Seneca on personal fulfilment

In his Letters to Lucilius and essays, Seneca gave a detailed recipe for personal fulfilment. His insights can be applied still today. I am going to summarize them in the next paragraphs. When necessary, I am adapting Seneca’s ideas to our century. The search for personal fulfilment is a lifetime mission. It is not a quick fix that will take us to a plateau of permanent, uninterrupted happiness. Even with the best of luck, each person has to face adversity from time to time. It is unrealistic to believe that we can isolate ourselves from pain and suffering. The purpose of philosophy is to help us see the big picture, that is, the picture of one’s lifetime achievement and happiness. We should not get stuck on temporary problems, even if we are experiencing vast disruption and annoyance. One generation after Seneca, another Stoic philosopher built a powerful intellectual edifice around this principle. I’m talking about Epictetus (55-135 AD), who embodies the idea of steady self-improvement. Seneca had aristocratic origins and adopted the principles of Stoicism after long study and reflection. In contrast, Epictetus had been born a slave in Hierapolis. Through assiduous study, he acquired valuable skills, earned respect, became a freeman, and eventually a famous philosopher. Epictetus had more than sufficient grounds for complaint. I can hardly imagine a worse situation than being born a slave in Ancient Greece or Rome. Nonetheless, Epictetus made the best of the situation, created new opportunities and moved forward. Like Seneca, Epictetus regarded self-improvement as a goal for a lifetime, not an isolated task. He kept improving his skills and acquiring knowledge all his life, travelling and teaching. It is an example we should remember when we face adversity or opposition. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/seneca-on-personal-fulfilment/