The Stoic Challenge: A Philosopher's Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient

by William B. Irvine

“The ultimate mental fitness program” (David Heinemeier Hansson, coauthor of Rework), The Stoic Challenge teaches us how to respond to the challenges of our increasingly unpredictable age.

In this practical, refreshingly optimistic guide, philosopher William B. Irvine explains how centuries-old wisdom can help us better cope with everything from the everyday stresses of modern living to its significant crises. The Stoic Challenge uniquely combines insights from ancient Stoics like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus with techniques discovered by contemporary psychological research, such as anchoring and framing. The result is Irvine’s surprisingly simple, updated “Stoic test strategy,” which teaches us how to dramatically alter our emotional response to life’s stumbling blocks. Not only can we overcome these obstacles?we can benefit from them, too.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Personal Development, Audiobook, Spirituality

178 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

William B Irvine is professor of philosophy at Wright State University. The author of seven books, including A Guide to the Good Life, he has also written for the Huffington Post, Salon, Time, and the BBC. He lives in Dayton, Ohio.

Reviews

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The article I mention in this review has now finally been published - if you are interested you can read it online here: https://rdcu.be/b0ZRR

A friend of mine got me to read this book, and while I was reading it I realised that over the years he’s encouraged me to read a couple of books on stoicism. I’m not sure if he’s trying to tell me something or not…

I quite like just about everything about stoicism. I’m not at all religious, and neither is my friend, and so I think stoicism is particularly good at helping people like us to accept the inevitable crap that life is likely to dish up. This book does more than just explain what the stoics believed, in fact, it is a bit like a self-help book applying stoic principles. That makes it sound worse than it actually is, but it is also a bit accurate at the same time.

The fundamental realisation of the stoics is that you can’t really have all that much control over what happens to you in life, but you can try to control how you respond to what happens to you. And since ‘bitching and moaning’ is only likely to lose you friends, and feeling crushed by events is only likely to waste your time – potentially the little time you have left – then finding ways to accept and even be grateful are ultimately all that there is.

Now, obviously, that is easier said than done. And this book offers a series of hints that might help along the way. Things like thinking of people who might be worse off than you are to help you moderate how badly you feel for yourself by essentially thinking, well, it could be worse.

But the suggestion in this that I thought was particularly useful was to imagine that there are Stoic Gods who like nothing more than to test you from time to time. You know, they cancel your flight straight after you’ve checked in to the airport, or they sit you beside Aunty Gertrude at the family dinner immediately after her divorce and so you have to listen to 3 hours of why Uncle Gregor deserves to get the clap from that young harlot he’s run off with. I like the idea that there are gods actively undermining us as a test of our resilience – as fare as gods go, I suspect it would be hard to find anyone who said that was the opposite of their experience. Religious people can relate too, You know, the Bible, of course, has its book of Job, so you don’t need to necessarily be a stoic to be a stoic, I guess.

One of the times when I generally get to test out my dedication to stoicism is in trying to get stuff published in academic journals. This often involves needing to get passed three other academics, never an easy task. My current ‘journey’ into academic publishing has involved a year’s worth of rewrites (four at last count) followed by four months of waiting for the final proof to be ready. This involved the typesetter being sent the wrong version of the article twice. Apparently it is almost, very nearly ready to be published – but that has been true now for months. Getting published in an academic journal is an interesting exercise in self-punishment, because you are likely to need to get the approval of at least one academic who thinks that the theorist you are using is a nutcase. Another academics who might decide that while you’ve used critical discourse analysis, it would have been infinitely more effective if you’d used action network theory. And then finally someone else who is likely to think that they would prefer it if you completely rewrote the whole thing according to their detailed instructions. Which is then likely to mean you will need to explain in detail why you are NOT going to follow those instructions.

The first article I had published involved a reviewer telling me everything was wrong with the piece. In fact, I mentioned to my boss at the time (who was trying to convince me that everything being said needed to be treated – in stoic fashion – as a gift) that the reviewer couldn’t have told me to make changes in a way less likely to make me want to make those changes. That is, even though they were right and even helped make the article better in the long run, how they asked for those changes to be made was almost calculated to get right up my nose and make my accepting their suggestions almost a challenge to any sense of pride I had left.

The advice from the stoics here would be to focus on the outcome and to not invest so much of my own pride in things that I already knew were flawed – but again, that is easier said than done. In the end, being able to place yourself in a position where you know what you are and what you are not prepared to change is useful in that it helps clarify which battles are worth fighting. But also being able to distance yourself from what you have written is also a very useful exercise.

Working in academia is a strangely stoic existence. You are always putting your ideas out for people to criticise, and that inevitably means people will criticise those ideas. The ability to see them criticising ideas, rather than YOU, is the real trick here. If you don’t develop a stoic attitude to the world, you are likely to go insane.

I liked this book – it is a quick read and, well, I do know that the more I behave like a stoic the better my life tends to be.

[Maziyar Yf · Rating 3 out of 5]

ویلیام اروین در کتاب راهنمای عملی رواقی زیستن کوشیده اصول فلسفه رواقی را به روز و متناسب با قرن بیست و یک ارائه کند ، او فلسفه رواقی را مانند ابزاری سودمند دیده که گذر زمان از ارزش و اعتبار آن نکاسته است و هم چنان در زندگی مدرن امروزه هم مفید و قابل استفاده است .
شاید بتوان اصل مکتب رواقیون را در مستقل بودن اراده آدمی دانست ، از این رو هراندازه انسان از محیط بیرون تاثیر کمتری بپذیرد زندگی بهتر و سعادت بیشتری خواهد داشت . آنها هدف نهایی زندگی را در رسیدن به رضایت و آرامش خاطر می دانند ، به همین گونه رواقیون اساس زندگی خوب و یا بدست آوردن فصیلت را در مدیریت عوامل در حوزه کنترل انسان و نادیده گرفتن آنچه در کنترل انسان نیست می دانند . بنابراین مکتب رواقی چیزی را حواله به جهان پس از مرگ نمی کند ، بلکه به دنبال سعادت و خوش بختی در همین دنیاست
اروین از همان ابتدا خواننده را به داشتن فلسفه ای خاص در زندگی تشویق کرده ، بدون فلسفه او زندگی را پوچ ، بی هدف و باری به هر جهت می داند ، آشکار است که او خود فلسفه رواقی را انتخاب کرده .
نویسنده کتاب را در چهار بخش اصلی و پانزده فصل فرعی نوشته ، او در انتهای برخی از فصلها روایت هایی از فیلسوفان مهم رواقی مانند سنکا و اپیکتتوس بیان کرده و به کمک آنان اساس و ریشه مفاهیم رواقیون را شرح داده ، اصولی که با گذشت 2000 سال از آن و با اندکی به روز آوری همچنان قابل استفاده هستند .
با پیشرفت دانش و تکنولوژی و بهبود شرایط زیستن ، در قیاس با گذشته اگرچه بشر امروز با مشکلات کمتری مواجه است ، اما رشد شهر نشینی به همراه زندگی به شدت صنعتی و سرمایه داری ، درجه استرس و تشویش انسان امروز را به گونه ای سخت و پرمخاطره بالا برده ، خواندن کتاب آقای اروین و آشنایی بیشتر با فلسفه رواقی افزون برتوانا کردن فرد در مواجه با دردهای همیشگی زندگی ، به او شجاعت و آرامشی بیشتر می بخشد ، در سایه این شجاعت و آرامش است که بشر می تواند عاقلانه و منطقی رفتار کرده و با غلبه بر احساسات خود ، در نهایت به رضایت خاطر برسد .

[Elizabeth Sund · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good example of public philosophy, but it sadly falls into the common trap of "privileged white middle age man gives you advice about adversity." I think it would be a good gift for a high school or college graduate. Stocisim is so useful, and Irvine gives clear ways to use it in your everyday life.

For anyone who is interested, Virtue Ethics is my preferred moral lens. Within Virtue Ethics, I use Stoicism for situations dealing with both my internal thoughts and inanimate objects. Kant's Categorical Imperative is for issues of social order (stop signs, recycling, picking up trash). For interpersonal stuff I try to emulate virtuous people (mostly Michelle Obama at work and Daniel Tiger's mom with Felicity). Blamo! Welcome to the good life!

[Ryan Boissonneault · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re new to Stoicism, this book will not describe in any detail the full history and philosophy of the subject or the major figures of the movement. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll have to look elsewhere (I would recommend How to Be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci).

This book is more focused; it shows the reader how to apply Stoic principles to handle setbacks, obstacles, and adversity. Combining real-life examples, Stoic principles, and modern psychology, William B. Irvine demonstrates how Stoic wisdom can help you to not only overcome challenges, but to actively seek them out as ways to build character and fortitude.

Setbacks are inevitable; our reactions to them are not. If we frame life’s challenges in the appropriate way, we can use adversity to become stronger and more resilient. While we often cannot control the setbacks we face, we can view them as tests of our resolve and opportunities to practice the traits we most admire in others—resilience, grit, optimism, strength, and resolve.

Our natural inclinations to setbacks include avoidance, fear, anger, frustration, and blaming. What they all have in common is that they do nothing to advance our goals, and much to diminish our character. The Stoic response to setbacks is one of emotional control and action, of making the best of any situation and building admirable character traits.

Irvine offers several techniques, including anchoring and negative visualization (to cultivate gratitude), framing setbacks as tests or games, intentionally seeking adversity, and using humor to lighten the situation.

Overall, this book is a nice reminder that your emotional response to setbacks, not your outward behavior alone, is what really counts, and that you can reframe your reactions to setbacks so as to largely remove negative emotions from occurring in the first place. You might even find yourself welcoming adversity as an opportunity to demonstrate your resolve or overcome a fear.

Irvine reminds us that the core function of Stoicism has always been to help the practitioner achieve the optimal frame of mind to meet any challenge, and he repeatedly drives home this important point. For those new to Stoicism, this could come as potentially life-changing advice. But for those not new to Stoicism, it will, at most, come as a useful reminder of principles long established.

[Chrystopher’s Archive · Rating 3 out of 5]

"This is why no one likes moral philosophy professors."

The first quarter of this book started out strong and I was really enjoying it. The author presented some interesting ideas and interpretations. I'm even interested in reading further about stoicism.

Unfortunately the section after that goes way off the rails into full on Boomer-yelling-at-cloud rant mode. The author even brought up the infamous "participation award." Even the rest of the book, after this section bemoaning the societal ills of therapy and kids-these-days, is not up to the first section. It becomes repetitive and too focused on definitions, and no new ideas are presented.

It was a quick read, and for the most part the writing was conversational and easy to read. People who are philosophy newbies like me would probably get some things out of it.

[sadra jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

اوایل که این کتاب را میخواندم فکر کردم اینها را آخوندها نوشته اند که توصیه های اخلاقی خودشان را به اسم رواقی ها توی پاچه ما بکنند. هر لحظه انتظار داشتم از فضیلت روزه مستحبی و نماز شب صحبت کند. از بس که جاهایی حرف هایش شبیه توصیه های اخلاق عملی اسلام و احادیث شده بود اما حقیقت این است. سعادت شاه کلیدهای آنچنان مجهول و مخفی ندارد بلکه گاهی باید به همان هایی که میدانیم عمل کنیم.
فلسفه اخلاق رواقی یک فلسفه زندگی است که از ^است ها^ نمیگوید بلکه از^بایدها^میگوید. هدف آن فضیلت نیست بلکه آرامش است چرا که در پرتو آرامش است که عقل و فضیلت مجال ظهور میابد. <اگر آرام نباشی مطمئن نباش که تصمیم هایت درست است.>
رواقیون میگفتند اگر میخواهی لذت ببری به از دست دادن چیزهایی که داری فکر کن. آنگاه قدر آنها را بیشتر میدانی و در برابر از دست دادنش آمادگی و شجاعت بیشتری خواهی داشت.
چرا ما حرص چیزهایی را میخوریم که از اختیار خودمان خارج است؟ ما مسئول وظیفه مان هستیم نه نتیجه چرا که نتایج کاملا در اختیار ما نیستند اما عمل به وظیفه چرا.
رواقی ها هم مثل ما به انسان های آزاردهنده ای برمیخوردند. راه حل آنها این بود که اول از همه بفمیم چه چیز آن فرد آزاردهنده است و سعی کنیم آن صفت را نداشته باشیم. دوم اینکه تا ما نخواهیم دیگران نمیتوانند به ما آسیب بزنند این خود ما هستیم که حرف های احمقانه را جدی میگیریم. اگر با شوخی آن را دفع کنیم نه تنها دیگر ذهنمان را درگیرش نمیکنیم بلکه تیر آن فردی که میخواست اعصاب ما را خورد کند به سنگ زده ایم. حتی رواقی ها میگفتند گاهی بد نیست خلاف عرف نامعقول رفتار کنیم تا پذیرای زخم زبان ها شویم. کاری که اعصاب ما را رویین تن میکند.
رواقی ها هم میگفتند که لذت های دنیوی مثل ثروت و شهرت چنان ارزشی ندارد که به دنبالش باشیم بلکه باید ببینیم هدف خدایان از خلقت ما چه بوده تا آن را دنبال کنیم. اگر میخواهی هر لذت زودگذری را بی ارزش کنی آن را به اجزاء بی ارزشش تقسیم کن. غذاهای فوق العاده لذیذ، از مواد اولیه بی مزه تشکیل شده و عاقبت نهایی چندان جالبی هم ندارد.
رواقی ها برای انسان مصرف گرای امروز نیز پیامی از ماورای تاریخ فرستاده اند. آنها میگفتند نه پهلو به فقر بزن و نه از آن دور شو بلکه به ضروریات اکتفا کن. آنها مشکل پسندی را یک نفرین میدانستند نه افتخار.
ویلیام اروین میگوید نظریه ^اندوه به تاخیر افتاده^ که میگوید اگر مصیبتی را نادیده بگیری، غمش روزی دامانت را میگیرد اثبات تجربی نمیشود پس چرا نادیده نگیریم؟ <این حرف او اعلان جنگ رسمی با روانشناسی امروز است.>
در آخر میخواهم تحلیلی شخصی را بگویم که اصلا ارزش یک نظام اخلاقی به چیست؟ به نظر من به استحکام مبنا و اثر بخشی آن است. علی رغم تمام مزایای اخلاق رواقی، مبنای آن که آرامش را غایت میداند غیر قابل توجیه است که چرا هیچ چیز نه و آرامش آری؟ اگر آرامش باعث رسیدن به فضیلت است پس فضیلت غایت است نه آرامش. اگر هدفی که خدایان برای خلقت ما دارند نجات بشریت باشد، چگونه با آرامش و عدم مقبولیت جمع میشود؟
دوم اینکه نظام های اخلاقی مثل مسیحیت به خاطر وعده هایی مثل بهشت و جهنم موثرتر است و افراد عام را بیشتر به التزام عملی به اخلاق مجاب میکند تا وعده آرامش نصفه و نیمه. چیزی که اروین هم به آن اعتراف میکند.

[Nicholle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this book only if you want to learn how to become "tougher, calmer, and more resilient" when you are stuck in traffic or maybe if you pick up a (sorry, but my impression here) old white guy sport like rowing. This could almost be read as a first-world-problems parody, as the author's examples are quite terrible and not helpful at all.

[Hesam · Rating 3 out of 5]

قربانی ِ خود-قربانی-پنداری ِ خود نشو

فرض کنید که لوله‌ی آب خانه‌تان ترکیده است. ترکیدگی لوله‌ی آب یک مشکل است که راه‌کار مشخصی دارد؛ به یک لوله‌کش زنگ بزن تا بیاید و آن را تعمیر کند و یا اینکه خودت دست به کار شو. اما اتفاق دیگری هم افتاده است که گرچه از لحاظ علّی و زمانی بعد از مشکل اولیه پیش آمده اما اثرش می‌تواند مخرب‌تر و عمیق‌تر از خود مشکل باشد؛ اگر شیر فلکه آب را نبندی، خانه را آب با خود خواهد برد. مشکلات در زندگی آدمی این‌گونه‌اند. معمولا مشکل راه‌حل معینی دارد اما این فوران احساسات منفی و درگیری عاطفی با آن مساله است که رفع مشکل را گاهی زمانبر و بعضا غیرممکن می‌سازد و چه بسا اثر عمیق روانی‌اش تا پایان عمر، فرد را همراهی می‌کند. به عبارتی بیش و پیش از مشکل، تعبیر ما از موقعیت و مشکل است که چالش‌برانگیز بوده و مساله‌ای سرراست را به مشکلی بغرنج و لاینحل تبدیل می‌کند (اثر روانی قاب‌بندی). قاب‌بندی یک مشکل با قاب شماتت که ما را در نقش قربانی و مظلوم قرار می‌دهد و به دنبال مقصر بیرونی می‌گردد، غالبا خشم را به دنبال دارد و آن به نوبه‌ی خود یاس و ناتوانی را.
راه‌کار رواقیون، تلاش برای کسب مهارت ِ جلوگیری از فوران احساسات منفی و کنترل آن حین بروز مشکلات در زندگی است. به عبارتی، یک رواقی گرچه قادر به جلوگیری از رخ‌دادن مشکلات در زندگی خود نیست، اما خبره‌ی کنترل بروز احساسات منفی‌ای که در پی آن می‌آید.
ماجراجوی و زیستن تجربه‌های نو و مواجهه با چالش‌های خودخواسته و دست و پنجه نرم کردن با مشکلات و مصائبی که با خود به همراه دارند راه تمرین مهارت فوق است. به عبارتی، از آنجا که مهم‌ترین خصیصه‌ی مشکلات زندگی، وجه غافلگیری آن است که کنترل بروز احساسات منفی را در لحظات اولیه‌ی پیدایش مشکل دشوار می‌سازد، راه‌کار رواقیون رویارویی خودخواسته با مشکلات در تجربه‌های نازیسته و نو است برای عدم غافلگیری کامل در مواجهه با مشکلات زندگی واقعی.
و توجه به این اتفاق ِ اغلب ناپیدا اما مهم، که کلنجار رفتن با تجربه‌های نازیسته و زیستن در توفان مشکلات نو از ما، آدم‌های دیگری می‌سازد با خصیصه‌های نو که شاید تا به امروز از وجودشان بی‌خبر بودیم اما همان‌ خصیصه‌ها کلید بازشدن درهای پیش رو و گام نهادن در دنیایی نو است.هاروکی موراکامی جایی می‌گوید:
«وقتی توفان تمام شد، یادت نمی‌آید چگونه از آن گذشتی، چطور جان به در بردی، جتی در حقیقت مطمئن نیستی توفان واقعا تمام شده باشد. اما یک چیز مسلم است؛ وقتی از توفان بیرون آمدی، دیگر آنی نیستی که قدم به درون توفان گذاشت.معنی توفان همین است.»

[Klaudia_p · Rating 1 out of 5]

Zupełnie zaskoczył mnie ten niezrozumiały szał na "Wyzwanie stoika". Tak jak się tego spodziewałam jest to kolejny bestseller, który nie powinien mieć takiego miana (takich bubli wśród książek jest wiele). "Wyzwanie stoika" to bowiem stek bzdur i dyrdymałów, które rażą już od pierwszej strony. Jak czytam coś takiego jak: "Awaria samochodu może wywołać w tobie ogromną złość, a diagnoza "nowotwór" może cię napełnić głębokim smutkiem", to mnie krew zalewa. "Głęboki smutek" to można sobie odczuwać jak kotek wpadnie pod samochód (bez urazy dla kociarzy), ale nie jak masz nowotwór. Według autora wszystko należy traktować jak życiową komplikację i się z tym mierzyć. Zapomina o jednym: nie z każdej próby można wyjść zwycięsko. Tak jak z tej: (...) kiedy otworzyłem drzwi mojego pokoju, okazało się, że nie został posprzątany po poprzednim gościu. Gdybym nie był stoikiem, w tym momencie ogarnąłby mnie słuszny gniew: "Co za idiotyzm! Jak oni śmieli?". Ja jednak dostrzegłem w tym kolejny element wyzwania rzuconego mi przez stoickich bogów, dlatego moje myśli były zupełnie inne: "Ale sprytny wybieg! Tego się nie spodziewałem. To wam się udało, stoiccy bogowie!". Pewnie się mylę, ale wydaje mi się, że nieposprzątany pokój w hotelu ma nieco inny kaliber niż diagnoza nowotworu. Właściwie cała ta książka jest bezsensowna i szkodliwa. Bo jak czytam, że: "Trening w zakresie diety również można zintensyfikować, wprowadzając okresy postu. Na początku rezygnuj z pojedynczych posiłków, a potem powstrzymaj się od jedzenia przez cały dzień. Dzięki temu nabierzesz pewności, że poradzisz sobie w sytuacjach kryzysowych". Pewnie, wszyscy zacznijmy się głodzić. Dla funu. Bo czemu nie, trenujemy wytrzymałość. Takie gadanie jest szkodliwe, bo robienie głodówek prowadzi do bardzo poważnych zaburzeń i nie ma nic wspólnego z wytrzymałością. Autor sam siebie określa "koneserem komplikacji życiowych", ale niech poprzestanie na komplikowaniu wyłącznie własnego życia.

[Sijad · Rating 4 out of 5]

با فلسفه رواقی به شدت حال میکنم!

[Alireza Farahani · Rating 4 out of 5]

این گونه می‌نویسم که خواندن این کتاب در مقایسه با کتاب حجیم تر فلسفه ای برای زندگی از همین نویسنده مانند برکه‌ای آرام در مقایسه با آبشاری با شکوه تر بود.

گویی خود نویسنده هم این درک را برای خواننده ایجاد می‌کند که در این کتاب با مفاهیم سر و‌ کار نخواهیم داشت و به یادآوری چند تمرین و نتایج آن اکتفا می ‌کند.

نویسنده نشان می‌دهد که خردورزی‌های فیلسوفان رواقی سده‌ها پیش می‌تواند ما را در مواجهه با فشارهای گوناگون زندگی امروزه یاری کند. این کتاب این‌بار به نحوی منحصر به فرد، بینش‌های رواقیان باستان نظیر مارکوس اورلیوس، سنکا و اپیکتتوس را با تکنیک‌های روان‌‌شناختی معاصر، نظیر اثر لنگر انداختن تلفیق می‌کند.

نتیجه آن که «راهبرد آزمون رواقی» ساده و نوین نویسنده به ما می‌آموزد که چگونه واکنش‌های عاطفی خود را نسبت به موانع زندگی، به شکلی عمیق تغییر دهیم. بدین سان، نه تنها بر این موانع چیره می‌شویم بلکه از آنها بهره می‌بریم.

این کتاب تمرینی است برای چیزی که می‌توان رواقی گری قرن بیست و یکمی نامیدش. در این کتاب نویسنده پند و اندرزهای فیلسوفان رواقی قرن نخست میلادی را با تحقیقات روانشناسان قرن بیست و یکمی در هم آمیخته است.

مولف معتقد است که برخی از دانشگاهیان و آکادمیسین‌ها از این کار او خواهند رنجید، چون آنان مکتب رواقی را یادگاری گرانبها از دوران باستان می‌دانند، مثل چیزی که درون جعبه‌ای به دقت مهر و موم شده نگهداری می‌شود تا بدون تماس با آن فقط بتوان نگاهش کرد.

در مقابل نویسنده کتاب به این مکتب همچون ابزاری می‌نگرد که گرچه به واسطه گذر زمان نیاز به جلا دادن دارد نه تنها هنوز هم مفید است بلکه می‌تواند تاثیر بسیار نافعی بر زندگی‌های مدرن داشته باشد.

نویسنده یادآور می‌شود که احتمالا رواقیان باستان با این به روزرسانی عقایدشان از سوی نویسنده مخالفتی نمی‌کردند. به ویژه سنکا از کارش پشتیبانی می‌کرد آخر او بود که می‌گفت: «من هرگز خود را به یکی از بزرگان رواقی مقید نمی‌کنم. من هم حق دارم عقاید خودم را شکل دهم.»

مولف در این کتاب کار را با شرح نوع مشکلاتی آغاز می‌کند که بیشتر در معرضشان هستیم و بعد به شیوه پاسخ به آن مشکلات می‌پردازد. گرچه بسیاری از افراد در مواجهه با مشکلات سرخورده، خشمگین، مضطرب یا حتی دلسرد می‌شوند، دیگرانی هم هستند که آنها را می‌پذیرند و آرامششان را از کف نمی‌دهند. چظور این دسته اخیر چنین می‌کنند؟ آیا ما می‌توانیم مثل آنها عمل کنیم.

مولف کتاب در ادامه روان‌شناسی مشکلات را بررسی می‌کند و به این سوال پاسخ می‌دهد که چرا مشکلات چنین تاثیرات هیجانی بر ما دارند؟ در ادامه هم نشان می‌دهد که چطور به جای اینکه به مشکلات پیش رویمان صرفا به چشم رویدادهایی ناخوشایند بنگریم، می‌توانیم آن‌ها را همچون آزمون‌هایی برای سنجش انعطاف‌پذیری و مهارتمان تلقی و قالب‌بندی کنیم.

انجام دادن این کار تاثیری ژرف بر چگونگی واکنشمان به مشکلات دارد به جای آنکه در مواجهه با مشکلات دچار خشم و اضطراب شویم از این که مشتاقانه به حسابشان می‌رسیم به وجد می‌آییم.

در آخر نیز نویسنده کتاب نشان می‌دهد که چگونه استفاده از راهبرد آزمون رواقی علاوه بر کمک به پیشبرد بهتر روزهایمان کمک می‌کند تا زندگانی خوب و نیز مرگی خوب هنگام ترک جهان داشته باشیم.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems a bit anecdotal and simplistic. I admire that the author is seemingly going against modern sensitivities, going as far to say that many psychologists are trying to build an industry for themselves by normalizing trauma and creating a victim culture. I’ve never liked psychology myself I feel that it paints with too broad of a brush (yes, before I get attacked, there are some good therapists and psychologists out there and there are real victims and real trauma.)

But this book is not about psychology it’s about philosophy, like I said the philosophy was a bit simplistic which I wouldn’t expect from an actual teacher of philosophy, usually I’m a bit stumped near the end of a good philosophy book. I think it’s fair to say this is “pop philosophy” meaning it is accessible but should be taken with a grain of salt.

[Mae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not the intended audience for this book but I finished it anyways.

I found the author fascinating, given that I couldn’t relate to him on any of his “setbacks”. I understood what he meant when he describes reframing life situations into a series of tests administered by higher beings, but the situations he described as setbacks were mild compared to tragedies I’ve been through, heard from people around me, and even see on the news today.

Racism can’t be thought of as a setback administered by Stoic gods, especially when people of color die through “unadventurous” means (such as being kneeled on by a police officer on the neck for 9 minutes like George Floyd, Rest In Peace). People from colonized nations can’t just believe their “luck” was administered by Stoic gods when they see the faces of their colonizers are other (predominantly White) humans like them.

People of color can’t just believe that Stoic gods gave them tests in the form of racism administered by White people. The racism was systematic against people of color, but we have to believe that Stoic gods were messing with us to make us stronger. Yeah right.

I guess it’s also my fault for finishing this book even though I was irritated by everything the author wrote about here. He finished the book with his “setback” of missing his passport in France. I’ve worked at the airport as an airline agent for a European airline and that is MILD compared to the “setbacks” I’ve been people of Muslim descent experience in Customs Border Patrol / Homeland Security. He’s lucky the French authorities let him go; I’ve seen worse happen to older Muslim women who couldn’t just believe that Stoic gods made the Homeland Security officer treat her the way they did.

In other words, this book annoyed me. Whatever.

[Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saw this added at my local library and decided it would be a good read. In these times I'm not necessarily looking to become tougher, but it can't hurt to remain calm and resilient. And since I didn't have to purchase this book (I'm borrowing it from the library!) what would I have to lose?

The author first relates his story of troubles at the airport. If you've ever flown it's highly likely you've encountered all sorts of troubles: from lost paperwork to delayed flights to dealing with any number of issues. Author Irvine sees it as a challenge from the Stoic gods. His situation is even *more* interesting because he eventually ends up being questioned by the police In France. Eeeep.

But in between he talks about what Stoicism is, how we can use it in our daily lives, some methods and practical ways to integrate Stoicism, etc. Some of it was useful (such as reframing a situation by instead of believing that someone is deliberately trying to harm you, to accept that perhaps they don't know any better, etc.).

I'd say the book was a little better than others in not waxing too much on the philosophical and actually providing some actionable, practical things one can do. But I also felt the author inserted himself a little too much by bookending the text with his story of the airport.

Doing a bookend can be effective in storytelling, but in this case I got the distinct impression the text was really about the author saying "Look at me and how I handled this!" Ironically the author even acknowledges this is something that does happen further in the text, so I wonder if he realized this at all. So that was a bit of a ding.

That said, I thought the book did have something to offer and it's better than some other books that claim they can teach or show you how you can integrate Stoicism into your life. I'd recommend borrowing it from the library.

[Chris Boutté · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been dealing with one of the most difficult times of my life over the last month or so, and a friend reminded me about stoicism. As we were talking, he recommended another book from William Irvine, but this one was cheaper, so I grabbed this one to dip my toe. Within a chapter or two of this short book, I was hooked, and I literally binged it in one sitting. I just finished the book yesterday, and I honestly want to read it again. In this book, Irvine not only discusses stoic philosophy, but the core of the book is to look at life as a series of challenges to be overcome, and that’s something that’s helped me a lot in my life that I forgot. Irvine combines his own personal stories along with the ideas of stoic philosophers like Seneca. Although I’ve read a few books on stoicism, this one introduced a ton of new ideas to me that I can use as tools for dealing with life on life’s terms. When I finished the book within a couple of hours after starting it, I went on to have one of the best days I’ve had in quite some time, and I can’t recommend this book enough.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best single-morning/one sitting read I've had in a long time - not to mention that I actually have the time and space of mind to even take on such an activity! What is this magical time!? Many of the points here are pieces I have encountered in other places and have applied in the last decade with success - death as an adventure, concepts of framing and anchoring, the last-time exercises, negative visualization, and toughness training (so exciting to read about all of these again). But the chapters on the two-part Stoic test to (1) find the most optimal workaround for a setback, but mostly (2) by-passing negative emotions in the face of a setback, remind me that there is obvious work still to be done here and that my angry flashes and Basil Fawlty-style customer service approaches only make life more miserable for everyone around me. Bring on those Stoic tests and continued toughness training moments.

[Laleh · Rating 3 out of 5]

ویلیام اروین توی این کتاب سعی میکنه فلسفه رواقیون رو با مثال هایی از دل قرن ۲۱ برای مرا شرح بده.کتاب با نثری بسیار روان نوشته شده و بیشتر به پادکستی دوستانه میمونه.در کتاب از اندیشه های بزرگان رواقی از جمله سنکا،اپیکتتوس،مارکوس اورلیوس و... مثال های فراوانی مطرح شده که به درک بهتر مطالب کمک کردن.در کل کتاب خوبی بود.
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‌این روزها که داشتم راهنمای عملی رواقی زیستن رو میخوندم به این موضوع فکر میکردم
رواقی زیستن در خاورمیانه؛جایی که صدای جنگ بلند است،جان ها به راحتی توسط دولتمردان گرفته میشود و فقر احمق می کند دیگر تنها عنوان کتاب نیست مانند شعار می ماند.در جایی از کتاب نوشته شده"اگر بتوانید به مشکلات که میتوانند اشک به چشم خیلی ها بیاورد بخندید به سلاحی قوی در برابر ناملایمات زندگی مجهز شده اید" چگونه به فقر،دیکتاتوری،جان های عزیزی که گرفته شده اند بخندم؟
شاید باید بخواهم سنکا،اپیکتتوس و خدایان رواقی از جهان مردگان بازگردند و اندکی ما حاشیه نشینان این جهان را مشاهده کنند.
برای مردم در ایران،افغانستان و در جغرافیایی وسیع تر تحت عنوان خاورمیانه رواقی زیستن کار بیهوده ایست

[Bakunin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This work contains a few practical exercises one can do in order to remain calm and stay equanimous. I do prefer Irvines other work though and was a bit disappointed by the book. It didn't seem as inspiring as "A guide to the good life".

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tone deaf to reality even pre-pandemic. His life has been too comfortable.

[Kathryn Bashaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. I have been casually studying Stoic philosophy for a few years now. Also, I always enjoy a book that takes a serious, difficult subject and simplifies and condenses it for the general reader, and this one really fit the bill.

Some personal background: I encountered numerous setbacks and glitches on vacation several months ago with my family, and came to the realization of how much my anxiety disorder impacts the people around me. When it was only impacting me, it was a mere irritation. Once I clearly realized that it also impacts people I love, I came to understand my anxiety as a character flaw. And I have dedicated the year 2025 to learning to manage it better. So, I loved how this book fulfilled its promise of providing ways to become "tougher, calmer and more resilient." Irvine suggests specific exercises such as framing, the Stoic test strategy, and toughness training.

If I remember to do so, I will update this review later in the year with a paragraph about whether and how much the exercises helped me.

I would definitely read more books by this author.

[Laura (thenerdygnomelife) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irvine takes us on a path through the basics of the stoic philosophy, and introduces us to some of the mental games you can play to help develop greater resiliency and fortitude. While this is a solid introduction, there are some other books on this topic that I have preferred more. Irvine is a professor of philosophy and in some ways, that showed — I felt like I was reading a lengthy college essay more than I was reading a book. Despite its short length, it took me some time to get through. Still, it's likely a good fit for those who have no familiarity with the stoic mindset.

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

There comes a point in any argument when it becomes necessary to determine whether continuing the conversation might lead to some sort of resolution or it is time to simply drop my end of the conversational rope and walk away. And so it happens with this book. I keep arguing with it and the argument is not going to get me anywhere.

So in other words - I did not finish this book. I marked it as read because I did read most of it and I don’t want to accidentally return to it some day. I’m still curious about Stoicism but have now determined to go to someone like Seneca if I decide to invest time in learning more.

I think there is a lot of value in keeping a clear perspective and taking things in stride. But having read what I have of this book I think a better and more humanity affirming approach to gaining those skills would be perhaps some combination of gratitude and a mindfulness practice. Stoicism as described here seems to be a kind of philosophy of toxic positivity with a generous dose of condescension. It is seriously lacking in compassion. The subtitle of this book might as well be “suck it up buttercup.” Some of my arguments as a much-too-long bulleted list as alternative to the essay I started to write:

-Stoics think grief is acceptable but are quick to insist on limits even there. Going beyond their parameters in this regard is vanity, they say. That some people continue to grieve only to show the world that they care. That strikes me as a particularly callous judgement. (Heaven save us from those who imagine up our motivations so they can judge us lacking.)

-Human resilience is limited. To imply otherwise is a willful kind of ignorance. I’m thinking of the recent studies of adverse childhood events: the way trauma, poverty and other childhood setbacks predict issues in adulthood. It is the height of snobbery to say that someone with a long list of ACE’s should still have the deep reserves of resilience that someone with a healthy childhood might have.

-An early example in the book has the author facing the “setback” of a cancelled flight and framing it for himself as a test from the Stoic gods. My first thought was to question the need for that at all. Delayed and canceled flights are just things that happen. They hardly count as setbacks. But a more honest answer would be that my response would depend ENTIRELY on how depleted my reserves of resilience were in just that moment. Am I exhausted or sick? Is the delay merely keeping me from vacation or from an urgent family matter? Is it costing me money I cannot afford to spend? Is it putting my livelihood at risk? To insist that I feel no negative emotion in the face of those struggles is to entirely lack empathy.

-The author has a strange aversion to the concept of therapy. He blames therapists for helicopter parenting (everything I’ve ever read from therapists urges against helicopter parenting). Conflates the stages of grief with a need for grief counseling and dismisses the usefulness of therapy out of hand. Weirdly dismisses therapy as a tool for learning to manage emotions.

-I’m pretty tired of the knee-jerk characterization of the WWII generation as flawless. Among other things, returning soldiers and other survivors often inflicted their trauma on their families because they were too STOIC to accept help.

-Personal pet peeve that has nothing to do with Stoicism: don’t repeat the third grade version of the story of Rosa Parks that casts her as some kind of passive participant in history. She was not. Do better.

-The overall tone of condescension of this book is extraordinarily off-putting. And it seems to reject empathy.

End of arguments, thought I’m sure there would have been more had I finished the book.

[Brian Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re looking for “A Philosopher’s Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient,” I think you’ll enjoy this book.

“This book is an exercise in what might be thought of as twenty-first-century Stoicism. In these pages, I have fused the advice given by the first-century Stoic philosophers with the research done by late twentieth-century psychologists. Some in academia will resent me for meddling with classical Stoicism in this manner. They think of Stoicism the way they think of a priceless ancient relic—as something to be kept in a hermetically sealed case, to be seen but not touched. By contrast, I treat Stoicism as a tool that, although in need of sharpening because of the passage of time, is not only still useful but can have a profoundly beneficial impact on modern lives. …

I begin by describing the sorts of setbacks to which we are susceptible and the ways in which we typically respond to them. Although many people become frustrated, angry, anxious, or even despondent, others take setbacks in their stride. How do they do it?

I then explore the psychology of setbacks: why do they affect us emotionally the way they do? I go on to show how, instead of thinking of setbacks merely as unfortunate experiences, we can reframe them as tests of our resilience and ingenuity. Doing this can have a profound impact on how we respond to them. Instead of experiencing a mixture of anger and anxiety, we might be surprised to discover that we are rising enthusiastically to the challenge presented by a setback.

And finally I show how using the Stoic test strategy, besides helping our days go better, can help us have a good life—and when it comes time to make our exit from this world, a good death.”

~ William B. Irvine from The Stoic Challenge

William B. Irvine is a professor of philosophy at Wright State University. He’s also a fantastic (and prolific) writer.

And… Unlike many of his academic, professor-of-philosophy peers, he is a practicing Stoic philosopher. In the words of Donald Robertson (another Stoic author and practitioner), he is both a librarian AND a warrior of the mind.

If you’re looking for “A Philosopher’s Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient,” I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. I HIGHLY recommend it. (Get a copy here.)

Some of my favorite big ideas from this book include:

1. Setbacks - And exemplars of personal triumph.
2. Resilience Continuum - And antifragility.
3. The Stoic Test - Is where it’s at
4. The Frame Game - Play it well!
5. Sinking Anchors - Via negative visualization.
6. Studying for Stoic Tests - By challenging yourself. TODAY!

I’ve summarized those Big Ideas in a video review that you can watch here.

I’ve also added The Stoic Challenge by William B. Irvine to my collection of Philosopher’s Notes--distilling the Big Ideas into 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3s on 600+ of the BEST self-development books ever. You can get access to all of those plus a TON more over at heroic.us.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book for these times. Although I don’t totally agree with everything it posits (including but not limited to Irvine’s views on therapy), and obviously comes from a writer in a position of great privilege, some excellent lessons on how to change your mindset which I have already found myself applying. There are now no problems, only challenges sent to test us!

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book is bad, yall. early on i could tell it would be plagued by the oversimplified "science shows" type of citations common to pop self help adjacent genre, but over time the author seemed to reveal himself to have a pretty limited grasp on basic scientific principles, eg, stating that resilience cannot be genetic because if were you'd see entire resilient families as if recessive traits aren't a thing, (ignoring the vast body of literature suggesting most human traits are multifactoral and "caused" by a complex interplay of genes, environment, and gene-by-environment interactions. on the topic of resilience there is some fascinating and not-that-new research on the ways that descendants of slaves and holocaust survivors' dna has been altered by those experiences).

a bigger gripe i have w the book is its confused stance on psychology. it ping-pongs between "citing" "psychology" to support its claims (mostly general ideas from the mid-1900s, presented here with little nuance) to claiming that therapy is one of the horsemen of the apocalypse causing people to become weaker and less resilient over time. relatedly, i took a lot of issue with how this book seemed to understand emotions -- mainly, that certain emotions are "always bad" and our goal should be to never feel them, but that this is different from "suppressing" emotions (unclear how it is different except that suppressing is "bad," as is "expressing" those "bad" emotions in any way; i am sorry for the preponderance of scare quotes here). his examples are mostly that one time he was inconvenienced and didn't feel angry and it wouldn't have helped him if he forced himself to get angry. then he cites a bunch of survivors of horrific events (assault, illness, natural disaster) and claims their ability to lead meaningful lives after is because they didn't feel "bad" emotions." he dances around some good insights about acceptance of the past but doesn't seem to understand the difference between having emotions and getting stuck/clinging on to those emotions. i think a lot of the ideas presented could be very helpful to people who get stuck in their emotions, but the framing that the goal is to never feel angry, for example, seems to me like a set-up for readers to perpetually fail -- and it misses the really valuable functions of "bad" emotions, like how anger can motivate us to act against threat or injustice, or how sadness can promote social bonding and support. unsurprising that he is not attuned to those things tho as he literally suggests empathy is bad for everyone ("this type of commiseration [telling a friend about a difficult experience and the friend feeling empathy for you] turns a setback for one into a setback for two, without helping the first person overcome the setback. in other words, it only makes matters worse.")

this "empathy is bad" take is a perfect lead-in to my final issue w the book, which is that it just has such old-cishet-white-guy energy that i was truly astounded to see it was published so recently -- i would have bet money it was a pre-2010 release. there's the complaining about participation trophies. there's the weird disability inspiration porn, "aren't you glad you're not paralyzed" takes. there's the emotions bad, tell yourself they are bad so you don't have them anymore (see audre lorde, "the white father tells us, i think therefore i am. the Black mother tells us, i feel therefore i can be free") and the complete devaluing of pro-social behavior which has historically been considered "woman stuff" and also coincidentally inferior to logic, the Domain Of Men. there's this weird victim-blamey point about how, okay, societal oppression might be real but if you view yourself as a victim you're equally (more?) to blame -- "being a victim, after all, relieves you of responsibility for many of the aspects of your life that have gone wrong." -- which is presented without any examples, of course, because there's no way you can actually defend this point with a real world example without treading into "isn't it time for you to get over racism" or "well, did you say or do something to lead him on" territory. then there's this weird flavor of respectability politics ("consider how different our world would be if nelson mandela or mahatma gandhi played the role of victims.")??? it just overall gives off an aggressive vibe that this book is by and for white men who dont have much objectively wrong or difficult in their lives. also at one point he suggests comparing how we complain at the airport to how pilgrims felt being shot at by "angry Native Americans" as they colonized the US as an exercise in gratitude, in this laissez-faire way like truly every reader he had in mind was a descendant of the pilgrims and never, say, those "angry Native Americans."

after part 1 and the first chapter of pt 2 (which is confusingly all about how psychology supports his "stoic test theory") i skipped to part 3, where in the first chapter he lists the faults of "white racists and outraged blacks" in the wake of the montgomery bus boycotts as thought they are equal. he does not mention the children's crusade, in which televised images of Black children being attacked by police dogs and fire hoses *outraged* white audiences into a substantial shift in favor of desegregation. in the same chapter, the third (3rd) citation of *any* scientific material is given to citing someone who disagrees with the theory of grief stages (being generous, there are 4-5 research citations total).

part 4 is where practical advice for approaching challenges in a stoic-al way first shows up. the suggestions are not all terrible: do things that challenge you so you can gain new skills, do things that challenge you so you can get comfortable with failure, do things that challenge you so you can toughen up (...), don't celebrate your successes too much or tell anyone about them (.....), remember you're going to die and your time is precious.

i am not sure if ive succeeded at the stoic test by finishing this book (do things that challenge you x3) or failed by wasting my one wild and precious life on it (and complaining about it a lot on the internet, to boot).

[agnieszka · Rating 3 out of 5]

ta książka przekonała mnie, że jestem stoikiem odkąd pamiętam
może urodziłam się z genem stoicyzmu, ale bardziej prawdopodobne jest to, że to wszystko przez przeczytanie „pollyanny” kiedy byłam małym, rozwijającym się człowiekiem (pozdrowienia dla mojej siostry bez której nie przeczytałbym żadnej ważnej w moim życiu książki) i „mimo wszystko, jakoś to będzie” podejścia do życia moich rodziców

za dużo nowego się nie dowiedziałam dlatego 3 ⭐️, ale stoickie podejście do życia polecam!!!!

[Peter DeLone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Low-key just an oldish guy yappin’ about how hard it is when his flight gets canceled.

[Rafal Jasinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bardzo dobra książka, zawierająca dobre rady i praktyczne ćwiczenia, łączące w sobie filozofię antycznych stoików i osiągnięcia współczesnej psychologii, która wesprze Was w obliczu codziennych trudów, wyzwań rzucanych przez los - i "stoickich bogów" - oraz małych (opóźniony lot, utknięcie w korku) i dużych (choroby terminalne, śmierć bliskich, lęk przed śmiercią własną) problemów. Publikacja, której lektura pomoże zachować spokój i uniknąć efektów negatywnych emocji w wielu problematycznych sytuacjach, która w prosty i przystępny - choć dla bardziej zaawansowanych i pragnących bardziej zgłębić te zagadnienia może zbyt powierzchowny - sposób pozwoli wprowadzić wciąż aktualne myśli i metody starożytnych stoików w pełne stresu życie człowieka XXI wieku. Polecam!

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief, entertaining and useful. I can’t say more because I am meeting my peeps at the stoa.

[Petra · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good primer on exploring stoic principles. did not find the author’s examples of hardship (ie losing a rowing race, airport difficulties) to be meaningful, especially when contrasted with the complete absence of discussion of hardships typically experienced by women (caretaking, childbearing/childrearing).