Quotes

• We weren’t going to be able to control what had happened, but we could control how we responded
• You Don't Control What Happens, You Control How You Respond
• Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (one of the doer-Stoic authors): fire feeds on obstacles."
• "You have to assemble your life yourself‚ action by action." Marcus Aurelius

Some Stoic Reminders In Times of Coronavirus

• Premeditatio malorum - have a plan if things get worse
• Summum bonum - act virtuously, don't put your convenience above other's safety
• Sympatheia - we’re all in this together. Be kind, help each others, don't’ be selfish

“Most of what we say and do is not essential,” he writes. “If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment, ‘Is this necessary?’” There has never been a better time to go through your life and ask yourself about all the things you do and say and think, “Is this necessary?” “Is this essential?” “Why am I doing this?” “What would happen if I changed?”

Sage (Ancient Greek: sophos), someone who has attained wisdom.

• No man is free who is not master of himself
• Oiêsis: an incorrect or misleading belief about something (Stoic philosophy)
• Ego: the disease of me. Nothing is more hostile to a firm grasp on knowledge than self-deception - Zeno. Self-deception, delusions of grandeur—these are annoying personality traits. It’s the enemy of our ability to learn and grow. Ego is that outsized sense of self-importance, that malignant self-absorption, a belief that one is somehow inherently better and entitled to more than everyone else.
• Premeditatio malorum (“the pre-meditation of evils”) is a Stoic exercise of imagining things that could go wrong or be taken away from us. It helps us prepare for life’s inevitable setbacks and develop resilience in the face of uncertainty. .
• Summum Bonum is an expression from Cicero, Rome’s greatest orator. In Latin, it means “the highest good.”: virtue