The Benefits Of Sobering Thoughts
The Daily Stoic for December 5th, “The Benefits Of Sobering Thoughts”.
“Keep death and exile before your eyes each day, along with everything that seems terrible—by doing so, you’ll never have a base thought nor will you have excessive desire.”
—EPICTETUS, ENCHIRIDION, 21
In January the 1st, we will be hopefully flying to Chiang Mai. We’ll spend there probably a month before leading to Bali, Indonesia, for three months at least. We’ve planned this trip for almost a year now, and I’m really excited about it.
The Benefits Of Sobering Thoughts
However, as you may know, I have gone through some health problems lately and, even though I’m better now, I still have to go through some tests and probably even surgery, before
So I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen. I am not 100% certain that I will be able to take that flight, even thought it’s already booked.
Curiously enough, what helped me be ok about this can be summed up in the stoic, “The glass is already broken“.
Indeed, even though I did all the right moves to get to South-East Asia and continue our plans for 2019, I act as if I thought that we won’t be able to go there. So if everything goes well and we can take the plane, I’ll be the happiest man in the world. If not… it won’t be that terrible. Yes, it’s not what I would like, but as it was going to be that way anyway.
I frankly would have laughed at these thoughts some months ago. 🙂 But now it reminds me how disappointed you are when you go to the movies to see a film you’ve been waiting for for a long time… only to find it disappointing. And, on the other hand, how amazing it is to watch a film you don’t really care about -and only watch because of your partner or friends- and discover an awesome piece of art you didn’t expect to find.
Conclusion
Today’s Daily Stoic, “The Benefits Of Sobering Thoughts”, discusses how everything is ephemeral, and why attitude can make a huge difference on our expectations vs what life brings us.
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