Hello Friends! This marvelous Monday morning marks the beginning of a new project we will be working on here at Logic Central in which we interpret ancient philosophy and apply it to modern times. We hope that this will become an exciting and mindful way to begin each week. Without further ado, we give you the Golden Sayings of Epictetus!
CI – “Study how to give as one that is sick: that thou mayest hereafter give as one that is whole. Fast; drink water only; abstain altogether from desire, that thou mayest conform thy desire to Reason.”
This saying reminds me of something I had learned from an immensely sage man, Elliott Hulse. He taught me that when I am envisioning my next great project or adventure, to imagine the absolute worst thing that could happen. So for example, imagine investing in a new business. The worst thing that could happen is that it flops and you are left living in your car for a little while. With a family, the prospect is terrifying; but if you are able to look at that worst possible experience and be ok with it, there is nothing stopping you from giving your absolute entirety to it. And from that experience, you have grown immensely. You have learned the steps necessary to begin a business. You have hopefully identified what went wrong so that you don’t do it next time, and you have followed a step towards your dream. Don’t let that failure bring you down, but use it to bring you up to the next level the next time. Tying this back to Epictetus, if you study living plainly, there is no discomfort that will hold you back along the path to success.