A Strong Soul Is Better Than Good Luck

The Daily Stoic for September 1st, “A Strong Soul Is Better Than Good Luck”.

“The rational soul is stronger than any kind of fortune—from its own share it guides its affairs here or there, and is itself the cause of a happy or miserable life.”
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 98.2b

Today’s stoic meditation tells the story of Cato. Apparently, in spite of being a rich man, he would lead a humble life to train his soul to be resilient.

As I am not a rich man, I can’t really relate to that story. But I think there’s an important teaching here.

A Strong Soul Is Better Than Good Luck

Being hospitalized this week in a foreign country with a severe infection has been probably one of the most traumatic experiences I’ve ever lived. I was not ready for it.

When lying in my bed at the emergencies room, one of the doctors came and told me that I had an important infection and, if we didn’t take immediate action, it could affect my life or cause me irreparable damage. That news just fell like a bomb. I was super scared.

I have been using stoicism as a tool to try to better understand my relationship with the outside world for quite some time now. It has helped me a lot. However, I was not prepared to react stoically in that situation.

Maybe I need to do like Cato and try to get used to this kind of situations. Consider how lucky I am now, but knowing that everything can change overnight. Can we really be prepared for that? Can we really be prepared for the absolute worst, and face it without blinking?

I have no answer as of now.

Conclusion

Today’s Daily Stoic, “A Strong Soul Is Better Than Good Luck”, discusses how we should get used to all kind of situations, good and bad, and have a strong soul to face whatever luck throws in our faces.