“If evil be said of thee, and if it be true, correct thyself; if it be a lie, laugh at it.”
― Epictetus
Show Notes:
- When I read this quote the first thing that came to mind was “I laugh in the face of evil!” 🙂
- How often do we get upset at what others say about us?
- How often do we let what others say about define who we are?
- Why get upset about their opinion, esp if it’s a lie?
- Remember, as Stoics we need to open to correction, because what we believe and how we see the world could be totally wrong.
- We are going to make mistakes.
- We need to act with integrity and decide if they said has merit.
- So if someone points out a flaw, we should be thankful because we now know what to correct.
- And if what is said about you is patently false, rather than let it upset, you should simply laugh in the face of evil.
- On the surface this quote is telling us that we shouldn’t let what others say about us bother us, because it’s just their opinion, their way of seeing the world.
- But if we dig a little deeper, what this quote is also telling us is that we need to deal with reality as it it, and not what we want it to be.
- The reality is we will make mistakes. We’re not perfect. And there will be times when we fail to uphold our standards.
- Often we don’t see the crappy things that we do, because sometimes because we don’t want to see them. Our ego gets in the way.
- If we act with integrity should be willing to own our actions, and the outcome of our actions.
- Don’t own others reactions. Everyone is responsible for their own emotions and reactions.
- Be grateful for your enemies because they are often the only ones that tell you the truth.
- And if they lie, laugh in the face of evil.
