Want a happy life?
CHANGE YOUR WAY OF THINKING:
A 20-tweet Stoic handbook π
[Graphics: @itspooran]
Gratitude
β I have nothing to be grateful for
β
I am grateful I woke up today
- Gratitude for just being alive
- Gratitude for breathing in and out
- Some days that's enough, maybe it's enough every day
Comparison
β My friend is achieving more than me
β
Life is not a competition
- You're on your path, they're on theirs
- Don't get pulled away from your mission for the sake of someone else's
Time
β I'm bored, I wish the clock would move faster
β
I value every moment I have
- Seize and savour the passing moments
- Some go slow and some go fast
- But once they pass, they're gone
Death
β I have time, I'll live for years
β
I could die tomorrow
- Focus on the important things
- Be present with friends & family
- Don't waste time on frivolous bullsh*t
Comfort
β If I stay in my comfort zone, difficulty won't find me
β
If I expand my comfort zone, I will find difficulty and beat it
- Turning discomfort into comfort is a superpower
- Short term, facing discomfort gives purpose
- Long term, facing discomfort conquers fears
Doing Good
β If I do a favour, I expect one back
β
I do good deeds for their own sake
- Do favours
- Do help
- Do give
- Don't keep score
Entertainment
β TV, news, arguing on social media
β
Books, podcasts, learning on social media
- Most news is here today, gone tomorrow
- It is created to provoke a reaction (& therefore upset your tranquility)
- Be intentional with your consumption
Attachment
β I fear losing everything I have
β
I appreciate what I have but accept it is on loan from the universe
- Attachment creates tension
- Freedom comes with the dropping of attachment
- "Without this thing, I can't be happy" is a false belief
Criticism
β I'm useless if I get criticized
β
Criticism is just another opinion, their words don't touch me
- Examine criticism
- If itβs constructive, use it to improve
- If not, laugh at it
Praise
β I'm useless if I don't receive praise
β
I do my best work regardless of how it is received
- Praise is just an added judgement
- It has no bearing on your true worth
- The important thing is self-worth
Adversity
β I can't cope with difficulty
β
I seek the value in whatever happens
- We can't choose when adversity strikes
- But we can choose how we react to it
- We are often capable of more than we think
Opinion
β People always need to hear my take
β
Not everything requires my opinion
- No need to rush to judgement
- No need to always offer the judgement when it has been formed
Judgement
β My friend let me down, they upset me
β
If I am upset, the upset is in me - therefore I have the power to remove it
- We are not disturbed by events, people, things
- We are only disturbed by the views we take of them
Emotion
β Negative emotions are a weakness
β
Negative emotions can be used as a signal to change something
- Feeling instinctive emotions is inevitable
- Allowing them to result in negative actions is optional
- Stop, examine, find the root cause of the emotion
Failure
β Ugh, I failed - just my luck
β
No, not just my luck β just EVERYONEβS luck. Just Fate.
- Cursing our luck changes nothing
- If we learn, failure can lead to self improvement & increased resilience
- We're "lucky" that we have the strength within us to keep going
Fear
β I'm scared to try, the outcome will be bad
β
I need to understand what I'm afraid of and prepare as best I can
- Curiosity β What am I afraid of?
- Understanding β Is the fear justified? How could I recover from the worst outcome?
- Action β Take the first step
Regret
β This thing happened, and it is terrible!
β
This thing happened, what can I do about it
- Constantly test your mental impressions
- Removing emotional language can take the sting out of persistent worries
Discipline
β Discipline ruins my freedom
β
Discipline now means freedom later
- Discipline in diet makes you healthier
- Discipline in exercise makes you stronger
- Discipline in work makes you reliable
- Discipline opens up space for so much in life
Control
β I wish I could control more
β
I'm lucky I only control my own actions, otherwise my responsibilities would be endless
- You control your opinion, intention, desire/aversion
- In other words, whatever is your own doing
- Focus on this, accept the rest
Practice
β I can't change my thinking, it's not that easy
β
It will require effort to change my thinking, but it's worth it
- We're all "programmed" in certain ways
- It takes effort to reprogram
- How long are you going to wait before you demand a happy life for yourself?
If you found this "handbook" useful
please consider retweeting the first tweet in the thread.
Huge thanks to @itspooran for creating the excellent graphics - for more philosophy/minimal graphics give him a follow!
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