When Life Hurts, Stop Clinging to It | The Philosophy of Epictetus

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Our very sense of wellbeing is at gunpoint when we cling to the fickle, unreliable outside world. Around two thousand years ago, Stoic philosopher Epictetus observed that people are burdened and dragged down because they tend to care about too many things. His cure, however, is not to stop caring altogether but to care about the right things and stop clinging to anything that doesn’t matter.

What matters and doesn’t matter according to Epictetus is bound to the reality of our place as reasonable beings in an ever-changing environment. This reality Epictetus makes clear in the underlying tenet of his work: ‘the dichotomy of control.’ Some things are in our control, others not. If we manage to concern ourselves with the things in our control, we are in a position of strength.

But if we neglect these things, and focus on what’s not in our control, we are in a position of weakness. Especially when we cling to what’s not up to us, we set ourselves up for a life of suffering. But what are those things that we cling to? And why is it better to let go of them? This video explores the philosophy of Epictetus, and what we, according to him, should focus on to be happy and content, and what we should let go of, and how we do this.

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Music used:
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Creative Commons (attributions):

Epictetus: https://commons.wikimedia.org/....wiki/File:Discourses
Epicurus: https://commons.wikimedia.org/....wiki/File:Greece_fro
Stoa: https://commons.wikimedia.org/....wiki/File:Second_flo

00:00 - Intro
01:37 - Dichotomy of control
05:04 - (1) Stop clinging to objects, people, and power.
09:10 - (2) Stop clinging to the opinions of others.
12:08 - (3) Stop clinging to outcomes and ideas.

#stoicism #epictetus #stoic