The Dark Side of Pleasure
"Don’t be overcome by its comfort, pleasantness, and allure." - Epictetus
“Whenever you get an impression of some pleasure, as with any impression, guard yourself from being carried away by it, let it await your action, give yourself a pause. After that, bring to mind both times, first when you have enjoyed the pleasure and later when you will regret it and hate yourself. Then compare to those the joy and satisfaction you’d feel for abstaining altogether. However, if a seemingly appropriate time arises to act on it, don’t be overcome by its comfort, pleasantness, and allure—but against all of this, how much better the consciousness of conquering it.” - Epictetus
I learned this lesson from nauseating repetition.
I learned it from the blue light of a phone screen at 2:00 AM, eyes dry, thumb scrolling through an infinite feed, hunting for a dopamine hit that never actually came. I learned it from greasy cardboard takeout boxes because cooking felt like a war I couldn’t win. I l…
