(독서) Daily Stoic-8월9일 STICK WITH JUST THE FACTS

"Do now what nature demands of you. Get right to it if that's in your power. Don't look around to see if people will know about it. Don't await the perfection of Plato's Republic, but be satisfied with even the smallest step forward and regard the outcome as a small thing."-MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 9.29.(4) ("지금 자연이 당신에게 요구하는 일을 하십시오. 당신의 힘으로 할 수 있는 일이라면 바로 실행하십시오. 다른 사람들이 알아차릴지 신경 쓰지 마십시오. 플라톤의 공화국의 완성을 기다리지 말고, 작은 진전이라도 만족하고 그 결과를 작은 일로 간주하십시오." - 마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, 명상록, 9.29.(4))   Have you ever heard the expression "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good enough"? The idea is not to settle or compromise your standards, but rather not to become trapped by idealism.   The community organizer Saul Alinsky opens his book Rules for Radicals with a pragmatic but inspiring articulation of that idea:   "As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept the world as it is does not in any sense weaken our desire to change it into what we believe it should be-it is necessary to begin where the world is if we are going ...

"Wherever a person can live, there one can also live well; life is also in the demands of court, there too one can live well." -MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.16 ("사람이 살 수 있는 곳이라면 어디서든 잘 살 수 있습니다. 법정의 요구에도 인생이 있으며, 거기서도 잘 살 수 있습니다." - 마르쿠스 아우렐리우스, "명상록" 5.16)   William Lee Miller, in his unique "ethical biography" of Abraham Lincoln, makes an important point about this famous president: our deification of the man makes a point to pretend he wasn't a politician. We focus on his humble beginnings, his self-education, his beautiful speeches. But we gloss over his job, which was politics. That misses what was so truly impressive about him: Lincoln was all the things he was-compassionate, deliberate, fair, open-minded, and purposeful- while being a politician. He was what we admire in a profession...

"Apply yourself to thinking through difficulties-hard times can be softened, tight squeezes widened, and heavy loads made lighter for those who can apply the right pressure." -SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 10.4b ("어려움을 극복하는 데 몰두하십시오. 힘든 시기는 부드럽게 할 수 있고, 답답한 상황은 넓어질 수 있으며, 무거운 짐은 올바른 압력을 가할 수 있는 사람들에게 더 가벼워질 수 있습니다." - 세네카, 마음의 평온함에 대하여, 10.4b) Have you ever been hopelessly losing a game that suddenly broke wide open and you won? Remember that time when you thought you were certain to fail the test, but with an all-nighter and some luck you managed to eke out a decent score? That hunch you pursued that others would have given up on-that turned out brilliantly?   It's that kind of energy and creativity and above all faith in yourself that you need right now. Defeatism won't get you anywhere (except defeat). But focusing your entire effort on the little bit of ...

"Silence is a lesson learned from the many sufferings of life."-SENECA, THYESTES, 309 (침묵은 인생의 많은 고통에서 배운 교훈입니다." - 세네카, 티에스테스, 309)     Recall the last time you said a really boneheaded thing, something Rthat came back to bite you. Why did you say it? Chances are you didn't need to, but you thought doing so would make you look smart or cool or part of the group.   "The more you say," Robert Greene has written, "the more likely you are to say something foolish." To that we add: the more you say, the more likely you are to blow past opportunities, ignore feedback, and cause yourself suffering.   The inexperienced and fearful talk to reassure themselves. The ability to listen, to deliberately keep out of a conversation and subsist without its validity is rare. Silence is a way to build strength and self-sufficiency. " 당신이 정말 어리석은 말을 했던 마지막 순간을 떠올려 보십시오. 그 말이 당신에게 되돌아와 상처를 주었던 순간입니다. 왜 그런 ...

"You must stop blaming God, and not blame any person. You must completely control your desire and shift your avoidance to what lies within your reasoned choice. You must no longer feel anger, resentment, envy, or regret."-EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.22.13 ("당신은 더 이상 신을 비난해서는 안 되며, 다른 사람을 비난해서도 안 됩니다. 당신은 자신의 욕망을 완전히 통제하고 회피를 이성적인 선택으로 전환해야 합니다. 당신은 더 이상 분노, 원망, 질투, 후회를 느껴서는 안 됩니다." - 에픽테토스, 담론집, 3.22.13)   Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for resistance to the brutal apartheid regime in South Africa for twenty-seven years. For eighteen of those years, he had a bucket for a toilet, a hard cot in a small cell, and once a year he was allowed a single visitor-for thirty minutes. It was vicious treatment meant to isolate and break down the prisoners. And yet, in spite of that, Mandela became a figure of dignity within the prison.   Though he was deprived of many things, he still found creative ways to assert his will. As one of his fellow prisoners, Neville Alexander, explained on Frontline, "He [Mandela] always made the point, if they say you must run, insist on walking. If they say you must walk fast, insist on walking slowly. That was the whole point. We are going to set the terms." He pretended to jump rope and shadowboxed to stay in shape. He held his head higher than ...