Practice 51 Don’t Judge But Yourself

Living with areté and directing one’s actions toward the common good is its own reward. This is our nature and it’s ultimately our best chance to live a happy and smoothly flowing life. We must not look or wish for added bonuses such as admiration from others because they aren’t within our control and can fade quickly.

The only good, then, is living in accordance with nature, fulfilling our natural potential, and thus living by the virtues of wisdom, justice, courage, and self-discipline. The outcome of our virtuous behavior, however, is down to fate, it’s beyond our direct control, and therefore is neither good nor bad, but indifferent

Ultimately, it’s never the challenges that matter, but how you perceive them.

Stoicism was not born out of nowhere, its founder Zeno and the early Stoics had been influenced by different philosophical schools and thinkers, especially by Socrates, the Cynics (like Crates), and by the Academics (followers of Plato). The Stoics adopted Socrates’ question: How to live a good life? They focused on applying philosophy to everyday

Stoics offer so many strategies to deal with challenging people. But to a certain degree, we can choose our company. We can choose who we want to spend most of our leisure time with. We can choose which events we attend, and who to go with. As Epictetus says, if our companions are dirty, we might get dirty as well.

Thinking of your own death helps you stop making random choices and wasting time on trifles. You’re more aware of what you want to spend your time with. It focuses your mind on the truly important—on who you want to be in this world. It helps you live with areté, no matter what you’ve missed to this day. Life is now and you want to make the best of

Practice 31 What’s so Troublesome Here and Now?

When you find yourself frustrated, don’t blame other people or outside events, but yourself and your unrealistic expectations. Turn your focus inward, remember, we must take responsibility.