Stoicism for a Better Life – Weekly exercise (April 3, 2019)

Hello there,

This week for our guidance, let us look at Epictetus Discourses II 13:

“When I see an anxious person, I ask myself, what do they want? For if a person wasn’t wanting something outside of their own control, why would they be stricken by anxiety?”

Anxiety is a very broad term and subjective to each person. It can range from a physically debilitating fear, to an afflicted mind over what to eat for breakfast. This week let us simply use anxiety as the definition of a perturbed mind that is not 100% clear and rational.

So this week when you feel conflicted, annoyed, anxious, perturbed. etc, ask yourself what it is that you want, desire, seek, wish for or hope to avoid, etc. Then remind yourself that what you wish for is what is causing your affliction, not the event itself. By identifying the actual cause of your agitation, irritation, confusion or annoyance, you can take control (YES CONTROL) of your view of the circumstances. The Discipline of Assent does not mean accepting “bad” or unwanted things, but rather the capacity to see things for what they are (bare bones) without the false-value judgments that we internally tend to make, and then accepting the events as they are (not bad for me…but just is).

As usual, we all love to hear real live examples, so share your experiences and lessons learnt. Many people read your comments for inspiration, even if they don’t answer.

Much love to you all and good luck this week,.

Anderson Silver

(Author of “Your User’s Manual” and “Vol 2: Your Duality Within”)