# The Stoic Challenge  ## Metadata - Author:: [[William B. Irvine]] - Full Title:: The Stoic Challenge - Category: #books ## Highlights > The Stoics realized that we have considerable flexibility in how we frame the situations we experience. They discovered, more precisely, that by thinking of setbacks as tests of our character, we can dramatically alter our emotional response to them. We can, in particular, develop our ability to stay calm, even in the face of very significant setbacks, and this in turn can have a dramatic impact on our quality of life. ([Location 123](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=123)) > Their goal wasn’t to banish emotion but to minimize the number of negative emotions—such as feelings of frustration, anger, grief, and envy—that they experienced. They had nothing against the experience of positive emotions, including delight and even joy. ([Location 128](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=128)) > We should think of the Stoics not as grim individuals but as eternal optimists who possessed a profound ability to put a positive spin on life’s events. ([Location 130](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=130)) > Their goal was not to remain calm while suffering a setback but rather to experience a setback without thereby suffering. It is an important difference. ([Location 135](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=135)) > One sign of maturity is a realization of the extent to which you, either intentionally or unintentionally, make life difficult for those around you. Consequently, you should keep in mind the words of Seneca: “we are bad men living among bad men; and only one thing can calm us—we must agree to go easy on one another.”1 ([Location 204](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=204)) > Theodore Roosevelt offered this bit of Stoic-inspired advice: “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.”11 ([Location 543](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=543)) > When the number of options available is limited, it is foolish to fuss and fret. We should instead simply choose the best of them and get on with life. To behave otherwise is to waste precious time and energy. ([Location 554](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=554)) > According to Seneca, God (think Jupiter) sets us back not to punish us but to give us an opportunity to do something courageous and thereby increase our chances of attaining “the highest possible excellence.” God, Seneca explains, hardens, reviews, and disciplines those who have won his approval and love; but those whom he seems to favor, whom he seems to spare, he is keeping soft against the misfortunes that are to come. You are wrong if you think anyone has been exempted from ill; the man who has known happiness for many a year will receive his share some day; whoever seems to have been set free from this has only been granted a delay.1 ([Location 1071](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=1071)) > If it had been possible, Epictetus, I [God] would have ensured that your poor body and petty possessions were free and immune from hindrance. But as things are, you mustn’t forget that this body isn’t truly your own, but is nothing more than cleverly moulded clay. But since I couldn’t give you that, I’ve given you a certain portion of myself, this faculty of motivation to act and not to act, of desire and aversion, and, in a word, the power to make proper use of impressions; if you pay good heed to this, and entrust all that you have to its keeping, you’ll never be hindered, never obstructed, and you’ll never groan, never find fault, and never flatter anyone at all.4 ([Location 1091](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=1091)) # The Stoic Challenge  ## Metadata - Author:: [[William B. Irvine]] - Full Title:: The Stoic Challenge - Category: #books ## Highlights > The Stoics realized that we have considerable flexibility in how we frame the situations we experience. They discovered, more precisely, that by thinking of setbacks as tests of our character, we can dramatically alter our emotional response to them. We can, in particular, develop our ability to stay calm, even in the face of very significant setbacks, and this in turn can have a dramatic impact on our quality of life. ([Location 123](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=123)) > Their goal wasn’t to banish emotion but to minimize the number of negative emotions—such as feelings of frustration, anger, grief, and envy—that they experienced. They had nothing against the experience of positive emotions, including delight and even joy. ([Location 128](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=128)) > We should think of the Stoics not as grim individuals but as eternal optimists who possessed a profound ability to put a positive spin on life’s events. ([Location 130](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=130)) > Their goal was not to remain calm while suffering a setback but rather to experience a setback without thereby suffering. It is an important difference. ([Location 135](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=135)) > One sign of maturity is a realization of the extent to which you, either intentionally or unintentionally, make life difficult for those around you. Consequently, you should keep in mind the words of Seneca: “we are bad men living among bad men; and only one thing can calm us—we must agree to go easy on one another.”1 ([Location 204](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=204)) > Theodore Roosevelt offered this bit of Stoic-inspired advice: “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.”11 ([Location 543](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=543)) > When the number of options available is limited, it is foolish to fuss and fret. We should instead simply choose the best of them and get on with life. To behave otherwise is to waste precious time and energy. ([Location 554](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=554)) > According to Seneca, God (think Jupiter) sets us back not to punish us but to give us an opportunity to do something courageous and thereby increase our chances of attaining “the highest possible excellence.” God, Seneca explains, hardens, reviews, and disciplines those who have won his approval and love; but those whom he seems to favor, whom he seems to spare, he is keeping soft against the misfortunes that are to come. You are wrong if you think anyone has been exempted from ill; the man who has known happiness for many a year will receive his share some day; whoever seems to have been set free from this has only been granted a delay.1 ([Location 1071](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=1071)) > If it had been possible, Epictetus, I [God] would have ensured that your poor body and petty possessions were free and immune from hindrance. But as things are, you mustn’t forget that this body isn’t truly your own, but is nothing more than cleverly moulded clay. But since I couldn’t give you that, I’ve given you a certain portion of myself, this faculty of motivation to act and not to act, of desire and aversion, and, in a word, the power to make proper use of impressions; if you pay good heed to this, and entrust all that you have to its keeping, you’ll never be hindered, never obstructed, and you’ll never groan, never find fault, and never flatter anyone at all.4 ([Location 1091](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07P9DC6TY&location=1091))