Action, outcome, reaction.
I can control my action.
I cannot control the outcome.
I can control my reaction.
I cannot control the outcome.
I can control my reaction.
Chinese Wisdom Concerning Money
[19September-2007 @ 17:11 EST: Revised preamble. This page still gets the most search hits: There is no Anthony de Croud. The e-mail is SPAM. I post things that pique my fancy at the moment. I like the 8 precepts, but the rest of the e-mail is junk. However, I thought it fair to post everything in its entirety. I did not write the e-mail. I did not forward the e-mail. I strongly encourage you not to forward it either. (I also encourage you to reply to whomever sent you the e-mail and tell them you don't appreciate getting junk mail.)] Received this in our e-mail (English translation follows): PRECEPTO CHINO SOBRE EL DINERO EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UNA CASA, PERO NO UN HOGAR, EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UN RELOJ, PERO NO EL TIEMPO. EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UNA CAMA, PERO NO EL SUEÑO. EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UN LIBRO, PERO NO EL CONOCIMIENTO. EL DINERO PUEDE PAGAR UN MÉDICO, PERO NO LA SALUD. EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UNA POSICIÓN, PERO NO EL RESPETO. EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR LA SANGRE, PERO ...
Comments
happy weekend,Richard!
though it can be quite hard to control reactions/emotions.
MOI: a fundamental tenant of Stoicism is that we are rational beings and should comport ourselves as such. I am not terribly reactive. I tend to analyze first. Maybe too much so.
vina: self control, like anything else, requires practice and discipline. As far as I am concerned, the name of the game is not control, but redirection. Do we think first, act later? Or act first, think later?
kaymac: thanks. Not being able to control the outcome can be frustrating, especially when we set up our actions in the hope of an expected outcome. Some outcomes are more certain than others, though.
breal: I think it comes from my love of Stoic philosophy. Stoics, unlike Cynics, are fully aware of their surroundings and environment (Cynics tend to be insensible or numbed to the world around them), but choose to act in accordance with reason.