This is probably an important one for me—I very much like my little routines and free time, so if something disrupts them or I have to do an unexpected chore, I can get a little frustrated. This week I’ve pushed myself to do extra chores after work even though I didn’t want to…although I’m not sure if I’m cheating since they were chores that really should get done! Maybe I’ll try doing something like giving up lunch or my morning coffee (very important to me!) another week!
I have been through many hardships and adversities in my life including debilitating painful disease, unexpected death of a loved one, cancer and financial hardship all before I started with Stoicism. I now think, ‘I’ve had enough adversity in my life I don’t need to add more voluntarily.’ (Although, I still practice a form of fasting and train at the gym three times a week). Massimo, do you think the Stoics would still encourage someone like me to practice voluntary hardships having been through a lot already?
Last year, I went through a series of books by Nassim Nicholas Taleb on black Swan, Antifigility etc. They suggested that small stressors are very good for us and a completely linear/predictable life tends to breed "black swans" - rare events that destroy everything. Taleb quoted Seneca a lot so I guess he's probably inline with the Stoics on the small stressor side.
This is probably an important one for me—I very much like my little routines and free time, so if something disrupts them or I have to do an unexpected chore, I can get a little frustrated. This week I’ve pushed myself to do extra chores after work even though I didn’t want to…although I’m not sure if I’m cheating since they were chores that really should get done! Maybe I’ll try doing something like giving up lunch or my morning coffee (very important to me!) another week!
I have been through many hardships and adversities in my life including debilitating painful disease, unexpected death of a loved one, cancer and financial hardship all before I started with Stoicism. I now think, ‘I’ve had enough adversity in my life I don’t need to add more voluntarily.’ (Although, I still practice a form of fasting and train at the gym three times a week). Massimo, do you think the Stoics would still encourage someone like me to practice voluntary hardships having been through a lot already?
Last year, I went through a series of books by Nassim Nicholas Taleb on black Swan, Antifigility etc. They suggested that small stressors are very good for us and a completely linear/predictable life tends to breed "black swans" - rare events that destroy everything. Taleb quoted Seneca a lot so I guess he's probably inline with the Stoics on the small stressor side.