Two years ago, I published two short posts about the difference intrinsic or true self-esteem and merely contingent self-esteem; the importance of intrinsic self-esteem; and the problem with only having contingent self-esteem. I think it’s time to revisit this topic. Having reviewed the old posts, they seem good to me. However, some of the comments … More Intrinsic Self-Esteem: What It Is and Why We Need It
When people in the United States intentionally sought to become happier, they tended to fail. … When people in East Asia intentionally sought to become happier, they tended to succeed. … What people actually do when they seek happiness, in the U.S. and in East Asia, differs sharply in one key way. … More Effective and Ineffective Pursuits of Happiness: Investing in Relationships with Others Is an Anti-Depressant
Today I want to talk about one major cause of depression and the prospect of counteracting or removing that cause. This cause is disconnection from others, or loneliness (more on that shortly). I’m basing this largely on Johann Hari’s investigation and discussion of these matters in his amazing book Lost Connections, which I wrote about … More Disconnection from Others and Loneliness: One Social-Environmental Cause of Depression
The idea of a non-pharmaceutical anti-depressant might be the single most important thing in Johann Hari’s amazing and fairly recent book: Lost Connections. It radically reframes the entire dominant way of thinking about the treatment and prevention of depression, and does this by radically expanding, in a hopeful, realistic, and evidence-based manner, the way we’ve come to assume depression will be treated. … More The Idea of a Non-Pharmaceutical Anti-Depressant
Actually, the book is a great guide to real happiness if you fall into any of the following categories: … More A Guide to Happiness for Anyone: Jennifer Taitz’s “How to Be Single and Happy” Isn’t Only for Single People
A new goal of mine is to leave earlier than on-time. It’s about doing just a little less, in order to have a lot less distress, and it’s the result of a quite specific quality-of-life insight. If you’re like me, you’re often a bit of a scrambler… … More Leaving Earlier: Why It’s Better Than On Time
A few weeks back I began to notice … a sense of disengagement from my work. … The ensuing attention brought to mind … right livelihood. … I hadn’t exactly forgotten this, but … More Feeling Engaged or Disengaged at Work: Meditating On Right Livelihood
Johann Hari’s book Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope, is one of the very best things I read in 2022. It’s one of those unusual gems you find, that make you want to tell everyone about it, but because it’s so rich and deep, it’s very difficult to convey, in a … More Non-Pharmaceutical Anti-Depressants and Environmental Causes of Depression: Johann Hari’s Lost Connections
That happened maybe about a month ago, and then a week or so ago, I had a close repeat of the same experience. … More A Dramatic Drop in Anxiety
just as Seneca thought Stoics could benefit from various Epicurean principles and practices, so should Stoics be able to use this traditionally Buddhist exercise … More A non-Stoic exercise for Stoic philanthropia
What would we say about the glass to indicate a perspective that is neither pessimistic nor optimistic? … More A “half-glass of water” question
In previous posts I’ve been expanding on four difficulties probably faced by those of us attempting to practice Stoic philosophy. Here is the fourth: a certain lack of effective exercises for developing “philanthropy,” meaning a love of humanity or love of human beings. This “philanthropy” is itself a great topic and matter for reflection, but … More A Stoic difficulty: developing love for humanity (philanthropy)
A lot of Stoic teachings describe the way a sage would see and feel. We of course are not sages. Yet we can easily fall into trying to be one immediately, trying to force our perception and feelings to be other than they must be at this stage of our development. This is one of … More The pitfall wherein we try immediately to be a sage
In a previous post, I mentioned that reliance on “providentialistic” views was one potential difficulty for present-day Stoics. Today I’ll explain this a bit. When I say “providentialistic” or “providentialism,” I’m referring to what theoretical discourses term “divine providence,” or perhaps more accurately, a belief in divine providence. In short, belief in divine providence is … More The Pitfall of Reliance on Providentialism
I sometimes get the impression that Stoicism is often taken as, and practiced as if it were, a way to finally control everything, including our feelings. Yet this is quite incorrect. Stoicism is not about becoming able to control everything. It is about finally starting to begin to acknowledge that we don’t and can’t, and … More Note on acceptance, control, and Stoicism
I think one pitfall we tend to encounter, when we try to put Stoic teachings into practice, is that of becoming unfeeling, “like a stone.” I mentioned four such difficulties in a previous post. Here, I want to expand on this particular one. What this expression means, becoming or being “unfeeling like a stone,” is … More The pitfall wherein we become unfeeling
Have you encountered these difficulties in attempting to live Stoically? After a conversation I had, some time ago, about living as a Stoic philosopher, I found myself wondering what pitfalls and stumbling blocks a person is likely to encounter when they try seriously to integrate Stoic teachings and practice into their life. Four things came … More Four ways we may stumble in attempting to live Stoically
Not, of course, negative in the sense of bad or unpleasant. How could … More Happiness defined negatively?
Do you apologize too much?
Epicurus’ analysis of happiness is one my mind returns to periodically. … More Epicurus and Genuine Happiness