It Doesn’t Matter What You Do, It Matters How You Do It
Jun 13, 2019
Explore how the essence of work lies not in the job title but in the approach we take to it. The lives of renowned Stoics like Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus showcase that fulfillment can be achieved in any role. Discover that whether you’re a senator or a janitor, your mindset and response define your experience. You can live a good life anywhere, even in the most challenging environments, by applying Stoic principles. It’s all about how you manage your time and navigate your circumstances.
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Varied Stoic Backgrounds
Seneca was a playwright, landowner, and advisor.
Epictetus, a former slave, became a philosophy teacher, while Marcus Aurelius was an emperor.
insights INSIGHT
How Matters More Than What
One's job and lifestyle are ultimately less important than how one approaches their work and circumstances.
A good life is possible regardless of your profession, as demonstrated by various Stoics.
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The occupations of the three most well-known Stoics could not be more different. Seneca was a playwright, a wealthy landowner, and a political advisor. Epictetus was a former slave who became a philosophy teacher. Marcus Aurelius would have loved to be a philosopher but instead found himself wearing the purple cloak of the emperor.
These jobs have very little in common. The lifestyles they support are vastly different as well—so are the opportunities, the temptations, the frustrations and the stresses that they produce.
But none of that matters. What matters is how you do your job and how you respond to the situations it creates for you. Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself that it was possible to live a good life anywhere—including in the complicated and intoxicating halls of power. He mostly proved that true. (Sadly, Seneca fell short in those same hallways).
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a janitor or a junior senator. It doesn’t matter whether you’re negotiating a multi-million dollar deal or negotiating traffic on the way to your unpaid internship. What matters is what you do with this time. What matters is how you manage it.
Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, it’s possible to live a good life and to be a good Stoic. It’s not easy, but it’s possible.
The Daily Stoic