In his dialogues and Letters to Lucilius, Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) gave a detailed recipe for personal fulfilment. His insights can be applied still today. I am going to summarize them in the next paragraphs. When necessary, I am adapting Seneca’s ideas to our century.
The search for personal fulfilment is a lifetime mission. It is not a quick fix that will take us to a plateau of permanent, uninterrupted happiness.
Even with the best of luck, each person has to face adversity from time to time. It is unrealistic to believe that we can isolate ourselves from pain and suffering.
The purpose of philosophy is to help us see the big picture, that is, the picture of one’s lifetime achievement and happiness. We should not get stuck on temporary problems, even if we are experiencing vast disruption and annoyance.
One generation after Seneca, another Stoic philosopher built a powerful intellectual edifice around this principle. I’m talking about Epictetus (55-135 AD), who embodies the idea of steady self-improvement.
Seneca had aristocratic origins and adopted the principles of Stoicism after long study and reflection. In contrast, Epictetus had been born an slave in Hierapolis. Through assiduous study, he acquired valuable skills, earned respect, became a freeman, and eventually a famous philosopher.
Epictetus had more than sufficient grounds for complaint. I can hardly imagine a worse situation than being born a slave in Ancient Greece or Rome. Nonetheless, Epictetus made the best of the situation, created new opportunities and moved forward.
Like Seneca, Epictetus regarded self-improvement as a goal for a lifetime, not an isolated task. He kept improving his skills and acquiring knowledge all his life, travelling and teaching. It is an example we should remember when we face adversity or opposition.
Seneca on dealing with severe problems
Philosophy supplies the necessary perspective to cope with severe problems. It is difficult not to get carried away when we face severe setbacks. For instance, when people lose a good job, fall sick, or go through divorce or bankruptcy.
If we have acquired a philosophical attitude, those problems can be handled with less suffering and disruption. If we have learned to stay cool in hot situations, we won’t panic and make mistake after mistake. We will not fall prey to despair and give up our ambitions for the future.
One century after Seneca, another Stoic philosopher took up the habit of writing a diary. I am referring to Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD). Seneca had done something similar to a diary in his Letters to Lucilius, but paying careful attention to structure and literary quality.
Marcus Aurelius had not intended his diary (“Meditations”) for publication. He had not even bothered to insert dates or edit the text for clarity. His diary consists of reflections on persons he had met or events he had witnessed.
The diary was published only after Marcus Aurelius’ death. For that purpose, it had to be translated from Greek into Latin, because Marcus Aurelius had written it in Greek.
Why had Marcus Aurelius chosen to write in Greek? On the one hand, to keep his diary private from casual intruders, such as officers accompanying him during his miliary campaigns. The officers in the Roman legions would rarely be able to read Greek.
On the other hand, to be able to employ Greek philosophical terms, which had no easy translation into Latin. He had learned the original Greek terms in his youth, when he had spent a long period in Greece to study philosophy.
“We have the power to control our interpretation of events,” wrote Marcus Aurelius, deepening one the insights gained by Seneca. If we interpret the daily events correctly, we can keep our peace of mind, effectiveness, and hope for the future. If we fail to think clearly, then our mind will be filled with anxiety.
In his 51st Letter to Lucilius, Seneca had advised reflecting on the events of each day to ensure that “we remain masters of ourselves.” The purpose of writing a diary or engaging in daily reflection is to maintain a balanced perspective of life.
Seneca on coping with constraints
Personal fulfilment is the outcome of practising philosophy each day, explained Seneca. We should devote our intellectual efforts to understanding the constraints we face, and figure out how to handle them best.
If we cannot overcome the constraints right away, we might find ways to circumvent them or at least minimise the damage. Seneca himself experienced the constraints imposed by Nero (54-68 AD) and capricious way of governing.
Seneca drew great benefit of daily reflection. His Stoicism, which he had learned as an abstract philosophy, became a daily practice. His moral principles became thought patterns, habits, and automatic responses.
Personal fulfilment rests on the daily practice of wisdom. It is not enough to perform good deeds from time to time. Unless we put in the effort to acquire philosophical habits, our results are bound to remain sub-optimal.
Regular victories and steady gains require solid intellectual habits. We should make the cultivation of wisdom a daily habit and give it top priority. Daily reflection plays a key role in our self-improvement process, noted Seneca in his dialogue “On the Shortness of Life.”
Seneca on high-risk ventures
It is easier to cope with adversity if we have a back-up plan and spare resources. Seneca considered it reckless to risk one’s life or health in the pursuit of wealth or power. That was the case of Mark Antony (83-30 BC) and his reckless military ventures.
After losing the Battle of Actium (31 BC), Marc Antony had no place to go. He had painted himself in a corner. The absence of a back-up plan or spare resources drove him to kill himself.
Seneca recommended us to adopt a modest lifestyle because it makes it easier to attain personal fulfilment. He did not mean that we should live in extreme poverty like Diogenes of Sinope (412-323 BC). It is enough if we save regularly and steer away from high-risk situations.
In Ancient Roman literature, one generation before Seneca, we can see a compelling example of modest lifestyle in Aeneas and his steadiness in surmounting adversity. Virgil (70-19 BC) had written the “Aeneid” to portray the archetypal self-reliant, steady hero who will keep going in the face of adversity.
We can do better than Aeneas if we make back-up plans and keep some spare resources for a rainy day. In his 104th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca praises people who grow stronger as a result of adversity, but is it not better to keep adversity at bay?
To a great extent, Aeneas was a Stoic hero because he kept a cool head when confronted with grave dangers. Fair enough. I have no problem endorsing serenity and equanimity, but let us focus our efforts in preventing problems before they occur.
Personal fulfilment requires striking a balance between risks and prevention, enjoyment and savings, alertness and serenity, foresight and fear. Seneca emphasised serenity over prevention and endurance over alertness. I tend to do the opposite because our century is more dynamic than Ancient Greece and Rome.
If you are interested in applying rational ideas in all areas of activity, I recommend my book titled “Consistency: The key to permanent stress relief.”