It was unlikely. It was unexpected. It was unpleasant.
It was your fault. Not that it happened, but that you were surprised that it happened.
You should have seen it coming, as we’ve been saying. You should have seen it coming because the Stoic’s job is to see it coming. All the terms of the human lot, Seneca writes, should be before our eyes. Exile, war, torture, shipwreck—these were some of the possibilities he urged us to contemplate. We could add other timely and timeless contingencies: Recession. Cancellation. Climate disaster. Sickness. Betrayal. Loss. Death.
These things happen to people…therefore, they could happen to you. And if you don’t anticipate them, train for them, contemplate their existence, you will be hurt all the more by them. The unexpected blow, Seneca says, lands heaviest.
So be aware. Be ready.
P.S. There is freedom in mastering your response to whatever happens to you. Epictetus, a former slave, tells us that to be truly free, we need to realize what we can control and what we cannot—and that our choice is in how we respond.
Can you master your own response to fate?
This month, read Epictetus alongside Ryan Holiday and our Daily Stoic community with the How to Read Epictetus: A Daily Stoic Digital Guide—a structured companion that breaks down his major themes so you can apply his wisdom to your actual life.
Through August, when you buy Epictetus’s Discourses and Selected Writings, you’ll get30% OFF ourHow to Read Epictetus Digital Guide. Add a paperback copy of Meditations to your bundle for just $10.
Get the digital guide by August 26 and you’ll receive an invitation to the live Epictetus Q&A with Ryan Holiday—a rare chance to ask your biggest questions and connect with Stoics around the world.
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