The Cure to Desperation

Know the price you’re paying for things.

Jun 13, 2026

Hello, dear reader. First, thank-you, then I’ll get out of my own way- there are 130,201 of you now, all here for the same reason- you’d like to be better at the art of living well. That’s the whole point of life.

So let me tell you what I’ve been sitting on.

You probably already own the most famous book in Stoicism. Marcus Aurelius wrote the Meditations for an audience of one- himself. Reminders to steady his mind- his emotions, written at the edge of an empire, meant for his eyes alone. The most quoted Stoic text in history is, technically, a private diary.

I’ve been keeping a diary like that.

For the last year I’ve kept a running set of maxims- short, blunt lines I wrote to keep myself level. I practice medicine, which means my day is wall-to-wall human beings at their most frightened, their most stubborn, their most unreasonable, and the work is- least to say- bit chaotic. These lines are the railing I held onto. I’d have frankly gone under without them.

The plan was to keep them on the low, the way Marcus kept his. But I’ve come to change my mind. They’ve carried too much weight to sit in a drawer working for nobody but me.

So I’m releasing them to a few of you, as The Stoic Manual: Meditations on the Art of Living — 150 maxims, written for anyone, beginner or expert, to be used at anytime life calls for it.

Here’s a taste,

This special book will go to Annual & Lifetime members only. And you can secure a copy when I launch, plus all other bonuses, by upgrading your subscription below,

^{If you had already subscribed, don’t worry. I’ll send it to you when I launch.}

That said, here’s today’s mini-essay, plus a surprise at the bottom.

crescent moon above mountain — Photo by Benjamin Voros on Unsplash

“Remember to conduct yourself in life as if at a banquet. As something being passed around comes to you, reach out your hand and take a moderate helping. Does it pass you by? Don’t stop it. It hasn’t yet come? Don’t burn in desire for it, but wait until it arrives in front of you. Act this way with children, a spouse, toward position, with wealth—one day it will make you worthy of a banquet with the gods.” — Epictetus

You want to win. To be a great writer, parent, nurse. Insert your profession.

Living in this world also bids you desire financial freedom, a loving spouse, creative success. Get a promotion. Win the election.

You want to attend the concert. Or the event you’ve planned on going for the last two years.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting those goods.

They enhance the quality of your human experience.

But it’s wise to put them in perspective. Handle them in due proportion.

Knowing how much people and things can have power over you when they’re the source of your pleasure, it’s prudent to be careful with how much you value them. It’s wise to know the price you’re paying for them.

There’s no use gaining the world but losing yourself.

The cure to desperation Stoics recommend means you shouldn’t want or value external things to the extent that you prostrate yourself — lose your soul. Owe people. Act against your cherished ideals. Do diabolical shit. Destabilize your emotional balance when you don’t get or lose them.

Know what’s worth valuing above all else — wisdom and being pro-social.

Act as if you already have much, like you don’t need these indifferent goods — even if they can have a positive impact on your life. Like you’re ready to give these things back to fortune at any time — for they have insignificant claim to your happiness.

Make your well-being come from inside you: how you think, the choices you make, how beautiful your character is, and how you act.

How? Through practice.

But, shouldn’t you obsess over getting better, enjoying yourself and being victorious? You should.

It’s a sin not to bless the world with your greatness. It’s foul not to have fun with your friends. But with the attitude that virtue is the highest good and that’s enough for your fulfillment. With the attitude that you’ll make the best of whatever misfortune life brings.

So, focus on the things you control: the reps, your diet, applying for the position, writing the articles, cold emails, being a better friend, having fun.

That’s what is up to you and you can rely on it to make you happy. But you have to see it as enough.

The Aesthetic Experience

“...aesthetic pleasure in the beautiful consists, to a large extent, in the fact that, when we enter the state of pure contemplation, we are raised for the moment above all willing, above all desires and cares; we are, so to speak, rid of ourselves.” — Arthur Schopenhauer (The World as Will and Representation)

The Stoics were big fans of appreciating the beauty in the world. This comeliness is reflected in the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. The artful expression of Stoic ideas is why the book still resonates 2,000 years later.