Good morning comrades, we approach the end of another week. In the last newsletter we talked about the ancient concept of the dichotomy of control. If you haven’t read this, I’d suggest you take a few minutes and go over Tuesday’s Newsletter:
Like many people practicing Stoicism, this ancient teaching has been useful, although I always felt like there were certain things you could influence in your life, that although not entirely up to you, where still possible to achieve in a modern western society. Enter the trichotomy of control, which divides things in life into three categories based on whether they are within our control or not:
Things that are entirely within our control: This category includes our thoughts, beliefs, values, and actions. According to Stoicism, these are the only things we should focus on, as they are the only things we can truly control.
Things that are outside of our control: This category includes external events, such as the weather, the actions of others, and natural disasters. Stoics believe that we should not waste time worrying about these things because we have no control over them.
Things that are partially within our control: This category includes things like our health, wealth, and ability. While we can influence these things to some extent, we cannot control them completely.
This concept was popularised by the brilliant writer, William Irvine a number of years back, and I borrow from his book A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy to show you this diagram the easiest way to distinguish the dichotomy, and trichotomy.
Let’s have a look at an example of this. Our finances, an intricate subject. If we’re fortunate enough to be earning an income, and have purchasing power we can use the trichotomy to influence this:
Things we can control: Our spending habits, our investment decisions, and our ability to save money. For example, we can choose to spend less than we earn, invest or donate to worthwhile causes, and save for emergencies.
Things we can't control: Economic fluctuations, inflation, and market volatility. For example, we can't control when the stock market crashes or when a recession occurs.
Things we have some degree of control over: Our earning potential, our debt level, and our financial education. For example, we can increase our earning potential through education and training, reduce our debt by paying off loans, and increase our financial literacy by reading books and seeking advice.
Whether this deviates from the purist point of true Stoicism or not, is up for debate. This updated chain of thought isn’t without it’s controversy, and has caused heated conversations between academic minds on what pertains to being the correct version of this theory. Epictetus would be proud!
If you are familiar with either of these concepts and grasp what is being talked about, whether that be from Epictetus, or elsewhere. You are one step closer to achieving Tranquility of mind if you can learn, practice, and apply this belief to your daily life.
Quote for the weekend ahead
To bear in mind constantly that all of this has happened before. And will happen again—the same plot from beginning to end, the identical staging. Produce them in your mind, as you know them from experience or from history: the court of Hadrian... All just the same. Only the people different.
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
A new look
It’s my 8th year of practicing and learning about Stoicism. I’m marking the occasion with some new branding featuring the founder, Zeno of Citium. I’m happy to announce that I’ve been working on a podcast and a book. More information to follow.
Which of the Stoics resonate the most with you? Do you find a difference in the inspiration between the quotes and the lives of the Stoics?