What you can do as a stoic is just do the best you possibly can. You can't control people's reaction to your work. I think it was Epitetus talked about the the loot player or the you, some sort of ancient instrument and you can practice all you like and you get on stage and you know, you could be out in an amphitheatre and it's windy and you're playing really well with the sound doesn't travel to the audience and you get booed and you know that is out of your control that

weather but your practice your passion turning up on time, that's all within your control.

Journalist and author Bridget Delaney reckons we could learn a lot about how to live well now from ancient Stoic philosophers.

This is the Liz Earl Well-being show, the podcast helping us all have a better second half.

I'm Liz Earl and I'm on quite a mission to find ways for all of us to

thrive in later life by investing in our health and our well-being today. Now I wonder if you feel you live by a certain philosophy. Do you have principles or values that you call on in particular trying or chaotic or unpredictable moments? I have learned that there's no point in trying to be a

perfectionist, that's my kind of default and I've learned that if it's mostly good

most of the time then that's enough frankly also I have learned to try and worry less about the things

I have absolutely no control over and I guess these could be considered my own personal philosophies.

Well, Bridget Delaney is a journalist for The Guardian in Australia.

She is the author of great books including This Restless Life and Wellmania and for the past few years she's been

living life like the ancient Stoic philosophers. In researching for her book, Reasons Not to Worry How to Be a Stoic in

chaotic times, Bridget found a time not completely unlike our own. There was war,

plague, corruption, anxiety and overindulgence. So despite a 2,000 year gap, what did the Stoics know about

tranquility and a sense of agency that we could take heed of today. Where else is absolutely packful of fun, entertainment and things to do, day and night,

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