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Practice like a Stoic: 9, Be careful what you call good and bad
Only one thing is truly good, and only one truly bad
[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. 67–70 of the paperback edition.]
“True happiness, therefore, consists in virtue: and what will this virtue bid you do? Not to think anything bad or good which is connected neither with virtue nor with wickedness.” (Seneca, On the Happy Life, 16)
Evaluating circumstances that happen using strong value judgments can lead to strong emotions. When we use value-laden words such as “great” and “horrible” in describing our experiences, we’re not just reporting on facts. It isn’t a simple fact that your last month was…
