Life can feel like a constant downpour of challenges, as inspired by sayings across cultures. The Stoics teach us to brace for adversity through mental preparedness, recognizing that troubles often come in clusters. While we can’t control the rain, we can choose our response and how we navigate the storm. Emphasizing proactive measures, the podcast encourages listeners to build their metaphorical roofs before the rain hits. With wisdom from Epictetus and a humorous nod to astronaut Chris Hadfield, it reminds us that our reactions define our resilience.
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insights INSIGHT
Anticipate Compound Adversity
Expect multiple problems to occur simultaneously; life rarely delivers isolated incidents.
Prepare for setbacks to come in bunches, like troubles followed by troubles, or a bee sting after a stubbed toe.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Control Your Response
Focus on controlling your response to difficulties, not on controlling the difficulties themselves.
Find productive activities during challenges, like finding shelter in a storm or putting on a jacket in the rain.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Avoid Exacerbating Problems
Avoid making a bad situation worse through overreaction or impulsive actions.
Sometimes, the best way to handle problems is to refrain from exacerbating them.
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Most languages have some expression to the effect of “When it rains, it pours.” For instance, in Latin malis mala succedunt means troubles are followed by troubles. In Japanese, they say, “when crying, stung by bee.” The point of these expressions is to capture an unfortunate reality of life: that what can go wrong will… and often all at the same time.
Obviously to the Stoics, the idea of premeditatio malorum is a kind of hedge against this. If you’re only prepared for a few, isolated and tiny things to go wrong, you’re going to be rudely surprised by how often difficulties come in pairs or triplets or entire litters. If you think life is going to be one lucky break after another, you’re going to be rudely surprised when, to quote Seneca, fortune decides to behave exactly as she pleases.
The real lesson from the Stoics on adversity comes from Epictetus, however, who believed that while we don’t control whether it’s pouring, we do control how we respond. We control whether we can find something productive to do inside, while it’s raining. We control whether we put on a jacket. We control whether we’ve been smart enough to build a roof while the sun was shining. And Epictetus would have also liked the quip from the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadwick, who reminds us that in space, “there is no problem so bad you can’t make it worse.”
So if you’ve been feeling some raindrops lately, first off, be prepared for things to really start coming down. Get ready for the bee sting on top of the stubbed toe. Get ready for your delayed flight to also have turbulence. But most importantly, don’t make it worse by overreacting, by taking it personally or doing something stupid. Whatever it is, know that perhaps the first step to making things better is just not making them worse.
The Daily Stoic