I'd like to recommend The Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine. It made me significantly happier. It summarizes and makes accessible the techniques stoicism. Here they are:pic.twitter.com/2LtmlXcOLW
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1. Negative Visualization: Imagine what it would be like to lose something that you hold dear.pic.twitter.com/vXMZIIw7oQ
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2. Projective Visualization: Imagine that whatever ill that has befallen you has befallen someone else, and you are observing that.pic.twitter.com/kk8R9U4KiG
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3. Gratitude for What You Already Have: Conform your desire to your circumstances, not the other way around. Beware the hedonic treadmill. When you achieve your goal, instead of endless bliss, you quickly need something new to chase.pic.twitter.com/pj5DC8bia5
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4. Understanding the Trichotomy of Control: Everything falls into three categories, 1) things in our full control (like how you interpret things in your mind), 2) things that are fully out of our control (like a black hole in outer space), andpic.twitter.com/b3grbn3jDx
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3) things that are partially in your control (whether you'll win a game of tennis). Don't worry about 2. Convert 3 to 1 by making your goal not to win (not fully in your control) but to do your best (fully in your control).pic.twitter.com/33SGmNTYHg
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(a little bit more information about how to deal with things in, out, and partially in your control)pic.twitter.com/mRGlaZxJPF
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5. Understanding the Trichotomy of Time: There is the past, the present, and the future. The past, and present are not in your control. Focus on the future instead.
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6. Self-Denial: Live like a pauper to feel like a prince. By subjecting yourself to voluntary discomfort, you harden yourself against future discomfort, build your confidence in your ability to deal with such future discomfort, and appreciate what you already have.
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7. Defang insults and unfortunate events with humor: by laughing at our misfortune or responding to an insult with a self-deprecating comment, we render these events powerless on our emotional well-being.
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/end That's it. The author says that he discovered stoicism while attempting to learn zen buddhism. He found that stoicism suited his analytical mind much better and that he didn't like all that dead time associated with thoughtless meditation. I feel similar.
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End of conversation
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