A HAPPINESS MANUAL

You’ve probably heard or even said the so-called ‘Serenity Prayer’ that goes a little something like this: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” Well, Epictetus (50 AD – 135 AD) could easily be considered the planter of the seed that bloomed into that greatly motivational prayer.

Epictetus is my second favorite philosopher, after Epicurus. I feel like I’m being blasphemous just for saying that I have favorites, but oh well, at least I’m being totally honest! But enough about me. Back to Epictetus, who encouraged people to understand the difference between the things we can rule and those that we cannot govern over. Once we realize that certain situations are out of our control, we can learn to accept them as they are and not waste any time or effort to them in vain.

He passionately believed that our thoughts are directly dependent on none other but ourselves. His contemplative discourses were a sort of practical piece of advice on how people should deal with sorrow, greed, desperation, and disappointment. And most importantly, Epicurus was the one who taught that the purpose of human life was the pursuit of happiness; and he devoted his life to identify radical methods to help others find that happiness.

“The things you really need are few and easy to come by, but the things you can imagine you need are infinite, and you will never be satisfied.”

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”

Those two famous Epicurus quotes go to show that he knew how the things that make people happy are often different from the things they seek on a daily basis.

For instance, we all value friendship greatly, but only rarely do we see most of our friends.

Similarly, we all support the idea that happiness is within us, but only rarely do we work on ourselves enough to discover it…