“CURT: ARE YOU A STOIC?”— My personal philosophy is not stoic, but martial. So

—“CURT: ARE YOU A STOIC?”—

My personal philosophy is not stoic, but martial. So I use heroism, duty and loyalty. I achieve mindfulness through working toward goals. I achieve security by trying to make or join an ‘army’.

We all need philosophies that reflect our abilities. Not everyone finds joy in constant competition and the high cost of achievement and frequent failure. I find my philosophy difficult if not painful, but it is in that difficulty I find my power, conviction, and immunity from criticism. I do not consider it ‘suffering’ in the Nietzschean sense but Stress that makes you stronger in the sense Taleb means “anti-fragile”.

But stoicism is a common person’s way of achieving the same thing. Stoicism is a self-directed philosophy of continuous improvement within the world, and aristocracy is a philosophy of continuous achievement through transformation of the world. However, in both models, you cannot be criticized, guilted, shamed, ridiculed by others. Both Martialism and Stoicism make you immune.

To a lesser degree The Four Agreements Quotes by Miguel Ruiz are a far less sophisticated version that I have found overly sensitive women benefit from.

And the meditation in buddhism is a less rationalistic way of achieving the same ends. I dont like it because it’s not action oriented.

What really I don’t like is the prayer-and-rutual way of achieving it because you’ve actually abandoned reality at that point.

But what you can see from that list is a hierarchy from the most empowered to the least empowered. And from what I can see buddhism is about as far as people should go in withdrawing from the world.