Epictetus on the path to happiness
Dying Every Day (Day 86)
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Dying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project. Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) learn how to live.
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Epictetus on the path to happiness
Welcome back to Dying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year). This is Day 86, and we’re exploring the path to happiness.
The Stoic teacher Epictetus taught his students,
There is one path alone that leads to happiness—and keep this thought at hand morning, noon, and night—it is to renounce any claim to anything that lies outside the sphere of choice, to regard nothing as being your own, to surrender everything to the deity, to fortune. To devote yourself to one thing alone, that which is your own, that which is free from all hindrance, and when you read, to refer your reading to that end, and so too with your writing and your listening.
Epictetus continues,
For that reason, I cannot call someone industrious merely because I hear that he reads and writes. Even if someone adds that he works away at it all night, I couldn’t yet call him industrious until I know what he is aiming at in doing so. …
+Adapted from Discourses
Consider the roots of unhappiness for a moment: What circumstances typically bring sadness, anxiety, and anger? Epictetus reminds us (rather consistently) that our desire for things outside our control gets in the way of a happy life.
According to Epictetus, the path to happiness begins by renouncing (or abandoning) those things that lie outside the sphere of choice. For the Stoics, happiness is found in philosophy.
In his letter On the Happy Life, Seneca wrote,
What is the happy life? It is peace of mind and lasting tranquility. This will be yours if you possess greatness of soul; it will be yours if you possess the steadfastness that resolutely clings to a good judgment just reached. How does a man reach this condition? By gaining a complete view of truth, by maintaining, in all that he does, order, measure, fitness, and a will that is inoffensive and kindly, that is intent upon reason and never departs therefrom. …
It’s important to remember that the good (or happy) life is readily available to us. We can choose to embark on the path to happiness through sound judgment and reason.
Reflection Prompt
Consider reflecting (or journaling) on how you think about (or define) happiness. You could ask yourself, “How can I begin to ‘renounce’ the things that lie outside my sphere of choice?” and/or “What would it look like to embody these ideas in daily life?”
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Thank you for listening; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
J.W.
P.S. I greatly appreciate your time, attention, and support!