Last week.

This is the book I am following.

Another good read.

I like this one also.

Working on this book currently.

Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.

Feb 12

“Keep constant guard over your perceptions, for it is no small thing you are protecting, but your respect, trustworthiness and steadiness, peace of mind, freedom from pain and fear, in a word your freedom. For what would you sell these things?”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.3.6b–8

If I can control my perceptions of things as they happen, I can control my reactions to them. As long as I do this I will not get upset and lose my peace of mind. It sounds so simple, but I need to get better at it.

 

Feb 13

“Whenever you get an impression of some pleasure, as with any impression, guard yourself from being
carried away by it, let it await your action, give yourself a pause. After that, bring to mind both times, first when you have enjoyed the pleasure and later when you will regret it and hate yourself. Then compare to those the joy and satisfaction you’d feel for abstaining altogether. However, if a seemingly appropriate time arises to act on it, don’t be overcome by its comfort, pleasantness, and allure— but against all of this, how much better the consciousness of conquering it.”
—EPICTETUS, ENCHIRIDION, 34

This is not saying do nothing that you enjoy, it’s a reminder to be sure that what you indulge in is worth it. If I eat pie everyday, would I enjoy it? Yes. Would I hate myself by the end of the week? Undoubtedly. If I go out to eat and have pie for dessert when I’m already full, will I hate myself? Maybe a little. If I decide to have pie for breakfast on a Sunday, will I hate myself? Not even a little. I find thinking of future me is an excellent way to prevent overindulgence and help to push me to work out so I don’t hate myself at the end of the day when I go over my actions.

 

Feb 14

“For to be wise is only one thing—to fix our attention on our intelligence, which guides all things everywhere.”
—HERACLITUS, QUOTED IN DIOGENES LAERTIUS, LIVES OF THE EMINENT
PHILOSOPHERS, 9.1

Think, don’t be mindless. I know enough about myself to control myself. As long as I stop and think before I act or make a decision, I usually make correct choices. I still get mad and say things that I don’t mean, or break something trying to force it because I lost my temper. I keep trying to stop doing that and am improving, but still have a ways to go.

 

Feb 15

“Clear your mind and get a hold on yourself and, as when awakened from sleep and realizing it was only
a bad dream upsetting you, wake up and see that what’s there is just like those dreams.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.31

I am getting upset about things that haven’t happened yet. If I can see it as a bad dream that I woke up from, maybe I can calm myself down and not have high blood pressure because I am envisioning getting kicked out for not covering my nose. Why does this upset me so much? I can feel the physical reaction as I type this. Need to do better on this one.

 

Feb 16

“If someone asks you how to write your name, would you bark out each letter? And if they get angry, would you then return the anger? Wouldn’t you rather gently spell out each letter for them? So then,
remember in life that your duties are the sum of individual acts. Pay attention to each of these as you do your duty . . . just methodically complete your task.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.26

 

If I am having a bad day, that does not give me an excuse to yell at my wife. If I yell at her about nothing and she gets angry, I have to realize it was my fault and defuse the situation by telling her to calm down.(This is a joke) Same thing at work, if I have a stupid task to do, getting angry won’t help. I was able to calmly articulate why I didn’t want to send in my vaccine information and the situation never escalated.

 

Feb 17

 

“It is quite impossible to unite happiness with a yearning for what we don’t have. Happiness has all
that it wants, and resembling the well-fed, there shouldn’t be hunger or thirst.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.24.17

 

I have always tried to remember to be grateful for what I have. Even when I was younger and poor with 3 kids, my wife and I were very conscious of how lucky we were to have healthy kids and a happy marriage. At 50 and making more money and having a nicer house than I ever thought possible, it has somehow become harder to appreciate things. I see everyone at work with newer cars while I am driving a 2005 Saab with 180,000 miles on it. I remind myself that I really like my car and I don’t have a car payment. I definitely prefer happiness to envy, and they do not work together.

 

Feb 18

“This is the true athlete—the person in rigorous training against false impressions. Remain firm, you who suffer, don’t be kidnapped by your impressions! The struggle is great, the task divine—to gain mastery, freedom, happiness, and tranquility.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.18.27–28

Mental strength is like physical strength, exercise makes it stronger. As I practice stoic concepts in my daily life, it is getting easier to weed out false impressions and not get stressed out about things totally outside of my control. My mind is getting better at identifying what I control and what I don’t. I just have to stop allowing myself to yield to anger. That will also get better with practice.

 

One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands.

Hallowed Be Thy Name!