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Stoicism: The Practical Guide To A Virtuous Life & Unshakable Happiness
Discover The Secrets To Unshakable Happiness!Read on your PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. LIMITED TIME PRICE REDUCTION – 40% OFF! Get Your Copy Today Let's get to the There are many misconceptions about stoicism. Most people whose vocabulary includes the attribute "stoic" and who use it as they please, do not understand what the word truly means. The truth is that 'Stoicism' might be the best-kept secret in todays world in regards to creating happiness in your life. While many love to indulge themselves in books about positivity and optimism, they stop as soon as something does not turn out the way they wanted it to. Stoicism, however, offers an approach that clearly stands the test of time and combines the attitude of being realistic with being happy. It recognizes the basic pattern of the human sometimes things turn out good, sometimes they go wrong. So, the question is, why not always be happy instead of constantly depending upon how things turn out for us? ”There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." - Epictetus This book outlines the essential concepts of Stoicism for you in a simple, comprehensible manner and provides deep insight into the obscure world of this amazing philosophy so that you can DERIVE BENEFIT FROM IT TODAY. It offers concise and practical advice for everyday life situations on how you can actually apply this philosophy and integrate it into your life. about StoicismWhat is Stoicism and what does it mean to be 'stoic'?How to overcome anger, irritation and frustration?Learn how to deal with grief and fear the stoic way & MUCH MORE! Download Now! [scroll to the top of the page and click the yellow “buy” button] Find out what " The Practical Guide To A Virtuous Life & Unshakable Happiness" can do for you and your life today! Thank you and enjoy the book. ----------------- stoicism, stoic, epictetus, marcus aurelius, philosophy, greek philosophy, greece, happiness, resilience, virtue, virtuous, attitude, realism, realistic, expectations, practical philosophy
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 4, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 5, 2023
1.Page 6 [Surligner]
Marcus Aurelius: ‘If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.’
2.Page 6 [Surligner]
It was founded in Athens by Zeno in the 3 rd century BC
3.Page 7 [Surligner]
The human model praised by stoicism is that of a firm unshakeable inner core that can survive anything through mere endurance, independence of thought, and objectivity
4.Page 8 [Surligner]
The individual must strive to make sure that their will is in accordance with an order inherent in nature. At the same time, individual logic should seek to detach from entanglements of subjectivity and misjudgment in order to get close to a universal reason stoics believed in, namely the logos.
5.Page 8 [Surligner]
The unique charm and value of stoicism that make it so important and easy to practice even nowadays is its accessibility and its applicability. Stoic philosophy doesn’t imply a body of knowledge or a system of abstractions that are disconnected from everyday life. Stoicism is not only pour les connaisseurs.
6.Page 8 [Surligner]
‘If you work at that which is before you, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract you, but keeping your divine part pure, as if you were bound to give it back immediately; if you hold to this, expecting nothing, but satisfied to live now according to nature, speaking heroic truth in every word that you utter, you will live happy. And there is no man able to prevent this.’
7.Page 9 [Surligner]
They considered the major ‘enemies’ of wisdom and objectivity to be distress, lust, fear, and delight.
8.Page 9 [Surligner]
four main virtues could lead to success and happiness in life: courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom.
9.Page 10 [Surligner]
Remember Buddha’s words: ‘Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.’
10.Page 10 [Surligner]
Impressions ere emotions that happened to you, namely something stirred by outside events or other factors. Passions are emotions that derive from your own judgments or your ideas about right and wrong and as such they are easier to transform.
11.Page 10 [Surligner]
When you feel insulted, expressing anger directly equals an act of claiming something from the offender. Such a thing places you in a position of inferiority. Isn’t it understood that someone who offends you is not willing to show you due respect? What is the pointof actually letting them know they managed to insult you?
12.Page 11 [Surligner]
Epictetus who emphasized that ‘man is disturbed not by things, but by the views he takes of them.’
13.Page 12 [Surligner]
Seneca emphasized that the sage does know what affection, friendship, or sorrow mean.
Stoics didn’t idealize a dehumanized figure by any means! Their standard was not ‘the hardness of a rock or of iron’, which would imply utter insensitivity.
14.Page 13 [Surligner]
Nassim Taleb puts it very beautifully when he underlines that a stoic is someone who can change fear into prudence, pain into an ability to transform, mistakes into initiation, and desire into undertaking.
15.Page 13 [Surligner]
Thus, their ideal was accepting human love, but not completely identifying with your bon
ds or the objects of your affection. Only this way can you maintain a core of invulnerabili
ty if you happen to lose them.
16.Page 14 [Surligner]
Epictetus said that what really frightens and dismays us is actually the way we think about external events rather than the events themselves.
17.Page 14 [Surligner]
Nietzsche’s famous saying: ‘Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster. For when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.’
18.Page 14 [Surligner]
Stoics had very high standards they held themselves up to, but they were by no means idealistic. They discouraged far-fetched expectations and dreams about the world or other people, since they knew how damaging they can be.
19.Page 14 [Surligner]
high expectations act in a subversive way on you: you think of all that could go perfectly in a conscious way, but at the same time, the higher you dream, the more fear you allow for on a subconscious level.
20.Page 14 [Surligner]
only by staying aware of all possible outcomes can you remain in control
21.Page 14 [Surligner]
‘hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst’
22.Page 15 [Surligner]
Marcus Aurelius, for instance, claimed that starting a day with a pessimistic attitude is paradoxically a good way of managing your fears. How come? In his view, there’s hardly anything that can take you by surprise and thus stir your feelings if you expect the worst. Inhis own words: ‘Begin each day by telling to yourself: today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness – all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good and evil’.
23.Page 15 [Surligner]
So if you want to manage your irrational fears the hard way, cultivate a form of detachedpessimism that will make you face the worst that could happen to you during a day. In case it doesn’t, you can consider yourself lucky and you’ll be happy. You see … it sounds like a method that may well challenge positive psychology!
24.Page 16 [Surligner]
It is not necessarily indifference that is a stoic virtue. Indifference is only a means to an end. The real virtues are strength, serenity, and a rational, objective way of perceiving theworld as well as the self.
25.Page 18 [Surligner]
What is striking and powerfully manly about stoicism is the idea that in a way you shouldn’t fear hardship and challenge. On the contrary, one could say stoics welcome a test of strength that could enable them to exert their own notions of control and wisdom.
Marcus Aurelius: ‘If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.’
2.Page 6 [Surligner]
It was founded in Athens by Zeno in the 3 rd century BC
3.Page 7 [Surligner]
The human model praised by stoicism is that of a firm unshakeable inner core that can survive anything through mere endurance, independence of thought, and objectivity
4.Page 8 [Surligner]
The individual must strive to make sure that their will is in accordance with an order inherent in nature. At the same time, individual logic should seek to detach from entanglements of subjectivity and misjudgment in order to get close to a universal reason stoics believed in, namely the logos.
5.Page 8 [Surligner]
The unique charm and value of stoicism that make it so important and easy to practice even nowadays is its accessibility and its applicability. Stoic philosophy doesn’t imply a body of knowledge or a system of abstractions that are disconnected from everyday life. Stoicism is not only pour les connaisseurs.
6.Page 8 [Surligner]
‘If you work at that which is before you, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract you, but keeping your divine part pure, as if you were bound to give it back immediately; if you hold to this, expecting nothing, but satisfied to live now according to nature, speaking heroic truth in every word that you utter, you will live happy. And there is no man able to prevent this.’
7.Page 9 [Surligner]
They considered the major ‘enemies’ of wisdom and objectivity to be distress, lust, fear, and delight.
8.Page 9 [Surligner]
four main virtues could lead to success and happiness in life: courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom.
9.Page 10 [Surligner]
Remember Buddha’s words: ‘Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.’
10.Page 10 [Surligner]
Impressions ere emotions that happened to you, namely something stirred by outside events or other factors. Passions are emotions that derive from your own judgments or your ideas about right and wrong and as such they are easier to transform.
11.Page 10 [Surligner]
When you feel insulted, expressing anger directly equals an act of claiming something from the offender. Such a thing places you in a position of inferiority. Isn’t it understood that someone who offends you is not willing to show you due respect? What is the pointof actually letting them know they managed to insult you?
12.Page 11 [Surligner]
Epictetus who emphasized that ‘man is disturbed not by things, but by the views he takes of them.’
13.Page 12 [Surligner]
Seneca emphasized that the sage does know what affection, friendship, or sorrow mean.
Stoics didn’t idealize a dehumanized figure by any means! Their standard was not ‘the hardness of a rock or of iron’, which would imply utter insensitivity.
14.Page 13 [Surligner]
Nassim Taleb puts it very beautifully when he underlines that a stoic is someone who can change fear into prudence, pain into an ability to transform, mistakes into initiation, and desire into undertaking.
15.Page 13 [Surligner]
Thus, their ideal was accepting human love, but not completely identifying with your bon
ds or the objects of your affection. Only this way can you maintain a core of invulnerabili
ty if you happen to lose them.
16.Page 14 [Surligner]
Epictetus said that what really frightens and dismays us is actually the way we think about external events rather than the events themselves.
17.Page 14 [Surligner]
Nietzsche’s famous saying: ‘Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster. For when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.’
18.Page 14 [Surligner]
Stoics had very high standards they held themselves up to, but they were by no means idealistic. They discouraged far-fetched expectations and dreams about the world or other people, since they knew how damaging they can be.
19.Page 14 [Surligner]
high expectations act in a subversive way on you: you think of all that could go perfectly in a conscious way, but at the same time, the higher you dream, the more fear you allow for on a subconscious level.
20.Page 14 [Surligner]
only by staying aware of all possible outcomes can you remain in control
21.Page 14 [Surligner]
‘hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst’
22.Page 15 [Surligner]
Marcus Aurelius, for instance, claimed that starting a day with a pessimistic attitude is paradoxically a good way of managing your fears. How come? In his view, there’s hardly anything that can take you by surprise and thus stir your feelings if you expect the worst. Inhis own words: ‘Begin each day by telling to yourself: today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness – all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good and evil’.
23.Page 15 [Surligner]
So if you want to manage your irrational fears the hard way, cultivate a form of detachedpessimism that will make you face the worst that could happen to you during a day. In case it doesn’t, you can consider yourself lucky and you’ll be happy. You see … it sounds like a method that may well challenge positive psychology!
24.Page 16 [Surligner]
It is not necessarily indifference that is a stoic virtue. Indifference is only a means to an end. The real virtues are strength, serenity, and a rational, objective way of perceiving theworld as well as the self.
25.Page 18 [Surligner]
What is striking and powerfully manly about stoicism is the idea that in a way you shouldn’t fear hardship and challenge. On the contrary, one could say stoics welcome a test of strength that could enable them to exert their own notions of control and wisdom.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2020
In simplifying it too much, the essence of the philosophy is lost.
June 7, 2016
How to be a Stoic today
A great modern "enchiridion" of Stoicism. Insightful and straight to the point! Seth Laron achieves to deliver a good explanation of what Stoicism really is and it's immense help to a happy life even in today's time.
A great modern "enchiridion" of Stoicism. Insightful and straight to the point! Seth Laron achieves to deliver a good explanation of what Stoicism really is and it's immense help to a happy life even in today's time.
May 29, 2016
Loved this book!
Well written, informative and a fun read. An excellent philosophy for life, especially in today's divisive and stressful times. A book I will read again.
Well written, informative and a fun read. An excellent philosophy for life, especially in today's divisive and stressful times. A book I will read again.
November 30, 2016
Succinct, accurate, and poignant
Excellent overview of the principles of Stoicism. A few more quotes would help add weight to the author's outline of the philosophy.
Excellent overview of the principles of Stoicism. A few more quotes would help add weight to the author's outline of the philosophy.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews