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Practice like a Stoic: 25, Deal virtuously with frustrating people
Ten very useful suggestions from Marcus Aurelius
[This series of posts is based on A Handbook for New Stoics — How to Thrive in a World out of Your Control, co-authored by yours truly and Greg Lopez. It is a collection of 52 exercises, which we propose reader try out one per week during a whole year, to actually live like a Stoic. In Europe/UK the book is published by Rider under the title Live Like A Stoic. Below is this week’s prompt and a brief explanation of the pertinent philosophical background. Check the book for details on how to practice the exercise, download the exercise forms from The Experiment’s website, and comment below on how things are going. Greg and/or I will try our best to help out! This week’s exercise is found at pp. 154–156 of the paperback edition.]
“First. My relation towards men. We are made for one another. . . .
Second. What are men like in board, in bed, and so on? Above all, what principles do they hold binding? And how far does pride enter into their actual conduct?
Third. If others are doing right, you have no call to feel sore; if wrong, it is not willful, but comes of ignorance.
Fourth. You are like others, and often do wrong yourself. Even if you abstain from…
