Category: Seneca
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Seneca’s advice on time management
Frankly, I trust proven competent historical figures far more than I trust today’s gurus on self-development. Before adopting any advice, I want to see that it has worked for different people across the centuries. I want to see lots of evidence in favour. Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD) gained significant insights about time management…
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Seneca on time management
We tend to regard time management as a uniquely modern concept, but nothing could be further from the truth. The fact that our ancestors employed more primitive technology did not prevent them from pursuing personal effectiveness. Seneca was not an exception in this respect. After devoting years to philosophical research, he put his ideas down…
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Seneca’s key insight for overcoming stress
I have often observed that insouciant people seldom suffer from worry. They go about their business without thinking long of the consequences, accept setbacks philosophically, and keep trudging ahead despite criticism and opposition. Seneca did not regard insouciance as a valid philosophical stance because it reduces humans to a perceptual level. It makes humans prone…
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Why Seneca’s anti-stress methods still work today
For the most part, ancient techniques have become obsolete. We no longer use horses and triremes as our principal means of transportation. Neither do we build houses and roads according to the methods employed in Ancient Greece and Rome. However, we can still rely on anti-worry methods conceived by Seneca. Why have they remained effective?…
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Seneca’s methods for overcoming stress
More than two thousand years have passed since Seneca first defined his methods for overcoming anxiety, worry and other negative emotions. The context has changed, but his examples and recommendations remain valid. I am going to summarise those methods, sometimes quoting Seneca’s precise words and examples, and other times, putting the method in the context…
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Seneca on overcoming stress
The concept of stress in our century is dramatically different from the concepts in prior centuries. People in the Middle Ages or in Ancient Rome wouldn’t have understood our concerns for issues such as noise pollution and work overload. Seneca wrote extensively about worries and preoccupations, but those would involve life-or-death threats. I am referring…
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How to practise Seneca’s art of patience
Stoicism is often presented as a purely reactive philosophy. Its role is to toughen the soul for enduring setbacks, adversity, and eventually death; and its goal is the reduction of emotional pain, devoting little energy to solving the root problems. Seneca was the most prolific Stoic author in Ancient Rome, but his recommendations are far…
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Seneca and the art of patience
Patience and endurance have become the archetypal virtues of those who claim to be enlightened. When the situation gets from bad to worse, they are the first to recommend resignation, acceptance and passivity. Seneca is to blame for originating the passive mentality that will accept anything, even the most outrageous abuses. That’s the mentality of…
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Philosophical lessons from Seneca’s tragedies
Every artwork entails magnification. It blows some aspects of reality out of proportion to underline their significance from the creator’s viewpoint. Other aspects are minimized, ignored, distorted or blurred. Seneca was a playwright before becoming a Stoic philosopher. It is enlightening to study his plays because they announce the principles of Stoicism, magnify its powerful…
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Seneca on overcoming envy and jealousy
Even the smartest, most enlightened humans are doomed to suffer from envy and jealousy. Seneca analysed the problem and came up with an imperfect solution. He spent considerable time reflecting about this matter, but his deficient logic prevented him from seeing the truth. I consider it important to study Seneca’s philosophy on this issue, and…
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