Virtues and Pleasures
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I’ve been reading a lot of Seneca’s writings lately. Seneca was a Roman philosopher (among his other duties), who believed in Stoicism as a way of approaching life.
I have found some similarities between NLP and Stoicism, but that’s not so important. Today I wanted to share with you a few “Stoic Nuggets”. These are quotes from Seneca’s letters and lectures, which I have found to be quite impressive and useful:
Seneca says:
* “Enjoy present pleasures in such a way as not to injure future ones.”
* “If virtue precede us every step will be safe.”
* “It is a great thing to know the season for speech and the season for silence.”
* “It is easier to exclude harmful passions than to rule them, and to deny them admittance than to control them after they have been admitted.”
* “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
* “It is pleasant at times to play the madman.” (so true)
* “As was his language so was his life.” (meta-model… cough…)
Recommended reading: Letters from a Stoic / Seneca
So true
isn’t it amazing how the writings of the great have so many vauable lessons! personally hadn’t ch’ked out sennaca,but will. this site always has useful material. using NLP skills does develop into reflexive responses, that make us helpful, productive humans. This site is a mental bff.
Seneca is so familiar to me already. The moral tutor of Nero, he was sadly ill prepared for the depths of psychosis of the latter.
When Nero ordered Seneca to “take his own life,” the philosopher looked at his supporters and said “Why are you so surprised? This is a man who murdered his own mother. Killing his moral guide is only natural to him.”
His most famous saying, well one of, is “You can’t always get what you want; but if you try, sometimes you’ll find that you get what you need.” I believe the Rolling Stones borrowed this line for a song of theirs two thousand years on. But it’s still true to this day. And it’s one of my guiding sayings.
Stoicism is one of the wisest philosophies I have ever discovered.
Of all the Stoic philosophers Epictetus is my favorite. Albert Ellis, the originator of Rational Emotive Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, credits Epictetus with providing the inspiration for his form of psychotherapy. I believe the quote most consistent with CBT from Epictetus is “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”
Always nice to find others who appreciate the Stoics.