A Guide to the Good Life

I read this a long time ago and I can't recommend it enough. It does a good job of introducing the concepts of stoicism and defending the philosophy from our modern assumptions of the word. A very good read.

The word 'stoicism' has kind of a bad rap, but I find it a very peaceful and comforting philosophy, and one I actively try to model my life against. Like most life philosophies it's not something that comes naturally or immediately; rather it's something to keep in the back of one's mind and actively strive towards over the course of years.

Those interested can also read Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius, and the Enchiridion, by Epictetus. Both are very short. Be careful with the translation you get of Meditations: if the first few paragraphs seem excruciatingly baroque, then you got a bad one--drop it and find a better translation.

This is a really good book. I think it was promoted on one of the big financial independence blogs a year or two ago and I enjoyed reading it a lot. Makes you think a lot.

This is a great introduction to Stoicism for the modern world. The author takes quite a few of the concepts and updates them through a 21st century philosophic viewpoint (mainly through the use of more rigorous logic behind the scenes).

The best update comes with how one should deal with things one can and cannot effect. He updates this from two to three: things you have no effect on whatsoever, things you have some effect on, and things you have total control of. Earthquakes are one on example of the first - no idea of when they are coming and one just has to do her best to deal with it. The second involves dealing with other people: one can control what one says and does to another, but no control over how that person reacts. Third, one has control over oneself.

There are a few ideas in there that I think don't pass modern studies of sociology/psychology - the chapter on relationships , in particular - but otherwise a very compelling read.

Those concepts are in the '7 habits of highly successful people' - but introduced as the circle of influence and the circle of concern. The idea promoted is that stress will result when you try and deal with things outside of your circle of influence, and you have to keep operating within that circle.

Obviously, very few pop-self-help books like 7 habits contain genuinely new ideas, and the concept is borrowed from much older ideas. Nonetheless I think it was helpful to me when I first read it. It has a message of both keeping perspective and also reducing useless stress, but at the same time telling you that the only way to take action is to increase the amount of influence you have.

I've had this one bookmarked for a while, but unfortunately haven't gotten around to reading it:

http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.html

Don't know if that's easier to read though.