Daily Stoic August Review – Pragmatism

The Daily Stoic is a book with 366 quotes from Stoic philosophers on how to live a good life. I had previously read this a couple years ago and benefited a lot from it, and I've decided to read it again this year. Every day, I read the quote, the explanation, and then journal my thoughts and reflections. At the end of each month, I review my reflections and summarize the month.

The theme for August is "pragmatism", and this article will summarize my August reflections:

1. Set realistic expectations

2. Have clear perception

3. Adapt to any situation

4. Focus on action

5. Practice reduction

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1: Set Realistic Expectations

When things don’t go according to our expectations, we become upset and unhappy. What’s the solution? Most people try to change the outside. However, outside circumstances and people are not in our control, so such efforts might not reap good results. To solve the problem from the root, we adjust our own expectations.

August 1:

"The cucumber is bitter, so toss it out! There are thorns on the path, then keep away! Enough said. Why ponder the existence of nuisance? Such thinking would make you a laughing-stock to the true student of Nature, just as a carpenter or cobbler would laugh if you pointed out the sawdust and chips on the floors of their shops. Yet while those shopkeepers have dustbins for disposal, Nature has no need of them."

—Marcus Aurelius

August 4:

"You must stop blaming God, and not blame any person. You must completely control your desire and shift your avoidance to what lies within your reasoned choice. You must no longer feel anger, resentment, envy, or regret."

—Epictetus

Firstly, we should establish the expectation that problems are normal in life. In this way, we wouldn’t get upset so easily. Second, we shouldn’t blame other people or external circumstances for our feelings. Instead, focus on taking productive action.

For example, if we eat a cucumber, and it tastes normal, we wouldn’t give it a second thought. But if the cucumber is bitter, we get upset because we think “This cucumber shouldn’t be bitter. That’s not normal. This is a problem. This bitter cucumber ruined my meal.”

When this happens, we remind ourselves, “Problems are normal in life. No need to make a big deal out of it. Besides, fussing doesn’t help. Focus on taking productive action.” Cultivating our mind and thoughts like this is solving our problems from the root. 

August 29:

"No person has the power to have everything they want, but it is in their power to not want what they don't have, and to cheerfully put to good use what they do have."

—Seneca

This is one of my favorite quotes of all time. It teaches us how to avoid suffering: by simply not wanting that which we cannot obtain. This power belongs to everyone. It also teaches us to be happy and productive: by cheerfully putting to good use what we already have.

My Practice

My personality is the type that likes to plan things in advance, and when things don’t go according to my plan, I easily get annoyed. After learning Stoicism, I became better. I remind myself in the morning that I will encounter problems and inconsiderate people; it’s just a fact of life. When this happens, maintain my own calmness and kindness; this is my cultivation. By reminding myself every single morning, I slowly became better at not overreacting to problems.

2: Have Clear Perception

When problems arise, it’s important to see the situation clearly and accurately. Only then can we improve the situation and solve the problem. If our perception and judgment get distorted by emotions, then we will make things worse.

August 9:

"Don't tell yourself anything more than what the initial impressions report. It's been reported to you that someone is speaking badly about you. This is the report—the report wasn't that you've been harmed. I see that my son is sick—but not that his life is at risk. So always stay within your first impressions, and don't add to them in your head—this way nothing can happen to you."

—Marcus Aurelius

The mind has a tendency to amplify bad news. When this happens, we need to remind ourselves to get clear on the facts, and to separate facts from feelings. If we can do this mental training, then we will have stability of mind.

August 22:

"It is essential for you to remember that the attention you give to any action should be in due proportion to its worth, for then you won't tire and give up, if you aren't busying yourself with lesser things beyond what should be allowed."

—Marcus Aurelius

Here, Marcus Aurelius is talking about the Middle Way, which Confucius and the Buddha also taught. We want to do everything to the right degree, not excessive, nor deficient.

If a problem is a minor problem, don’t get overly stressed about it. If a problem is a major problem, don’t neglect it. If we only have 30% control over a matter, then don’t try to manage 50%. That would be unnecessary clinging. At the same time, don’t just manage 20%; that would be irresponsible. Give matters their due worth. Or in Buddhist terms, accord with the situation.

August 27:

"Heraclitus would shed tears whenever he went out in public—Democritus laughed. One saw the whole as a parade of miseries, the other of follies. And so, we should take a lighter view of things and bear them with an easy spirit, for it is more human to laugh at life than to lament it."

—Seneca

Whether we laugh or cry in response to situations is dependent on our perception, which is in our control. A lot of people think Stoics are overly serious, but actually, they enjoy life. If learning philosophy makes us depressed, then we’re learning it wrong. When we adjust our thinking to be more effective, we should feel more peace and happiness.

My Practice

When I get overly emotional, whether it’s anger, fear, worry, or even excitement, I tell myself to not make decisions. I need to wait until my emotions are peaceful again to make decisions because excessive emotion clouds judgment.

The Middle Way is not hard to understand, but it’s very difficult in practice. It requires wisdom, and wisdom comes from a peaceful state of mind, as well as from accumulated learning and life experience. That’s why I allocate time every day for meditation and learning.

I have a rather serious personality, so I need to work on being more light-hearted to be more Stoic. Humor isn’t just for myself; it’s also helpful to relieve tension for others. When I actually intentionally tried to have more humor in life, I found that I actually could do it. Like changing any habit, it just takes conscious effort and practice.

3: Adapt To Any Situation

Hoping problems won’t arise is not pragmatic. Improving our adaptability is. When we have confidence in our adaptability, then any situation is a good situation.

August 3:

"At this moment you aren't on a journey, but wandering about, being driven from place to place, even though what you seek—to live well—is found in all places. Is there any place more full of confusion than the Forum? Yet even there you can live at peace, if needed."

—Seneca

Philosophy is an inner seeking, not an outer seeking. We seek happiness and peace of mind from within ourselves, from cultivating our mind. If a person believes that they need a certain external environment or condition to be happy, then that person is not a philosopher. Even in hectic and difficult situations in which most people would feel chaotic, the philosopher can remain composed.

August 6:

"Apply yourself to thinking through difficulties—hard times can be softened, tight squeezes widened, and heavy loads made lighter for those who can apply the right pressure."

—Seneca

August 16:

"Just as the nature of rational things has given to each person their rational powers, so it also gives us this power—just as nature turns to its own purpose any obstacle or any opposition, sets its place in the destined order, and co-opts it, so every rational person can convert any obstacle into the raw material for their own purpose."

—Marcus Aurelius

When difficulties and obstacles arise, we shouldn’t think, “Ugh. Why me. This is so hard. This is so troublesome.” Stoicism teaches us to make use of that obstacle to elevate our cultivation and move us closer towards our goal, just like how fire makes fuel out of everything. When we can use obstacles to our advantage, we’ll gain great satisfaction and confidence.

August 20:

"Inwardly, we ought to be different in every respect, but our outward dress should blend in with the crowd."

—Seneca

The goal of philosophy and cultivation is to have better relationships, which then creates happiness. If we purposely make ourselves very different from others, causing them to dislike us or oppose us, then we’ve fallen off the proper path. We should accord with others and let them see that they too can practice philosophy.

For example, if you come from a wealthy family, don’t force yourself to live a poor life. Your family might think you’re going crazy. Instead, practice the teachings of philosophy as a wealthy person. Be a role model of a wealthy philosopher. That would be being different on the inside while blending in on the outside.

My Practice

As mentioned before, I tend to rigidly cling to plans, so when unexpected problems occur, I get flustered easily. After learning philosophy, I’ve focused on cultivating my adaptability. I’ve found that it really just takes belief and practice. I tell myself, “Although this is not according to my plan, this is a chance to improve my adaptability. I can definitely find some good use of this obstacle.”

After learning philosophy, my life values and my standards for good and bad have become different from the crowd. However, I still accord with others and let them feel that we can relate.

For example, I used to really enjoy gaming and drinking milk tea with friends. Now, I don’t seek pleasure from these things anymore. However, I don’t look down on others if they do. Moreover, if I’m with friends who like to game and drink milk tea, I can happily accompany them. In the process, I’ll also try to share with them some useful wisdom relevant to their life. It’s because I can adapt myself to them that they would communicate with me. Thus, if we want to benefit others, it’s important that we can accord with them.

4: Focus on Action

Learning philosophy isn’t just to accumulate knowledge. Philosophy emphasizes action and practice. Only through application can we gain benefit.

August 12:

"Many words have been spoken by Plato, Zeno, Chrysippus, Posidonius, and by a whole host of equally excellent Stoics. I'll tell you how people can prove their words to be their own—by putting into practice what they've been preaching."

—Seneca

August 14:

"Philosophy isn't a parlor trick or made for show. It's not concerned with words, but with facts. It's not employed for some pleasure before the day is spent, or to relieve the uneasiness of our leisure. It shapes and builds up the soul, it gives order to life, guides action, shows what should and shouldn't be done—it sits at the rudder steering our course as we vacillate in uncertainties. Without it, no one can live without fear or free from care. Countless things happen every hour that require advice, and such advice is to be sought out in philosophy."

—Seneca

Ultimately, philosophy teaches us to use our mind effectively, which then gives us freedom and peace of mind. To do so, we need to know how to use our mind, and then we need to practice. Knowing how doesn’t take too much time. Practice requires much more time and effort.

But as Seneca says, countless things happen every hour that puts our mind to work, so we have countless practice opportunities every day. If we make good use of these opportunities, our cultivation will improve quickly. If we don’t seize these practice opportunities, then more learning isn’t going to help. In fact, it might even harm us by making us arrogant (because we think we know a lot). In reality, knowing without doing should be a reason for shame not pride.

August 11:

"When the problem arose for us whether habit or theory was better for getting virtue—if by theory is meant what teaches us correct conduct, and by habit we mean being accustomed to act according to this theory—Musonius thought habit to be more effective."

—Musonius Rufus

The work of philosophy is to cultivate virtues. Knowing is just the first step. Practice is the second step. We have to keep practicing until it becomes a habit. When virtuous behavior becomes our instinctive first response, then it’s become a habit, and we can be said to possess that virtue firmly.

August 13:

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

—Benjamin Franklin  

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Even more pragmatic than handling problems effectively is to prevent them from arising. To do that, we need to learn from every experience and think about how we could prevent similar problems from arising in the future. This might sound obvious, but common sense is often not common practice. Just ask yourself, have you ever repeated the same mistake over and over again? If so, then perhaps you haven’t put enough effort into prevention work.

Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, also taught that if we want to prevent urgent problems from arising, we have to dedicate enough time to the important but non-urgent things, such as our health and relationships. Neglecting these things in the short-term might not have major consequences, but the effects are accumulating. Once they reach a tipping point, disaster will befall. Thus, it’s important to allocate enough time to these important but non-urgent matters.

My Practice

I’ve always been a pragmatic type of person. When I learned things in school, I always thought about how it would be useful in my life. This kind of attitude helped me benefit from learning philosophy. Philosophy is kind of like an instruction manual for making good decisions and living a good life. We just have to remember to use the manual!

I’ve also experienced first-hand the difficulty of changing bad habits into good ones, or changing vices into virtues. It really takes patience and persistence. But the satisfaction that comes with our improvement is definitely worth it.

In the process of correcting habits, we shouldn’t get impatient and think, “Why do I still keep making that mistake? Why haven’t I changed yet?” Have the expectation that it will require hundreds of repetitions or many months of effort to see noticeable improvement (not perfection). As long as we are patient and persistent, we’ll slowly change without even noticing it.

In terms of problem prevention, when I make a mistake, I will ask myself: Is this a new mistake or a repeat mistake? If it’s a new mistake, how can I prevent it next time? If it’s a repeat mistake, why do I keep repeating it? If it’s because I haven’t found the root cause, then I need to find the root cause. Perhaps ask others for advice. If it’s simply a habit problem, then I need to persist in my cultivation. I also make sure I spend time on important non-urgent things every day, such as for my health and relationships.

5: Practice Reduction

A lot of times, we try to improve our lives by adding more. But for a lot of us, it’s better to focus on simplifying and reducing first.

August 19:

"It is said that if you would have peace of mind, busy yourself with little. But wouldn't a better saying be do what you must and as required of a rational being created for public life? For this brings not only the peace of mind of doing few things, but the greater peace of doing them well. Since the vast majority of our words and actions are unnecessary, corralling them will create an abundance of leisure and tranquility. As a result, we shouldn't forget at each moment to ask, is this one of the unnecessary things? But we must corral not only unnecessary actions but unnecessary thoughts, too, so needless acts don't tag along after them."

—Marcus Aurelius

A lot of us waste a lot of energy on unnecessary things, including actions, speech, and even thoughts. Here, Marcus Aurelius is teaching us to always ask, “Is this necessary”? If it’s necessary, do a good job at it. If it’s not necessary, don’t waste energy on it.

August 5:

"The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish, blow past opportunities, ignore feedback, and cause yourself suffering. The inexperienced and fearful talk to reassure themselves. The ability to listen, to deliberately keep out of a conversation and subsist without its validity is rare. Silence is a way to build strength and self-sufficiency."

—Ryan Holiday

Some people talk too much, others talk too little. But if we had to compare the two, probably more people talk too much.

The Book of Changes says,

“Auspicious people speak few words. Agitated people speak many words.”

In other words, if we want to have good fortune, it’s important to not talk too much. Why? Because talking too much reflects an agitated state of mind, and an agitated state of mind will tend to make poor decisions. Not to mention that no one likes a person who can’t stop talking, and everyone likes a person who respectfully listens to them.

We can all gain more fortune by practicing speaking more concisely, clearly, and steadily. We should also try to listen more and make others feel understood and respected. These are all ways to cultivate our mind to be calmer and more stable.

My Practice

I keep a to-do list that is ordered by priority. I know I never have enough time to do everything on my list, so I focus on getting the few most important things done for that day.

I tend to talk too much and too fast, which reflects my agitated state of mind. I have been working on talking more concisely and steadily for many years. I’m certainly better than before, but I still have a lot of room for improvement.

Conclusion

August was all about pragmatism. If we want to be pragmatic and good at dealing with problems, then first, we need to set realistic expectations. We need to view problems as normal and focus on taking productive action. Secondly, we need to have clear perception. Don’t let excessive emotions distort our perception. Third, focus on adapting ourselves to the situation and use the obstacle to our advantage.

Pragmatism is action-oriented, so in everything that we learn in philosophy, we should think about how we can use it in our daily life, and then go practice the teachings until they become habit. Finally, practice reduction by only doing, saying, and thinking what is necessary.

How could you improve your pragmatism?

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Weekly Wisdom #409