Zen Stoic Path Show

The Stoic Reserve Clause

Nov 2, 2021

33:09

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Important Quotes:

“For can you find me a single man who cares how he does what he does, and is interested, not in what he can get, but in the manner of his own actions? Who, when he is walking around, is interested in his own actions? Who, when he is deliberating, is interested in the deliberation itself, and not in getting what he is planning to get?” -Epictetus
“Hear Epictetus: No one can rob us of our free choice. We must, says he, hit upon the true science of assent and in the sphere of our impulses pay good heed that they are with a “reserve clause”; that they have in view our neighbour’s welfare; that they are proportionate to a thing’s value. And we must abstain wholly from inordinate desire and show avoidance in none of the things that are not in our control.” - Marcus Aurelius
“That which holds the mastery within us, when it is in accordance with Nature, is so disposed towards what befalls, that it can always adapt itself with ease to what is possible and granted us. For it is wedded to no definite material, but in the pursuit of its aims it works with a “reserve clause”; it converts into material for itself any obstacle that it meets with, just as fire when it gets the mastery of what is thrown upon it.” -Marcus Aurelius
“Though a man may in some sort hinder my activity, yet on my own voluntary impulses and mental attitude no fetters can be put because of the “reserve clause” and their ability to adapt to circumstances. For everything that stands in the way of its activity is adapted and transmuted by the mind into furtherance of it, and that which is a check on this action is converted into a help to it, and that which is a hindrance in our path goes but to make it easier.” -Marcus Aurelius
“If your impulse is without an “reserve clause”, failure at once becomes an evil to you as a rational creature. But once you accept that universal necessity, you cannot suffer harm nor even be thwarted. Indeed, nobody else can thwart the inner purposes of the mind. For it no fire can touch, nor steel, nor tyrant, nor public censure, nor anything whatsoever: a sphere once formed continues round and true.” -Marcus Aurelius
“The cool thing about dopamine is that it’s very subjectively controlled. We can all learn to secrete dopamine in our brain in response to things in a purely subjective way. If you can reward the process, the brain circuits that are associated with building subjective rewards and dopamine get stronger.” — Andrew Huberman
“A practicing Stoic would put all of his strength in reaching the goal — not because of the outcome, but because taking the action is the right thing to do, it goes well with Virtue. The outcome, for a Stoic, is in fact secondary. Which does not change the fact, that the outcome is also a preferred indifferent.” -Rafał Albiński
“Most of our troubles are due to our passionate desire for and attachment to things that we misapprehend as enduring entities.” ~Dalai Lama
“The “reserve clause” is a way of overcoming emotional pain and as the perfect Sage cannot, by definition, be happy (eudaimon) if he is distressed, then he must act at all times according to this rule.” -Donald Robertson

Key Takeaways:

Drivers Seat Goals Vs. Passenger Seat Goals
If you aim at nothing, you hit nothing.
Embrace what is in your control by using it resourcefully, while simultaneously letting go of what you cannot control.
Pursue with sincerity of deriving your aims from within.
Approach with discipline in HOW you take your action.
Measure your success on intentionality not outcome. Keep your mind open by seeking understanding when things don’t go your way.

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