Welcome to Stoic Snippets,
The track that is short in time but not in depth.
There are things that are within our power and things that fall outside our power.
Within our power are our own opinions,
Aims,
Desires,
Dislikes.
In sum,
Our own thoughts and actions.
Outside of our power are our physical characteristics,
The class into which we are born,
Our reputation in the eyes of others,
And honors and offices that may be bestowed onto us.
Epictetus.
Now this was written a long time ago,
Over 2000 years ago,
And sometimes this can make it all feel like these words don't quite apply to us and our situation.
But here is the genius of this philosophy.
It is timeless.
Why?
Because it speaks to the human condition.
Our outcomes in life are a strange mix of this truth,
That we can control some things and not others.
Investing,
By the way,
Is a great example of this.
How much money you put in,
That's totally your control.
How much the market moves,
Well that is not.
However,
When you look at your portfolio,
You don't know how much of it is due to luck and how much of it is due to skill.
However,
This does not stop many investors saying that the gains are totally all they're doing and their losses are totally not their fault.
This happens when I coach people too.
Some people assume that all the bad in their life is due to someone else's problem.
And I have other people that think all the problems in their life are down just to their doing.
Now neither of them are right and both these ways of 100% or black and white thinking are problematic because they lead to their own issues.
The reality is your success is not all you're doing and your failures are not all your fault.
However,
The only parts you can do anything about are the parts that you can control.
So it's not that it's all your fault,
But the only part you should focus on is the part that you can control,
The parts that are your fault.
Back to my investing analogy.
You can make sure you are enrolled in a pension scheme,
For instance.
You can make sure you're contributing monthly.
You can do your due diligence on where your money goes and that's about it.
If you spend your time worrying each day how the market moves,
Then you will drive yourself nuts.
Nothing is more anxiety inducing than worrying about something you cannot control.
Save that energy for taking care of what you can control.
Now whether you invest or not is a mute point or a cow's opinion if anyone is a fan of friends here.
Be sure to comment on this episode if you know that reference.
The rationale though I'm referring to here applies to all parts of your life,
Not just investing.
You have to do whatever you can and leave the rest to fate.
It's easier said than done,
I know.
The future can be scary and so can the unknown.
But to neatly tie up this investing analogy I've been using,
The greatest returns rarely come from choosing the best stock,
But rather from being invested every month.
Over time,
Your gains compound and before you know it,
You have more success than you bargained for.
But this takes faith in the future.
With this in mind,
I'll leave you with two quotes.
You have power over your mind,
Not outside events.
Realize this and you will find strength.
Make the best use of what is in your power and take the rest as it happens.
Good luck out there.
Now if you want to take your stoicism journey even further,
One thing you can control is coming on my stoicism retreat where we dive headlong into this philosophy in an environment that is conducive to learning,
Expressing and becoming more stoic day by day.
If you're interested in this,
Check out my profile.
You'll see all the details there.
Hope to see you there.
