Welcome to Stoic Snippets,
The philosophy track that is short in length but not in depth.
In Stoicism,
There is a core four.
They are justice,
Temperance,
Wisdom and courage.
These are known as the cardinal virtues.
The word cardinal comes from the Latin cardinalis and means to hinge.
I absolutely love this because the Stoics are pointing out that your life and your happiness hinge on these four things.
Hinges are really important.
I know this because I'm renovating my house.
It's been a long road and it has taken all of my Stoic strength to stay upbeat.
Those of you who have been through renovations will know what I mean.
In an attempt to save money,
We look for bargains and we try to do as much as we could ourselves.
To be fair,
My girlfriend does most of it.
She's great like that.
One thing we attempted was to fit some new doors.
Sounds easy,
Right?
Well no,
It was not and currently the doors are still not on.
Why?
Because we didn't get the right type of hinges and we didn't get enough hinges for the weight of the door.
As a result,
The door wasn't hanging properly and the hinges couldn't cope,
Which led to the door not being able to close fully and the hinges breaking.
So life is like that door.
It wants to be supported.
It wants to move smoothly.
The hinges are the values you use.
If they are not strong enough or poorly chosen,
Then the weight of life is too much to bear.
Life will become a drag and unnecessarily hard.
So having the right hinges is important,
But probably the first component of hinges is that you actually possess them.
You have them.
Seems obvious,
Right?
However,
Many of us externalize our values to others.
We outsource our happiness.
I'll be happy when someone notices my great body,
My hard work,
My sacrifice.
I'll be happy when I get that girl or boy or get paid or get some respect.
These things are not fully in our control,
So therefore we do not possess these hinges.
These should not be the things that we focus on.
Justice,
Temperance,
Wisdom and courage,
Though,
Are all in your control and you can exhibit them whenever the need arises.
Now,
It's not necessarily easy,
But it is simple.
It does not require anyone else or anything else.
Just you and your willingness to exhibit them.
These are the hinges and they are designed to bear the weight of life.
So focus on these and you'll be able to get a handle on happiness.
What's more,
Many a door of opportunity will open to you.
Thanks so much for joining me.
If you enjoyed this,
Check out my courses on Stoicism.
It's a great place to learn more about the Stoics and the Stoic virtues.
Check out my new course,
Seven Days of Stoic Strength.
I think you're going to really love it.
See you in there.
