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Whiplash17488 t1_j0iv1pw wrote

Reply to comment by phuzzy1deep in [image] self-awareness is the key to self-mastery by _Cautious_Memory

The ancient Stoics agree with you, I think.

Stoics do have desires and aversions. Its just that they rationalize its healthier to try to divert them to things they can fully control.

Lets take a tennis match. What don’t you control? How good your opponent is, wether you’re on top of your game on the day of the match and wether you win.

Placing your desire in winning and your aversion in losing would not be ideal.

Instead you can try to be consciously intentional about placing your desire in putting in training a couple of times a week, eating healthy, and intentionally trying to play the best possible game ever.

“I lost and this is the worst thing ever” becomes “I lost but I’m proud of the effort I put in and losing to a better opponent is a reasonable way to lose”.

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phuzzy1deep t1_j0jajzu wrote

I interpret it as: “I’m horny. I should stop being horny.” Type of aversion. Even with my wife. Like I say: “No. I must avoid desires. Like a damn trial by fire.

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thisismyaccount3125 t1_j0jc4ts wrote

I may be wrong, but I don’t interpret it that way. I still need to look into it further, but my interpretation is that it’s a certain level of detachment from the external world. You assume it’s the literal detachment to things that make you feel good, but I disagree. I think it’s a detachment from what you think it means and recognize things for what they are. A pair of Jordans mean a lot of things - status, a particular taste, money. But at the end of the day, it’s still just a pair of shoes that will either be worn and used like other shoes or displayed as decor. That kind of detachment.

You can still appreciate things when detached this way. You’ll appreciate different things for different reasons than before; life doesn’t just suddenly start sucking if you’re a stoic in the Senecan sense.

I think. Like I said, I need to look into it further.

update: I looked into it a little bit further and holy hell dude, stoicism is lit af

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