You Have to Risk It
This morning, when I sat on the sofa next to my feverish daughter, I found a commentary on a talk by Tim Ferris, waiting in my Instapaper feed. Apparently Ferris had talked about marketing and productivity at a Californian design and strategy firm, where he also mentioned a few things about Stoicism.
I confess I don’t know much about Stoicism, a branch of philosophy born in ancient Rome, but I’ve previously seen Ferris talk about how the core concepts of this school of thought helps him maintain a healthy perspective on things. According to the the commentary I read this morning, Ferris highlighted two take-home messages from Seneca, perhaps the most famous of the ancient Stoicists: “Don’t overreact to things outside your control” and “Only value things that can’t be taken away from you.”
Like a Madelaine cookie dipped in tea this jolted my memory and sent a surge of thoughts through my mind.
We had a saying in the context where I grew up: “A pessimist is never disappointed.” It means you shouldn’t hope for something and risk getting hurt when you don’t get it. It’s as if disappointment in itself is dangerous—lethal even. It’s a terrible way to live and I hope to rid myself of it as soon as possible.
I have no problem with Ferris first statement, but the second—only value things that can’t be taken away from you—is rubbish. I think it’s a trap in much the same way as many of today’s popular time management methods. It’s an attempt to protect you from the pain and suffering of life and it can never succeed.
What things can’t be taken away from you? I assume Ferris means material possessions, but the way I see it everything you value can be taken away, causing you grief. Loved ones, vision, walking and freedom. Even your memories may wither. All it takes is a stroke in the wrong part of the brain, or an unfortunate disposition for neurotransmitter imbalance.
Unfortunately, a life worth living is a life of risks. You have to stick your neck out in order to experience beauty, kindness, love and creativity. Strategies for eliminating pain and worry can only work if you also remove caring—if you detach yourself from the world around you. Care and worry are two sides of the same coin. They’re bound together and you can’t have one without the other. This I know from both personal and proffessional experience.
