21 Comments

Good take on Stoicism. Many years ago was transiting the straits of Hormuz. Iranian jets came toward us a faked a missile launch (one flies away as the other accelerates toward us). I was newby sailor below decks. 1mc announced vampire, vampire. Chief petty officer turned white as a ghost. He had almost 20 years and on his and my first deployment. And he froze. I had a dash of panic and then acceptance of what would or could follow. That calmness still follows today in the much reduced stress of manufacturing. I get comments every review how calm I am.

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I love this. Accepting your fate on a ship surrounded by panic - that is a true test of what is inside.

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"by wanting exactly the opposite of reality in this very moment."

Definitely needs to be discussed more. The other day during a dinner out with friends, a fellow coworker made an excellent point.

"Today's generation of kids want to be fed out of a silver spoon. They want the world without putting in any effort towards it. They expect results from nothing. And god forbid something wrong go their way. Then all hell breaks loose and everything collapses."

Those who can't handle their reality will definitely not be able to handle the pressures that come with it. Before learning to control thoughts during times of stress, one must acknowledge the stress. Embrace it. Live through it, control it, then kill it. Thank you for the description of how to combat hardships. Epictetus would be proud.

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Thank you for the comment.

I really enjoy your life-cycle of stress: acknowledge > embrace > live it > control it > kill it.

How can it be any other way than this?

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Great piece. I just signed up after your Yuri interview.

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Stoked you enjoyed it, and welcome aboard.

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“All you can control in any given moment is how you choose to respond to it. You can do so as a man or a beast. “

💯 Sam. It’s all we have.

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Thank you, Dee. It's ironic how quickly it is to forget this lesson. I need to remind myself often. It's a good fight.

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This is a strong piece, and an even stronger message. Thanks for sharing Dee.

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Thanks for reading Sam

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I forgot to ask..... Is the merchant Zeno? ;)

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What an epic origin story. Enlightenment thanks to a ship wreck...

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“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.” Courage is in such short supply today.

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My favorite yet. I loathe audiobooks, but your reading was fantastic. Thank you!

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Thank you Emily!

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HOOAH!

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Excellent!

Reading this serves to highlight the sad fatalism of much of today's culture. The irony is, you talk of a potentially deadly shipwreck in which all may die, while today's culture panics because they may have to make some minor adjustments to change in climate.

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This is the truth. Our society is in some serious need of perspective.

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We will not fix society. We must fix ourselves. Each man and woman must concentrate on their own improvement... and in so doing, society will one day be fixed. More Stonewall Jacksons, fewer Whoopi Goldbergs.

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Love this post, BTW.

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