In this week's blog, we will explore a rather profound tenet of Stoicism; if understood well, our lives can become simpler. Lucius Annaeus Seneca, also referred to as Seneca the Younger, was a Stoic philosopher, who wisely said "We suffer more in imagination than in reality".
Let this quote seep in your mind.
It is human to complain. After all, adversity is unavoidable. Some days, some things happen that are unfair. That are unjust. Some days we see things we cannot explain, and we just want to complain and languish over it. Whether it is our work, academics or personal life, we see days where our efforts don't pay off or a ridiculous event occurs. However, while we may complain about some promotion, award or admission, someone else will be celebrating the same event. The event does not change. The promotion still remains the same. The award winner remains the same. The judgement about that event changes. Someone would agree, someone would celebrate and someone would complain.
Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher, famously said "When we are frustrated, angry or unhappy, never hold anyone except ourselves- that is, our judgements- accountable". Our frustration and anger roots from for our judgement about an event. Detaching your judgement from an event is difficult. It is extremely difficult. From our childhood, reactions and judgements to events are ingrained in our habits.
If you are denied a job offer, award or from a university, realise that the event is not within your control. You can decide to cry, scream and choose a path of feeling depressed. However, the reality is that when one door closes, another one opens. We say we needed this job, needed this college offer, however, this is where Seneca's quote comes in play. We imagine suffering that we attach our happiness and survival to some event and when it is taken away from us, we judge the event to be devastating.
Remember, detach yourself from judgement; your judgement will more often than not change the course of events. So stop suffering imagined troubles, and let go of the events that did not go in your favour. Live in the present.
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