【每日斯多葛】9月28日

September 28th  

YOU HOLD THE TRUMP CARD

“How appropriate that the gods put under our control only the most powerful ability that governs all the rest—the ability to make the right use of external appearances—and that they didn’t put anything else under our control. Was this simply because they weren’t willing to give us more? I think if it had been possible they would have given us more, but it was impossible.”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.1.7–8

We could look at the upcoming day and despair at all the things we don’t control: other people, our health, the temperature, the outcome of a project once it leaves our hands.

Or we could look out at that very same day and rejoice at the one thing we do control: the ability to decide what any event means.

This second option offers the ultimate power—a true and fair form of control. If you had control over other people, wouldn’t other people have control over you? Instead, what you’ve been granted is the fairest and most usable of trump cards. While you don’t control external events, you retain the ability to decide how you respond to those events. You control what every external event means to you personally.

This includes the difficult one in front of you right now. You’ll find, if you approach it right, that this trump card is plenty.

9月28日  

你握有王牌

“诸神只把统辖其余一切的最强大能力置于我们的控制之下——也就是正确运用外在表象的能力——而没有把其他任何东西交给我们控制，这是多么恰当啊。难道这仅仅是因为他们不愿意给予我们更多吗？我认为，如果可能的话，他们本来会给予我们更多，但那是不可能的。”

——爱比克泰德，《论说集》，1.1.7–8

我们可以看着即将到来的一天，为所有无法控制的事情而感到绝望：其他人、我们的健康、气温，以及一个项目一旦脱离我们之手后的最终结果。

或者，我们也可以看着完全相同的这一天，为自己确实能够控制的那一件事而欣喜：决定任何事件对自己意味着什么的能力。

第二种选择赋予了我们终极的力量——一种真正而公平的掌控形式。如果你能够控制别人，那么别人难道不也能够控制你吗？实际上，你被赋予的是最公平、也最实用的一张王牌。虽然你无法控制外部事件，但你仍然保有决定如何回应这些事件的能力。每一件外部事件对你个人究竟意味着什么，由你自己决定。

这也包括眼下摆在你面前的那件难事。你会发现，只要采取正确的方式，这张王牌就已经足够了。