenario? The way that we’re able to put aside grief, say, and care for others – though we always thought we’d be wrecked if any attempt was made. The way we’re able to rise to the occasion in a stressful situation or a life-changing opportunity.

We underestimate our capabilities just as much and just as dangerously as we overestimate other abilities. Cultivate the ability to judge yourself accurately and honestly. Look inward to discern what you’re capable of and what it will take to unlock that potential.

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Arts, Philosophy

(Philosophy) The Stoic: ‘The Straitjacketed Soul’

AWARENESS

“The diseases of the rational soul are long-standing and hardened vices, such as greed and ambition – they have put the soul in a straitjacket and have begun to be permanent evils inside it. To put it briefly, this sickness is an unrelenting distortion of judgment, so that things that are only mildly desirable are vigorously sought after.” – Seneca, Moral Letters, 75.11

IN the financial crisis and disaster of the late 2000s, hundreds of smart, rational people lost trillions worth of wealth. How could such smart people have been so foolish? These people knew the system, knew how the markets were supposed to work, and had managed billions, if not trillions of dollars and other foreign currencies. And yet, almost to a person, they were wrong – and wrong to the tune of global market havoc.

It’s not hard to look at that situation and understand that greed was some part of the problem. Greed what was led people to create complex markets that no one understood in the hope of making a quick buck. Greed caused other people to make trades on strange pools of debt. Greed prevented anyone from calling out this situation for what it was – a house of cards just waiting for the slightest breeze to knock it all down.

It doesn’t do you much good to criticise those folks after the fact. It’s better to look at how greed and vices might be having a similar effect in your own life. What lapses in judgment might your vices be causing you? What “sickness” might you have?

And, how can your rational mind step in and regulate them?
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Arts, Literature, Philosophy

The Stoic: There is Philosophy in Everything

AWARENESS

 “Eat like a human being, drink like a human being, dress up, marry, have children, get politically active – suffer abuse, bear with a headstrong brother, father, son, neighbour, or companion. Show us these things so we can see that you truly have learned from the philosophers.” – Epictetus, Discourses, 3.21.5–6

PLUTARCH, a Roman biographer as well as an admirer of the Stoics, didn’t begin his study of the greats of Roman literature until late in life. But, as he recounts in his biography of Demosthenes, he was surprised at how quickly it all came to him. He wrote, “It wasn’t so much that the words brought me into a full understanding of events, as that, somehow, I had a personal experience of the events that allowed me to follow closely the meaning of the words.”

This is what Epictetus means about the study of philosophy. Study, yes, but go and live your life as well. It’s the only way that you’ll actually understand what any of it means. And more important, it’s only from your actions and choices over time that it will be possible to see whether you took any of the teachings to heart.

Be aware of that today when you’re going about your daily business, deciding whom to vote for, waving to your neighbour as you walk to your door, tipping the delivery man, saying goodnight to someone you love. All of that is philosophy. All of it is experience that brings meaning to the words.

. You might also like The Stoic: The Power of a Mantra

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