The Beginner's Guide to Stoicism: Tools for Emotional Resilience and Positivity

Epictetus says that a Stoic won’t desire that dessert before they have it and therefore won’t be disturbed if they never get it.

that there are things that are worth obtaining, all things considered.

•How can I benefit from this? •What virtue can I draw on to meet this moment?

To do this, you only allow yourself to dwell on the present, essentially fencing yourself off from the future and the past. Take a breath. Draw your attention to the present moment. The past is finished. The future is unknowable. Leave anxieties about the future alone; they solely exist in your imagination. You can only act in the present.

“As long as you do what’s proper to your nature, and accept what the world’s nature has in store—as long as you work for others’ good, by any and all means—what is there that can harm you?”

If you can accept the world as it is, you will not desire things that will never be.

“I will weed my garden this afternoon, if nothing prevents it.”

This is when you pause and compare.

I want to do x, I understand that I don’t control that outcome.