The Stoics on reason to overcome emotion — Our mind is a powerful thing. The Stoics believed that in order to live a good life, we needed to embrace the power of our mind and use reason and rationality to detach from the overpowering of emotions. …

Keep the chain — It would be great if during the New Year, the resolutions we made were able to be accomplished. Unfortunately, what happens to many of us is we set resolutions for ourselves, we promise to change or do something different, and in a lot of cases we do for a while…

Seneca’s advice on the art of gifting — “Among all our greatest and most numerous vices, none are more common than those that arise from an ungrateful heart.” -Seneca, Moral Letters The holidays are here and that means that for the majority of us, exchanging gifts is a common practice. In addition to being able to spend time…

Crates of Thebes lesson to Zeno — Zeno was once a very shy individual. Before he had branched out on his own to start the philosophical school we now know as Stoicism, he trained under many philosophers, the Cynic philosopher Crates of Thebes being one of them. Crates, in an attempt to break Zeno’s shyness, instructed him…

What a thief can teach us about envy and desire — “We should keep in mind three things that are to be avoided, as the old proverb says: hatred, envy, and contempt.” -Seneca, Moral Letter 14 It is so easy today to fall into the trap of comparison. Society thrives on this and the internet and our interconnected nature makes it…

Seneca and the overcoming of grief — The loss of a friend or loved one is one of the hardest things that we will have to endure. …

Marcus Aurelius and the power of logical thinking — In one of the later entries of book eight of the Meditations, Marcus Aurelius sets out to remind himself of the need to “assemble” his life, action-by-action. …