Tag Archives: The Stoic

Arts, Literature, Philosophy, Psychology

(Philosophy) The Stoic: ‘Observe Cause and Effect’

UNBIASED THOUGHT

“Pay Close attention in conversation to what is being said, and to what follows from any action. In the action, immediately look for the targets, in words, listen closely to what’s being signalled.” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.4

THROUGH the work of the psychologist Albert Ellis, Stoicism has reached millions of people through what’s known as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). As a form of therapy, CBT helps patients identify destructive patterns in their thoughts and behaviour so they can, over time, direct and influence them in a more positive direction.

Of course, Marcus Aurelius had no formal training in psychology, but his words here are as important as any doctor’s. He’s asking you to become an observer of your own thoughts and the actions those thoughts provoke. Where do they come from? What biases do they contain? Are they constructive or destructive? Do they cause you to make mistakes or engage in behaviour you later regret? Look for patterns; find where cause meets effect.

Only when this is done can negative behaviour patterns be broken; only then can real life improvements be made.

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Arts, Literature, Philosophy

(Philosophy) The Stoic: The Enemy of Happiness

PASSIONS & EMOTIONS

“It is quite impossible to unite happiness with a yearning for what we don’t have. Happiness has all that it wants, and resembling the well-fed, there shouldn’t be hunger or thirst.” – Epictetus, Discourses, 3.24.17

I’ll be happy when I graduate, we tell ourselves. I’ll be happy when I get this promotion, when this diet pays off, when I have the money that my parents never had. Conditional happiness is what psychologists call this kind of thinking. Like the horizon, you can walk for miles and miles and never reach it. You won’t even get any closer.

Eagerly anticipating some future event, passionately imagining something you desire, looking forward to some happy scenario – as pleasurable as these activities might seem, they ruin your chance at happiness here and now. Locate that yearning for more, better, someday and see it for what it is: the enemy of your contentment. Choose it or your happiness. As Epictetus says, the two are not compatible.

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Arts, Literature, Philosophy

(Philosophy) The Stoic: Don’t Make Things Harder Than They Need To Be

PASSIONS & EMOTIONS

“If someone asks you how to write your name, would you bark out each letter? And if they get angry, would you then return the anger? Wouldn’t you rather gently spell out each letter for them? So then, remember in life that your duties are the sum of individual acts. Pay attention to each of these as you do your duty . . . just methodically complete your task.” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.26

Here’s a common scenario. You’re working with a frustrating co-worker or a difficult boss. They ask you to do something and, because you dislike the messenger, you immediately object. There’s this problem or that one, or their request is obnoxious and rude. So you tell them, “No, I’m not going to do it.” Then they retaliate by not doing something that you had previously asked of them. And so the conflict escalates.

Meanwhile, if you could step back and see it objectively, you’d probably see that not everything they’re asking for is unreasonable. In fact, some of it is pretty easy to do or is, at least, agreeable. And if you did it, it might make the rest of the tasks a bit more tolerable too. Pretty soon, you’ve done the entire thing.

Life (and our job) is difficult enough. Let’s not make it harder by getting emotional about insignificant matters or digging in for battles we don’t actually care about. Let’s not let emotion get in the way of kathêkon, the simple, appropriate actions on the path to virtue.

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