Stoicism for a Better Life – Weekly exercise (February 7, 2021)

Hello there,

This week I would like to simplify our approach to finding purpose and happiness to life. As an added bonus, I will once again seek some wisdom outside of our school (this of course is something our ancient guides recommend we do and knowledge is to be found everywhere and is the domain of everyone). Here are some inspirational words from the greatest consequentiality philosopher of modern times, John Stuart Mill:

“I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.”

This is a precept we hold dear in our school: Happiness is not to be found in externals, but within us. John Stuart Mill’s words above are a great way to reword this axiom in our modern consumerist and materialist world. Those of you who live in the western world like myself are all too familiar with our overconsumption and ridiculous alignment of our happiness with our “stuff”. 

We’re not bad people. We’re merely products of our society. And this society is entirely dependent on consumerism (as the pandemic has evidenced) and so the systems in place will always encourage us to get, buy, spend and upgrade. However, when will this be enough. At what point do you have the car you desire? When you get the $30K car? The $75K car? The $150K car? $500K car? The problem is the more we make the more we want to spend on the things we already have. Therefore, finding happiness in things and stuff is necessarily an endless journey. It’s like the horizon. You can chase it all you want but you can never get to it.

And this false happiness vs desire dichotomy is not only relegated to material goods. It is also pertinent for outcomes of events (or any other external for that matter, like say what others do or say, what the weather is, how your plans pan out etc…). The more things you want, the more ways in which you set yourself up for disappointment. 

So as a practical exercise this week, take inventory of something (or multiple things) you desire, whether material otherwise. Then reflect on this outcome and truly admit to yourself if this equates to happiness. Reevaluate what it is you desire and logically challenge whether it is of any importance (and the answer is always a resounding no when we can look at it objectively with a rational mind).

Do share some examples if you can.

Anderson Silver