Remember that the pleasure includes both the moment you do it and your feelings about yourself after the fact. This practice will help you overcome initial impulses and make a more reasoned choice.

you must train yourself to desire only what you can always have,

reply will embarrass you. Then remind yourself that it’s not the future or the past that bears down on you, but only the present.

Training yourself to strive for personal moral excellence

“No school has more goodness and gentleness;

learning to accept the present moment.

“It was returned.”

The Stoic mind-set involves understanding what you can control and what you cannot. You ask yourself—what desires can I always obtain, and what things can I always avoid? The Stoic answer is if you only desire to be your best (to live with virtue) and if you only avoid moral mistakes (called vice), then you can always succeed because these are thin

First, learn to take actions with a “reserve clause” (more on this soon). •Second, learn to choose actions that benefit both yourself and others. •Third, develop a healthier value system that will free you to take just actions.