We need to maintain a state of calm indifference when attacked by the stings of other people's scorn, be it online or in the real world. Epictetus advised that when we are the target of another's contempt, we should pause and allow ourselves to take a breath before we react. One of the more powerful ways to respond to insults or ridicule is to listen like a stone. We let their words fall on deaf ears, go about our business, and pretend the other person does not exist. It is the mark of a great mind to rise above insults, wrote Seneca. The most humiliating kind of revenge is to treat your adversary as not worth taking revenge upon.
“Most people can never, even for a moment, disentangle themselves from the restraints imposed by those around them, nor can they disregard their approval. From the moment they begin to understand their parents’ smiles and frowns they have needed the moment to moment approval of everyone, even strangers…These people measure their entire worth by what […]
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How to Stop Being a Slave to the Opinions of Other People first appeared on
Academy of Ideas.