Matt ShewbridgeFrom the Inner Citadel into the World Now is the time for action. In Part 4, we visited the Inner Citadel, the very heart of rational agency. We discussed inputs – particularly how they become judgements, how those judgements affect us and how they shape the decisions we see before us. But, at some point, … Read more
If you’ve read the other essays in The Foundations Series, it’s a safe assumption that you’re serious about exploring Stoicism. And that’s a good thing, because it’s about to get weird. Perhaps “counterintuitive” is a better word but, either way, we’ll need to challenge some fairly conventional ideas. In Part 3, we discussed the importance … Read more
So, rational agency. Let’s tackle this beast right now, because it’s a big one: human beings can make decisions. The more you think about that, the more incredible it seems. In a universe governed entirely by blind cause and effect, something somehow became capable of seeing cause and effect for itself. It developed the capacity … Read more
This essay is about respecting reality and, at first glance, it might seem unnecessary. I can see responses falling into one of two camps. The first group consists of the type of person who almost revels in the complexity of reality, in the unknowability of it all, and who says things like “Aaaah, but whose … Read more
Collapse I never sought Eudaimonia. On the 23rd of March, 2019, sitting in the kitchen with a pounding headache caused by alcohol withdrawal, stress and antidepressants, I knew everything was about to change. I was done. Having quit my job a few weeks before and seen the doctor about my anxiety, change was already underway, … Read more
Ah, the dreaded performance review. One of the most dispiriting aspects of work is having our output rated negatively. It stings, can be embarrassing, and often leads to deep uncertainty about our worth. And yet, no matter how we feel about them, performance reviews are here to stay. When somebody is paying you for something, … Read more
Many of our problems at work don’t come from the right things going wrong, but from chasing the wrong things altogether. The Stoics understood that our desires need training rather than blind obedience. When you learn to examine what you want with more care, your career becomes calmer, clearer, and far more meaningful.
Category: Stoicism and Work Sounds like a terrible idea, but in this case, there’s real merit in it. It’s a form of exposure therapy; the more you do it, the less you hate it. Plus, you know, you get better at it! This is such a valuable life skill – one that’s relatively easy to … Read more
Category: The Inner Life Ah, the story. Everyone talks about it, but few ever notice just how much power it holds. Not the stories we read in books or watch on screens, but the ones that hum beneath our everyday thoughts – the private narratives that tell us who we are, what we deserve, and … Read more
How can work be so exhausting when you’re just sitting at a desk, sending emails? Grafting down a mine is exhausting; sitting isn’t. It’s all about the fatigue of entanglement. The tools that promised to simplify your day now compete for attention like over-eager interns. The meeting that was meant to clarify things adds three … Read more