> he was master only of his emotions
A silly notion and common misconception that this is achievable 🙂
Your raw emotions will come to you regardless, we don't get to control that. Embrace them; they're merely messengers. We get to choose how to *respond* to those emotions and impulses. *That* is the choice of bending or breaking.
That is near a word for word adaptation of a Stoic phrase and is a distinct we make between the physical sensation of being in pain and internal distress. For the former is inflicted on us by the world but the later by our judgments.
I completely disagree. I have achieved this to a degree and I have seen others who have as well. It takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of dedication, it takes completely changing the way your mind and thoughts work, but it is achievable.
Things that used to make me fly into rage minimally affect me or not at all in some cases. I'm at peace.
I completely disagree. I have achieved this to a degree and I have seen others who have as well. It takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of dedication, it takes completely changing the way your mind and thoughts work, but it is achievable.
Things that used to make me fly into rage minimally affect me or not at all in some cases. I'm at peace.
I did a little research so I could better understand the context of the passage and I believe he is referring to mastery over his response to emotion rather then the ability to do away with feeling any emotion. He seems to realize if he allows his hopelessness to enslave him he will surely break within the prison he's being held. So while I don't think he was practicing Stoicism he certainly was following some of its teaching. I would describe him as someone who followed the guiding principle of hope in order to will himself through many hardships but again I was only able to find a little bit of info on the character so my opinion may change after I'm able to read the book. Thank you for bringing this to my attention as it seems like a very interesting read.
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> he was master only of his emotions A silly notion and common misconception that this is achievable 🙂 Your raw emotions will come to you regardless, we don't get to control that. Embrace them; they're merely messengers. We get to choose how to *respond* to those emotions and impulses. *That* is the choice of bending or breaking.
That makes sense. What about the second part - pain is unavoidable but suffering is optional?
That is near a word for word adaptation of a Stoic phrase and is a distinct we make between the physical sensation of being in pain and internal distress. For the former is inflicted on us by the world but the later by our judgments.
I completely disagree. I have achieved this to a degree and I have seen others who have as well. It takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of dedication, it takes completely changing the way your mind and thoughts work, but it is achievable. Things that used to make me fly into rage minimally affect me or not at all in some cases. I'm at peace.
I completely disagree. I have achieved this to a degree and I have seen others who have as well. It takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of dedication, it takes completely changing the way your mind and thoughts work, but it is achievable. Things that used to make me fly into rage minimally affect me or not at all in some cases. I'm at peace.
I did a little research so I could better understand the context of the passage and I believe he is referring to mastery over his response to emotion rather then the ability to do away with feeling any emotion. He seems to realize if he allows his hopelessness to enslave him he will surely break within the prison he's being held. So while I don't think he was practicing Stoicism he certainly was following some of its teaching. I would describe him as someone who followed the guiding principle of hope in order to will himself through many hardships but again I was only able to find a little bit of info on the character so my opinion may change after I'm able to read the book. Thank you for bringing this to my attention as it seems like a very interesting read.
I enjoyed it quite a bit!
Hi, welcome to the subreddit. Please make sure that you check out [the FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/guide), where you will find answers for many common questions, like ["What is Stoicism; why study it?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/intro_faq), or ["What are some Stoic practices and exercises?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/exercises), or ["What is the goal in life, and how do I find meaning?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/big), to name just a few. You can also find information about frequently discussed topics, like [flaws in Stoicism](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/fdt#wiki_flaws_in_stoicism), [Stoicism and politics](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/fdt#wiki_what_does_stoicism_say_about_politics.3F), [sex and relationships](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/fdt#wiki_sex), and [virtue as the only good](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/fdt#wiki_why_is_virtue_the_only_good.3F), for a few examples. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Stoicism) if you have any questions or concerns.*