In the next points, I am going to summarise the advice from Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) about dealing with failure. He devoted a couple of decades to compiling his advice, not only from his personal experience, but also from other notable persons in the early Roman Empire.
First, Seneca called for keeping adequate margins of error. I mean having a back-up plan or sufficient resources to keep us above water even if the worst possible risks materialise. There is no need to become a paranoiac. It’s enough if we make a fair assessment of the risks, and cover the most likely and lethal.
In his 65th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca mentions how Pompey (106-48 BC) had painted himself into a corner. After burning all the bridges, he bet his future on one card at the Battle of Pharsalus.
When Pompey lost the battle, he had nowhere safe to go, and was pushed into suicide shortly after. He would have fared better if he had devised a plan B, or if he had covered his risks in some way, avoiding total disaster.
Unfortunately, Seneca gave inconsistent explanations about how to keep reasonable margins of error. He understood that Pompey had made a mistake, but failed to acknowledge that Socrates (470-399 BC) had made exactly the same mistake.
Pompey had been foolish to bet his life on one card, but if we examine Socrates’ trial, we find exactly the same pattern. It didn’t make any sense for Socrates to let himself be spuriously accused and prosecuted.
Socrates should have left Athens at an earlier stage. As soon as he learned that his enemies were plotting to accuse him, he should have left Athens and never returned again.
There was no need for Socrates to play a game in which he could only lose, a game in which he had no back-up plan and no resources for an emergency exit.
In his dialogue “On Anger,” Seneca praised Socrates for his calmly acceptance of a death sentence. I find it unfortunate that Seneca failed to criticise Socrates for his passivity. If Pompey and Socrates had developed an adequate back-up, they would have survived.
Seneca: avoid situations that clearly lead to failure
Second, Seneca recommended to steer away from situations where failure is the only possible result. There are projects and games where we can only lose because those projects or games are doomed from the start.
The best way to deal with failure is to keep it at bay. No one can ensure permanent success, but we should at least stay away from situations that lead to sure failure and heartache. There is no honour or virtue in self-flagellation.
If we jump ourselves into the fire, we’ll only have ourselves to blame. Especially, there is no excuse when we keep making the same mistake once and again because we refuse to face the facts.
We keep waiting for a miracle that will never happen. We keep telling ourselves a fairy tale that will never materialize. It is better to discard those beliefs and embrace a realistic stance.
Seneca himself was to blame for repeated failure in certain areas. For instance, when he was the advisor to Emperor Nero (37-68 AD), he tried repeatedly to educate and improve Nero’s personality, but it was all to no avail.
It didn’t take long for Nero to reveal himself a psychopath. Seneca’s efforts proved worthless and counterproductive. What an awful decision for Seneca to keep trying to improve what’s already doomed.
If Seneca had left Rome earlier in the game, he could have led a peaceful life in the countryside. By staying in Rome, he ended up risking his life. Eventually, Nero pushed Seneca into suicide.
Seneca’s dialogue “On Clemency” shows that he was trying hard to improve Nero’s character. The carefully argued ideas in the dialogue proved useless. Nero never paid attention to them, and continued to grow more tyrannical as time went by.
Despite his profound knowledge of history, Seneca proved rather slow in comparing his own circumstances with thinkers of prior centuries. He revered Cato the Younger (95-46 BC) for his fierce opposition to Julius Caesar (100-44 BC), but could he not see that Cato ended up committing suicide?
Seneca: redouble our prudence when risks are high
Third, Seneca advised to redouble our prudence when risks are too high. Preserving our own life and possessions is more crucial than earning honours. The former should enable us to live extra years or decades, while the honours might dissipate before the end of the day.
I share the opinions that Seneca expressed in the 33rd Letter to Lucilius, when he praised Fabius Maximus (280-203 BC). I agree that the slow, prudent, ultra-cautious strategy adopted by Fabius Maximus was the best one against Hannibal.
The Roman army was in shambles after Hannibal (247-183 BC) had defeated them at the Battle of Cannae. It was correct for Fabius Maximus to acknowledge the defeat and grow extra careful before engaging the next fight.
That’s an important lesson we should learn from all failures. Instead of growing fearful of the next project or venture, we should simply operate more carefully. We should increase our prudence and alertness, ensuring that we’ll do better next time.
Seneca: calmness in the face of setbacks
Fourth, Seneca emphasises in his 23rd Letter to Lucilius that we should keep calm in the face of failure, so that we can look for the best countermeasures.
Everybody experiments setbacks and defeats in life. We will do ourselves a disservice if we panic. If we fall prey to fear, we will unnecessarily compound our errors and suffering.
Seneca praised the calmness of Emperor Augustus (63 BC- 14 AD) in the face of adversity. Even when Augustus suffered a shipwreck, he had still remained calm, rendering the salvage easier.
Zeno of Citium (334-262 BC) also suffered a shipwreck that took away all his possessions. Nonetheless, he kept calm, still grateful to the gods for having survived. Without wasting time in lamentations, Zeno immediately started to rebuild his career.
In the 117th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca praises Themistocles (524-459 BC) for his decisiveness in the face of severe threats. While many Athenians looked fearfully at the Persian invasion, Themistocles kept pushing for building a military fleet. He was proven right when the Greeks won maritime Battle of Salamis.
When failure takes place, we should collect ourselves, take inventory of the situation, and devise a plan of action. “Let us take action instead of remaining immobile,” advised Seneca. I could not agree more. If we stay passive, chances are that we’ll overlook chances and miss opportunities.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all sorts of situations, I recommend you my book “Asymmetry: The shortcut to success when success seems impossible.”