a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment
lil  ·  3954 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Ask Hubski: Are Self-Help Books Helpful?

    Does Epictetus count?
Epictetus totally counts. Probably most self-help books just update the things he said. Marcus Aurelius too.

Trouble with brilliant and pithy statements is that their wisdom is the end goal, not the method. For example, Epictetus said, "The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best." How do I turn this into a to-do list?

1. Ask myself whether my friends uplift me or make me feel worse.

2. Make a list of people I spend time with, our activities

3. Think of the people whose presence calls forth my best. That is, when I'm with them I feel smarter, braver, and more loving.

anyway, you get the idea. I should turn Epictetus's sayings into a self-help book.

Thanks for the pointer to Frances Yates. I'll take a look.