Life is Short, Why Waste It on Emotion That Doesn't Serve You.
Several years ago I came upon an important philosophy about life. I didn't know the name of it or where it came from. Heck, I didn't even know if it had a name. It was a simple concept really, and one that, if applied, can lead to a rich and more rewarding life. It's about how to approach the part of life that resembles a street fight. When bad things happen, when you get punched in the gut, it's important to remember that life happens FOR you, not TO you.
That's it. I take it to mean, that even our misfortunes are designed to move us forward, make us more powerful and help us grow.
Over the years, as I worked with the profound meaning of those words above, I came across Stoicism. Stoics believe and live their life exactly the way I described above. When a loved one dies, they use that heartache as a lesson in fortitude. When a stoic happens upon misfortune, they don't work against it, they flow with it and use the misfortune to grow. That concept is very important.
Famous Stoics like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus were a study in the great power of Stoicism. There are many more throughout history, kings, presidents, millionaires, billionaires etc, but these were a few of the famous founding fathers.
Seneca, as Nero demanded he commit suicide, faced it without emotion and used the time he had left before ending his life to console his family.
Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor of the Roman Empire, wrote daily about restraint, compassion and humility.
Epictetus overcame the horrors of slavery to found a school that taught many of Rome's greatest minds.
Here's a stoic exercise we can use to break the chains of slavery ourselves. We were born in Amazing times. If you live in a developed country you are most likely afforded many comforts. However, comforts enslave us. We start to become protective of our homes, money--our way of life.
We start making decisions based on that comfort and begin to lose sight of the things our souls truly yern for. We live short lives. Time is of the essence.
EXERCISE>
Practice Poverty. Limit yourself a few times a month and take away creature comforts. Television, cell phones, video games. Eat less, sleep outside or in your car. Wear you beat up clothing and humble yourself among others. Most of all, help yourself realize that you can and will always survive. When you realize you can still survive even in your worst case scenario, then you can break the chains that bind you. Freedom.
Tim Ferriss Has recently completed an ebook, titled, The Tao of Seneca. You can get it HERE.
The Tao of Seneca is a great resource to learn more about Stoicism.
👏🏿 Man, this was a great post. People would accomplish a lot more if they had this way of thinking and living.
My man! Thanks for stopping by and giving it a read. I really appreciate the comment too.
Nice...upvoted, resteemed and followed😊
Thank you, so much mhel. Means a lot. I gave you a follow right back. Thanks for stopping in.
You're welcome
English version below
Très intéressant comme post. Merci d'avoir pris le temps de l'écrire. On m'a souvent parler de Tim Ferriss et de son livre «La semaine de 4 heures» mais je n'ai pas encore pris le temps de le lire. Je vais ajouter son ebook sur ma liste de lecture. :-)
Very interesting post. Thank you for taking the time to write it. I was often told about Tim Ferriss and his book "The 4-hour workweek" but I have not yet taken the time to read it. I will add his ebook to my list. :-)
I think you'll love the ebook. Thank you for taking the time to post a comment. I truly appreciate it. Have a great day.
great post man.A lot to think about. :) upvoted :)
Thank you for the support. Grab that ebook from, Tim Ferriss. It's free and worth the time. Thanks again for the support and comment. Means a lot.
I'm really glad you posted this. I stumbled upon the link in a comment. This was a necessary refresher to lessons learned and later forgotten. As a young boy I began defaulting to what I later found to be known as a stoic behavior/mindset as a defense mechanism. It certainly served me well and in self-reflection ultimately brought me much insight and happiness. I feel I've strayed as of late. My comforts have made me weak, my rise from poverty to financial stability has made me complacent. This was a nice knock on the head to make me realize I've began caring about things that don't matter and have lost appreciation for certain things in life. Thank you for posting.
thank you so much for such a nice comment. I'm so glad it helped. I'm sorry you went through so much discomfort as a child, but I'm glad you found stoicism. Check out tim ferriss new ebook I linked also. It's free and really awesome. Thanks again, friend.
All is well. I've come to appreciate any past discomforts. I will absolutely check out the e-book later when I get the chance.
wow, thanks for the resteem too!