Six ways to make your life easier and more peaceful – by using stoic principles
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/22/stoicism-book-news-brigid-delaney?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-intl The control test The control test is a simple but incredibly effective strategy I use whenever I start worrying about something. It can be applied not just to the news cycle but absolutely everything in life, from not getting a pay raise to facing death. The formula, or test, is found in Handbook, or Enchiridion, a book of lectures by the Roman stoic Epictetus. Epictetus – whose handbook was published in 125AD – wrote: Within our power are opinion, motivation, desire, aversion and, in a word, whatever is of our own doing; not within our power are our body, our property, reputation, office and, in a word, whatever is not of our own doing. Essentially, our realm of control consists of our own actions and reactions, our desires, our character and how we treat others. The rest – including our bodies, the actions of others, our reputations and our fortunes