The best advice provided by Seneca concerns the method for making decisions. His recommendations are condensing decades of philosophical reflection, and a profound knowledge of Ancient Greek and Roman history.
Seneca’s advice is straightforward: Keep going in the right direction and do not dwell on difficulties and setbacks. He had seen too many of his friends choose unhealthy, self-defeating lifestyles for the sake of fitting in society. In doing so, those friends of Seneca’s had relinquished their best opportunities to achieve serenity and happiness.
The question, of course, is to identify “the right direction” that should guide our decisions. In Seneca’s case, the answer was obvious because of his strong interest in philosophy. For other people, the answers might be different.
In his 56th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca points out that people tend to assign too much power to external events. He gives the example of noise and social pressure. Those factors can prove annoying, but we should not give them more weight than they deserve.
Seneca points to boisterous youngsters and sportsmen, the passage of commercial and private wagons, and chatter of all kinds; a philosophical mind can acknowledge them as potential distractions, but only to reaffirm its commitment to achieving one’s essential objectives.
I would generalise this point by saying that we should keep going in the right direction and let our focus keep distractions at bay. If we maintain our equanimity, we won’t be bothered by setbacks or by hostile environments.
Seneca’s call for spiritual self-sufficiency
Seneca condensed his strategy as follows: “When we are at peace with ourselves, we won’t be shaken by the world’s noise, praise or reproach.” It is far more important to enjoy a peaceful mind, he argued, than living in a peaceful neighbourhood.
His advice to keep going in the right direction only becomes feasible when we possess sufficient serenity and equanimity. It entails substantial amounts of focus and self-discipline. These two Stoic virtues, argued Seneca, are indispensable to serenity.
Seneca expanded this piece of advice in the 81st Letter to Lucilius, where he favoured serenity and mental independence. In modern terms, I would see this point as a call for spiritual self-sufficiency.” I can only endorse Seneca’s praise for mental independence because it is a prerequisite for other virtues.
I must point to Seneca’s example of the wealthy but anxious man, who cannot even fall asleep due to his preoccupations. His mind remains outwardly focused, unable to find peace, because any change in circumstances will disturb its balance.
Seneca warns us against making decisions based on external factors. He was referring to the blind pursuit of wealth, fame, influence and power. Those objectives alone cannot fulfil the definition of “the right direction” and cannot provide guidance for making good decisions.
In the 81st Letter to Lucilius, Seneca compares those factors to “shadows” that do not represent “the substance of life.” His insistence on keeping a steady course “in the right direction” is the opposite of pragmatism, blind conformity and fearfulness.
Seneca’s 58th Letter to Lucilius also contains a key insight for good time management, namely, adopting a sound lifestyle. I also regard this recommendation as crucial for making good decisions.
The lifestyle recommended by Seneca includes the practice of physical and mental hygiene, moderate exercise and steering away from excessive alcohol consumption. These habits, says Seneca, will grow increasingly more beneficial as we age.
Philosophy, despite its complexity and difficulty, provides a great training ground for making good decisions. Seneca refers to the categories of entities put forward by Plato (427-347 BC).
To understand Plato’s arguments, we’ll need to sharpen our mind and pay careful attention to nuances. In our daily life, we may not find opportunities for using Plato’s arguments, but our next important decision can benefit from the sharpness gained from studying Plato’s logical distinctions.
Seneca’s insights and Henri Matisse
In modern times, the French painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954) illustrates perfectly Seneca’s strategy for making sound decisions. Since his early twenties, Matisse kept going steadily in the right direction despite numerous obstacles and setbacks.
Matisse’s first major decision was to quit his law studies after having spent two years studying Roman law and civil law. His only source of income, in addition to the stipend coming from his parents, was a stint as a law clerk.
Nonetheless, Matisse made the major decision to leave his law career behind and start from scratch his training to become an artist. In retrospect, it is fair to ask: how did Matisse know that he was going “in the right direction,” considering the fact that most artists can barely make a living, let alone prosper.
Seneca strengthened his interest in philosophy during a long period of sickness, when he was in his mid-twenties. Matisse went through a similar experience. During a period of sickness, his mother bought him some colours, so that he could paint at home, trying to motivate him to recover his health.
The experiment proved successful in the sense that Matisse recovered his health and identified the right path to follow. Let me underline that it took Matisse a decade to gain traction and start earning enough to sustain himself as an artist.
At twenty-nine, Matisse married Amelie Parayre but found it difficult to make ends meet. Unable to earn enough from his paintings, he worked as a set decorator and his wife opened a small shop to sell hats.
Seneca: resilience enables peace of mind
Seneca would have praised Matisse for his ability to remain calm amidst his financial difficulties. Instead of despairing and quitting his artistic ambitions, Matisse made one painting after another, and submitted them to galleries and competitions.
At age thirty-six, Matisse achieved a minor breakthrough with his painting “Woman with a Hat.” The painting’s subject was no doubt inspired by the hat shop run by his wife. Due to its bright, strong colours, the painting drew lots of attention, although also vast negative criticism.
Matisse’s relentless activity eventually paid off. By the time he turned forty, he had secured a small circle of customers that purchased his paintings. A few of those customers (Leo and Gertrude Stein) were American, and others were Russian.
Seneca would have also praised Matisse’s resilience during World War I and World War II. Instead of portraying misery and destruction, Matisse kept his works bright and optimistic.
I find it remarkable that Matisse kept afloat by diversifying his sources of income. He gave art lessons, made illustrations for poetry books, etc. His attitude constitutes a great example of Stoic self-sufficiency.
Even when Matisse was already in his seventies and could barely paint due to arthritis, he kept producing artworks. What do I have to do differently, he asked himself, to keep going in the right direction?
Instead of painting, he turned to producing paper-cuts. His hands were no longer flexible enough to produce paintings, but he was able to use a pair of scissors for making paper-cuts, still characterised by their harmony and bright colours.
I encourage readers to try out Seneca’s recommendation for making good decisions. Reading Matisse’s biography could be equally inspiring because it shows very adeptly how Stoicism can help us surmount obstacles that appear unassailable.
Like many other Stoic practitioners, Matisse himself never characterised himself as a Stoic. He had simply adopted a set of values that he found effective, just as Seneca had done two thousand years earlier. The end result is that Matisse’s lifestyle and mentality came to exemplify Stoicism in modern settings.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all sorts of circumstances, I recommend my book titled “The 10 Principles of Rational Living.”
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