I’m a fan of Jocko Willink, especially the idea he espouses that “Discipline equals freedom.” In this context I’m not thinking about discipline as a form of punishment, reprisal, or consequence. It is more akin to self-control and personal mastery. It is the use of willpower to exert a sense of order onto the presence […]
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The negative influences of power can be tempered by ethics and a desire for self-control. We all know the platitude that “absolutely power corrupts absolutely” but even a little bit of power can have negative consequences when wielded haphazardly. The Stanford prison experiments showed us that a little bit of position power can result in
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What really happens when our emotions get out of control? In the moment we surge into some sort of action to express the intensity of our feelings in hopes of finding some catharsis or relief. Maybe we shout or cry. Maybe we lash out and become nasty and mean. Maybe we retreat and isolate. When
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In my observation, philosophies like Stoicism can fall short because they have been distilled down to quippy platitudes that lack truly actionable methodologies, tools, or skills. For example, the Stoic idea of the dichotomy of control asserts that the only thing within our control is our well reasoned response to the world around us. That
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The wise mind walks the middle path guided by logic on one side and intuition on the other. The Stoics often get judged and labeled as devoid of emotion. This couldn’t be further from the truth. They do however recognize that emotions must be regulated in order to harness their true power and benefit. The
Stoicism In Star Trek Read More »
From the Stoic perspective, gaining control of our impulses allows us to be intentional about living the life we want to live. Oftentimes I think this is viewed as raw discipline and or a brute force method of self control. Fortunately there are ways to train our minds to be a more effective tool for
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From the Stoic perspective there are three main areas of our lives that require dedicated attention and energy to develop. They are our desires, our motivations, and our ability to reason. Increasing our capability and capacity in each of these areas enables us to make decisions that enable us to live the life we want
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The Stoics practice of daily reflective journaling is something that I have never really come to terms with establishing as a regular habit. I’ve had fits and starts over the years with some success but mostly the practice devolves into a daily log of “what I did today.” I do like the idea of holding
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When you first start to study Stoicism it is pretty common to latch on to the concept that the only thing completely within our control is our thoughts. As I learned more about cognitive theory I started to understand that not all thoughts are created equally. Some of our thoughts rush into our minds as
The thing that comes up time and time again in my daily study of Stoicism, and is an absolute necessity, is understanding the things we control so we can recognize what is not ours to control. Things in our control: Things not in our control: This concept helps us focus our time and energy on
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