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TST PRACTICE
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By Philosopher Michael Alan Prestwood

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PRACTICE
Daily Wisdom Builder
Day 287

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Topic:
TAKE CONTROL
~ 8 minutes
Better decisions come with self-discipline.
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Daily Wisdom Builder: Day 287.

This “word painting” features three intertwined ideas in about 8 minutes. 

Today’s ideas pull from the, “TAKE CONTROL,” path.

TAKE CONTROL:

Better decisions come with self-discipline.
Today’s ideas come from different corners of our shared human story.

2. 

Epicurean Happiness Toolkit: A 4-Step Structure.

3. 

“People are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinions about the things that happen.”.

4. 

“All men are prone to differ. It is no new thing in all former ages, in all parts. Each party is most right in his own eyes.”.
Next, let’s see what these three ideas have to say when placed side by side.
Idea 1.
From History: .
Epicurean Happiness Toolkit: A 4-Step Structure
.
.
Build happiness by choosing the long-term over the short-term. Epicureanism was one of the first traditions to foster simple pleasures like friendship.
Subject: Dichotomy of Pleasure.
My modern focus on Epicureanism is its dichotomy of pleasure. Manage pleasure before pleasure manages you. Epicurus wants you to prefer long-term pleasures like the feeling of being fit over the short-term ones like eating donuts. Take control of your choices, stay clean, sober, and productive and choose to let go of unnecessary fear and anger. To take control of your life, practice the simple pleasures that support flourishing and loosen the grip of immediate pleasures that quietly control you.
Idea 2.
Quote.
“People are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinions about the things that happen.”
.
  • Epictetus.
  • 108 CE.
.
Emotional resilience means accepting reality, catching the downward spiral, and choosing the next useful action within your control.
Subject: Mental Agency.
Emotional resilience is another mental agency tool. It is about developing the ability to withstand and adapt to life’s challenges, setbacks, and disappointments. It’s the idea that our emotional reactions stem primarily from our beliefs, judgments, and thoughts about events, rather than the events themselves. By managing your emotions more effectively, you can minimize the negative impact of adversity.
Idea 3.
Quote.
“All men are prone to differ. It is no new thing in all former ages, in all parts. Each party is most right in his own eyes.”
.
  • Roger Williams.
  • 1648.
.
In disagreement, take control of your response instead of letting emotion or the last comment control where the conversation goes.
Subject: The Debate Viewpoint and Self-Control.
You do not have to answer every point or follow every argument where it leads. Use debate pivots. Step above the dialogue and decide where you want it to go. Acknowledge facts when they are right, stay honest and open-minded, and move toward stronger ground. Good persuasion begins with control of yourself.
And now, the well-nuanced version. Three deeper stories, one shared search for wisdom.

Idea 1.

A Philosophy Story.

Epicurean Happiness Toolkit: A 4-Step Structure.

New Look

30 Philosophers, Chapter 11: The Epicurean Happiness Toolkit is a new look at ancient Epicurean tools presented in a 1-2-3-4 structure: one goal, pleasure; two types of pleasures; three categories of desires; and the Four-Part Remedy, or Tetrapharmakos. The goal is to keep the historical vocabulary as close as reasonable while making the structure easier to see, remember, and use.

In the book, the framework reimagined Epicureanism without breaking from it. It preserved the core language of pleasure, ataraxia, aponia, desire categories, and the Four-Part Remedy, but arranged them as a clear teaching model. The book also replaced the word “hedonism” with “pleasure” to better reflect Epicurus’s more nuanced understanding of happiness. That made the ancient system easier to follow while still honoring its original shape. The book version was historical enough to belong in a chapter on Epicurus and Epicureanism but structured enough to become useful beyond the history.

In TST Philosophy, the Epicurean Happiness Toolkit evolves one step further. It now belongs within Ethics, under Personal Morality, specifically the Happiness branch. It is a common floor for managing pleasure under wisdom and a hook into Epicurean thought. TST moves pleasure away from being the only goal of life and into a pleasure-management system. You manage your own pleasure to support your Stoic character building, and both are aimed at the larger goal of flourishing for all.

The toolkit teaches you to prefer long-term pleasures over short-term ones, and to treat happiness as something cultivated through wisdom, simplicity, friendship, tranquility, and freedom from unnecessary fear.

I wrote that Philosophy Story, 

and posted it to TST 2 years ago.

 

Idea 2.

A Philosophy Quote.

“People are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinions about the things that happen.”.

  • Epictetus.
  • 108 CE.

The following content is from chapter 13 of 30 Philosophers.

Perhaps Zeno’s principle that captured the stoic stereotype best is emotional resilience. Stoicism teaches that you must accept the circumstances of your life, even while attempting to better it. Rather than throwing a pity party when something bad happens, you accept it and just move forward. By embracing the reality of your situation and recognizing the limits of your influence, you can get the most out of life.

For example, when something bad happens in life…if you give up and throw yourself a pity party, you’ve already lost. If you do something, anything, then at least you have a chance. Choose a better path, do even better. What Zeno noticed is that people who marched forward in the face of life’s challenges did better. Not just in the game of life, but for themselves. They actually felt better, and he wanted to cultivate that ability and maximize it.

Emotional resilience is about recognizing that inflection point. It’s about maximizing whatever opportunities are in front of you, and reframing challenges, so you can navigate them with inner peace.

One final example, the phrase “fake it, until you make it,” suggests that if you want to be in a good mood, begin by attempting to be in a good mood. Conversely, when you start to feel sorry for yourself, it’s possible to spiral. The term “spiraling” is often used to describe an emotional downward spiral. Emotional resilience is the idea that you catch that spiraling, stop it, and turn it around.

I wrote that Philosophy Quote, 

and posted it to TST 2 years ago.

 

Idea 3.

A History Quote.

“All men are prone to differ. It is no new thing in all former ages, in all parts. Each party is most right in his own eyes.”.

  • Roger Williams.
  • 1648.

There are many Roger Williams quotes that exemplify freedom of speech and freedom of conscience. The following is my favorite quote on differing opinions. This quote is from the introduction to a paper he submitted in a town meeting that occurred on 31 Jun 1648.

Here is a fuller version of his quote:

“…all men are apt & prone to differ it is no New Thing in all former Ages in all parts of this World…either part or partie is most right in his owne eyes…”–Roger Williams, 1648.

For me, Williams’ insight gets to the core of what I call the Debate Viewpoint: the understanding that everyone has a viewpoint. Just like you, people enter a disagreement believing they are right. Understanding that dynamic changes how you approach persuasion. The goal is not to react to every sentence or win every point.

Emotion and quick replies are too often the downfall. Someone says something that irritates you, you fire back, and suddenly the conversation has wandered into an area you never wanted to debate. A better approach is to pivot. A debate pivot steps above the dialogue for a moment, looks at where the dialogue is, and chooses better ground. You then acknowledging a point, and steer the discussion toward stronger ground. Instead of asking,

“What is my reply to what was just said?”

ask,

“Where do I want this conversation to go?”

Of course, this only works when you apply critical thinking, remain open-minded, and let facts change your thinking when they should. Fact check new facts. If true, start by acknowledging that truth. Then contextualize how it fits into the larger picture through your lens. In my view, if you are doing that honestly, you’re doing debate right.

I wrote that History Quote, 

and posted it to TST 2 weeks ago.

 

That's it!

Every day gets one telling. After today, day 287 of the daily wisdom builder fades into the void.

Thank you for the practice. See you tomorrow.

To keep it rolling, click Wisdom Builder to select a new topic.

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