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Day 37: Don’t Seek Out Strife

“I don’t agree with those who plunge headlong into the middle of the flood and who, accepting a turbulent life, struggle daily in great spirit with difficult circumstances. The wise person will endure that, but won’t choose it—choosing to be at peace, rather than at war.”

Seneca

I think this post took me the longest to write. The hustles of life took me away from the thing that I love most which is writing on this blog. And I think this post tells about something similar topic. There are so many people around us who choose to be at constant war, rather than to be at peace. In today’s world, the hustlers are the one that is appreciated and if you are not then there is a feeling that you might feel which is called nowadays FOMO(Fear Of Missing Out).

I don’t consider myself the kind of person who likes to stay still and doing nothing. I feel that I am on a constant run of things most of the time. But I don’t think I seek out strife in that. I try to find peace in completing tasks, maybe because I don’t want to sit still and want to think about the other things in life. Maybe I seek an escape but that is a topic of discussion for another post maybe.

Ryan Holding gives the example of Theodore Roosevelt and his famous speech “Man in the Arena” which lionizes “the one whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly . . .” compared with the critic who sits on the sidelines. Now Theodore Roosevelt was a great man and he has done a great many things but is this the ideal way of living?

How not to seek strife?

One of the most effective ways I find is asking why of doing things. Making it a habit to ask yourself again and again about your intention for doing things can solve a lot of these problems. Evaluate your reasons against the core principles of your life. And only start doing it if it aligns with your vision and your values.

Why you shouldn’t seek strife?

In the hustle of life, we constantly lose sight of our goals. We are continuously busy and working for the whole day only to realize that we haven’t taken even one step towards our goal. I have written a previous post on the topic of why we should set our end goals clearly, which you can read too. But the idea is that if we don’t strive to create an environment of peace and tranquility, our mind will not find space to grow creatively and before even we realize we will digress from our path.

Ques: Are you also busy in the constant hustle of life without thinking? Do you think it is ok to be at war all the time?

Published inPhilosophy & IdeasStoicism

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