| If you're wondering if you're getting better, wiser, more philosophical in this Stoic journey, here's a test: How many arguments are you getting in each day? How often are you fighting with others? We talked about Elon Musk a while ago. Imagine having ten kids, billions of dollars, seven companies, tens of thousands of employees, a real opportunity to write a better future…and spending your time seeking out culture war issues to get sucked into. Imagine engaging with random trolls online, getting into spats with journalists and politicians. You might think that sounds pretty silly…but are we really that much better in our own, smaller lives? "The beautiful and good person neither fights with anyone…" Epictetus says in Discourses. The meaning of an education, of philosophy, he says, is "learning what is your own affair and what is not. If a person carries themselves so, where is there any room for fighting?" If Stoicism is not freeing you from endless online outrage, if it is not making you less distracted, less of a busybody, less contentious, what is it doing for you? The whole point of philosophy is to make you self-sufficient, self-actualized, self-aware. This isn't to say that agreeableness is the goal of life, but certainly acceptance and tolerance is. Minding your own business, focusing on what truly matters, being kind, being patient, keeping an open mind? These are all byproducts of the virtues, and a sign that you're making progress as a Stoic. P.S. Look, life is frustrating. Every day people will do something that annoys you, as Marcus Aurelius admits in Meditations. But that doesn't mean we have to give in to our anger. We can rise above it and become, as Epictetus suggests, beautiful and good persons focused on our own affairs. That's our aim behind The Daily Stoic Taming Your Temper Course—to give you practical Stoic strategies you can implement immediately to weaken anger's grasp on your life. Just imagine how much more you could get done, how your relationships would improve, if you didn't fall victim to anger's destructive ways? However much progress you've made on your Stoic journey, we could all use some extra help putting our temper in check and knowing how to better defuse anger. Head here to learn more and register for the Daily Stoic Taming Your Temper Course today! |
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