The Stoic Challenge - by William B. Irvine
ISBN: 0393541495Date read: 2024-07-20
How strongly I recommend it: 7/10
(See my list of 360+ books, for more.)
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Ah, one of my favorite life philosophies. His previous book introduced me to Stoicism. This book elaborates on the idea with a specific angle of thinking of yourself as being tested, and to create challenging situations for yourself.
my notes
Stoic test strategy:
When faced with a setback, treat it as a test of our resilience and resourcefulness, devised and administered by imaginary Stoic gods.
Their goal in throwing these curveballs our way is to make our days not harder but better.
Stoic test strategy is based on the framing effect:
How we mentally characterize a situation has a profound impact on how we respond to it emotionally.
By thinking of setbacks as tests of our character, we can develop our ability to stay calm, even in the face of very significant setbacks.
This in turn can have a dramatic impact on our quality of life.
Stoics were not grim individuals but eternal optimists who possessed a profound ability to put a positive spin on life’s events.
It’s not to remain calm while suffering a setback but rather to experience a setback without thereby suffering.
Although other people are responsible for many of the setbacks you experience, you are likewise responsible for many of theirs.
If you draw up a list of the people who have caused you setbacks, you would have to put yourself on that list, probably at the top.
Many of the setbacks you experience are the result of poor planning on your part.
The days of a thoughtless person are filled with obstacles that he failed to anticipate.
As a result, he is likely to find life both frustrating and unfair.
Thoughtful people, by contrast, minimize the number of setbacks they experience by learning how the world works and using this knowledge to plan their activities.
Someone will tell us a setback story in the hope that we will join them in their fight against the social injustice that gave rise to that setback.
Others telling setback stories seek our pity.
They might, in particular, want us to reassure them that it isn’t their fault that they experienced the setback they did - an unfair world is instead to blame.
Anger is incompatible with happiness.
Anger can be thought of as anti-joy.
Sneezing removes whatever is irritating our sinuses and thereby makes us feel better.
Getting frustrated, on the other hand, often begets anger
Getting frustrated in response to a setback only makes things worse.
Anger we experience is likely to be contagious.
Many would use the word unlucky to describe him, but a much more fitting word would be unvanquished.
Unlike children, your emotions and subconscious mind are never going to grow up.
Stoic test strategy:
To pass these tests, we must not only come up with effective workarounds to setbacks but must also, while doing so, avoid the onset of negative emotions.
By thinking about how things could be worse, they effectively sank an anchor into their subconscious.
That anchor affected how they subsequently felt about their current situation.
This process is now known as negative visualization.
Don’t dwell on how things could be worse, but periodically have flickering thoughts about how our lives and circumstances could be worse.
Dealing with someone who has a “sluggish mind” and who therefore doesn’t respond to requests unless they are accompanied by a display of anger?
Respond with feigned anger.
A grave injustice has been done?
Failure to experience righteous indignation might be taken as evidence of a flaw in our moral character.
It is possible to fighting injustice without our hearts being filled with anger.
Gandhi, Martin Luther King, suffer the anger of the opponent, and yet not return anger.
You must not become bitter. No matter how emotional your opponents are, you must be calm.
Today’s social change movements equate anger with passion: if you truly care about an injustice, you will be angry about it.
Anger triggers anger in those on the other side of an issue.
They harden their stance, making compromise less likely.
Five stages of grief theory is not sufficiently supported by empirical data.
We are much more resilient than Kübler-Ross would have us believe and are therefore much less in need of grief counseling than many psychologists recommend.
A man needs to be put to the test if he is to gain self-knowledge.
Only by trying does he learn what his capacities are.
Puts him to the test, hardens him, makes him ready.
Like a fireman who, after years of training, is finally called on to put out a fire. At last, a chance to show his stuff!
An animal that thought fasting felt great and sex felt awful would have been unlikely to have any descendants.
Welcome adversity as a training exercise.
Adversity can strengthen us and enhance our ability to withstand adversity.
Train for life’s setbacks with practice setbacks.
We can’t set ourselves back on purpose, since setbacks require the element of surprise.
We can put ourselves into circumstances in which challenging surprises are likely to occur.
One of the best ways to “study for” stoic tests is to embark on a Stoic adventure.
Try to acquire a new skill.
My primary objective in rowing is to acquire mettle, not medals.
At some point in my life, my ability to survive will depend on whether I have the fortitude to take just one more breath - and then another.
I would like to think that rowing helps me develop this fortitude.
The more challenges you successfully meet, the more confident you will become of your ability to meet them.
Negative visualization involves thinking about how things could be worse.
Toughness training involves causing things to be worse.
If we voluntarily skip lunch we will also find out that missing a meal is an utterly survivable event, which in turn will increase our self-confidence.
Meta-delight: you take delight in your ability to take delight in such things.
Although all things in excess bring harm, the greatest danger comes from excessive good fortune.
It stirs the brain, invites the mind to entertain idle fancies, and shrouds in thick fog the distinction between falsehood and truth.