Manual for Living

Summary

Manual for Living (also known as the Enchiridion) by Epictetus is a concise guide to Stoic philosophy and how to live a good, fulfilling life. It provides practical advice on how to achieve inner peace, resilience, and self-mastery by aligning oneself with nature and focusing on what is within one's control.

I don't like it too much, because it is a very very short book. Maybe like 30 pages. The ideas of Epictetus are much better presented in Discourses and Selected Writings.

The key pillars of his philosophy are the same though: If we want to live a good life, we should focus on what we can control, trying to master our desires and emotions, accepting the worst outcomes, while striving for the best outcomes, accept virtue as the only true Good, assume responsibility for our own reactions (and lives), find freedom through detachment, prepare for difficulties (a core stoic idea), and focus on simplicity and humility. If somebody elses conception of you disturbs you, you are not free yet, and don't live a virtuous life.

To me the one thing that I dislike about Stoic ideals is that they border on toxic positivity sometimes, which is a problem in its own right, but overall the life advice of the Stoics has lead to a positive impact in my life.