Stoicism for a Better Life – Weekly exercise (May 3, 2020)

Hello there, 

For this week’s exercise, let us find some inspiration in the words of Epictetus from his Discourses IV 12.1:

“Is it possible to be free from error? Not by any means, but it is possible to be a person always stretching to avoid error. For we must be content to at least escape a few mistakes by never letting our attention slide.”

Spoiler alert: You are a human being and you will make mistakes. A lot of them. As I say during the end of my Podcast episodes of Stoicism for a Better Life “Virtue is not about perfection, but about doing your best.” The goal is to try and works towards perfection (not be perfect) by reducing errors as much as possible.

If we try to be perfect it is a sure-fire way to set up for failure, for we will inevitably do so. But just paying attention to reduce failures is possible. And attention is a habit. So, as a practical exercise this week, try as often as you can to pay attention. Letting your attention slip and wander builds bad habits and encourages mistakes. 

Find a way of reminding yourself to pay attention. Maybe use a memento, or a cyclical reminder on your phone, or a Post-It on your screen and mirrors, etc… Just pay attention to reducing a few instances in the error of your ways. And let me know what your trick was on Twitter or Reddit. It might help me improve my own! 

Anderson Silver

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