Stoicism for a Better Life – Weekly exercise (April 18, 2021)

Hello there,

Last week I went off a little hard on the text, so this week I will keep things nice and simple to atone for my ambition. Let us find some simple inspiration from the king of objectivity. This is form Epictetus’ Discourses I 6/ 6-8: 

“Who fitted the sword to the scabbard and the scabbard to the sword? No one? 

You are here to become a better person, right? That would make you a good person then, since, you are trying to become a better human being. So, why do you still get frustrated with your efforts and yourself? Because you EXPECT to get rewarded for your efforts in the form of virtue. And this means you have committed a cardinal sin of our school: Virtue is not found in the results/reward/or recognition of our efforts. Instead, virtue is found in our efforts and our efforts alone. Period.

Doing your best does not mean working yourself to death until you have a mental breakdown. It does not mean helping others. It does not mean being the best version of yourself. It does not mean you are good and everything you do is good. It does not mean others will notice it. It does not mean you will get recognition for it. In fact, more often than not,  you won’t get thanks for your good deeds, and you may even get chastised for them. I can’t be the only one who was accosted for doing the right thing, instead of getting a pat on the back.

So as a practical exercise this week, reflect on what virtue means. Then reflect on your own efforts to determine if your thoughts, judgment, efforts and responses are in line with that. Don’t be afraid to be honest with yourself. We all do it. We all lose sight of what we are trying to accomplish and fall back into old behaviours of patter. This is not bad. Nor is it a mistake. A mistake happens when we don’t admit this to ourselves and lie to ourselves, instead of recognizing what we are doing wrong and try to address it.

Like Epictetus reminds us, don’t do something and then expect that to make the world better. That’s not the way virtue works. In fact it is the opposite. Just focus on doing the right thing in the moment, one present moment after the other, and you will be virtuous. Don’t worry about the end results. Just try your best.

Anderson Silver (Stoicism for a Better Life)