1. If it doesn’t cause you physical pain to not have it, you don’t need it. The Epicureans rivaled the Stoics, though they had a lot in common. Both, for instance, believed virtuous living was the key to happiness. Epicurus, the founder of Epicureanism, spoke at length about the virtue of moderation (one of the four core Stoic virtues). He said, “All desires that do not lead to physical pain if not satisfied are unnecessary.” Our nature requires little—it’s our imagination that requires a lot. For example, take eating. When we’re hungry, we feel pain. When we eat, the pain stops and our body is once again content. Now, take ice cream. When I’m craving ice cream, I’m not actually in pain. It may feel like I am, and may use that feeling to justify a Ben & Jerry’s run, but my body is just fine (better off, even) without it.
2. Pleasure occurs when we’re free of mental disturbances and anxieties. This is similar to the idea above. Epicurus said that the Epicurean “thinks it preferable to have bad luck rationally than good luck irrationally. In other words, in human action, it is better for a rational choice to be unsuccessful than for an irrational choice to succeed through the agency of chance.” The Stoic Epictetus said something similar: “Man, the rational animal, can put up with anything except what seems to him irrational; whatever is rational is tolerable.”
3. It’s very hard to fail completely. You know the Norman Vincent Peale quote, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”? It may sound corny, but it’s true. I like how Larry Page, one of the founders of Google, put it: “Even if you fail at your ambitious thing, it’s very hard to fail completely. That’s the thing people don’t get.” Plus, landing among the stars almost always turns out better than the moon you imagined.
4. Take the shortest route—go inward. “Once it happened . . . Someone came looking for the Isha Yoga Center in southern India. They came to a nearby village and asked a local boy, ‘How far is the Isha Yoga Center?’ The boy scratched his head and said, ‘24,996 miles.’ The man was aghast. ‘What? That far?’ The boy said, ‘Yes, the way you’re going. But if you turn around, it’s just four miles.’
If you go outward, it is an endless journey. If you turn inward, it is just one moment. In that one moment, everything changes. In that one moment, you are not in pursuit of joy anymore. Instead, your life becomes an expression of your joyfulness.” -Sadhguru, Inner Engineering
5. Knowledge is the tool, not the goal. Progress is the goal. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is pointless. We study philosophy not to look smart or win arguments, but to be a better person and live a better life. When we make knowledge, not progress, the goal, Epictetus said, “it’s as if I were to say to an athlete, ‘Show me your shoulders,’ and he responded with, ‘Have a look at my weights.’ ‘Get out of here with you and your gigantic weights!’ I’d say, ‘What I want to see isn’t the weights but how you’ve profited from using them.'”
6. The cost of cutting corners: “If you think hiring a professional is expensive, try hiring an amateur.” -Red Adair
7. If someone tells you a book has changed their life, read it.
8. Overwork is the falsest of economies. This is a paraphrase from John Steinbeck that reminds me of our limits. We can’t do everything, we can’t get it all done. Accepting this makes life sweeter.
9. Reflective thoughts are truer than everyday thoughts. As we go about our day, thoughts sometimes pop into our head seemingly out of nowhere. These thoughts can be irrational or impulsive, which can lead to feelings that are irrational or impulsive, which can lead to actions that are irrational or impulsive. This is why awareness is so important. It’s why exercising our reasoning ability is so important. It’s why journaling or meditating is so important. When we do these things, we take our brain off autopilot. We become more intentional, less prone to acting contrary to our principles. As Epictetus put it, “Very little is needed for everything to be upset and ruined, only a slight lapse in reason.”
10. Notable books I read this month: How to be Content by Horace, How to Give by Seneca, Why Buddhism Is True by Robert Wright