{"id":667,"date":"2019-07-03T22:15:44","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T22:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/successful-lawyer.com\/?p=667"},"modified":"2019-11-06T22:21:23","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T22:21:23","slug":"turning-obstacles-into-opportunity-the-stoic-lawyer-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/successful-lawyer.com\/turning-obstacles-into-opportunity-the-stoic-lawyer-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning Obstacles Into Opportunity: The Stoic Lawyer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
One of the ways I stay sane in the often insane world of family law is by studying Stoic philosophy daily.<\/strong> I was exposed to stoicism by reading Ryan Holiday\u2019s great book, \u201cThe Obstacle is the Opportunity,\u201d<\/a> which is an extended essay on historical figures' reliance on Stoic principles to overcome adversity. I highly recommend it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n After reading Ryan\u2019s book, I subscribed to the Daily Stoic Blog<\/a> and bought several books on stoicism. The core tenet of stoicism is that we need to determine what is within our control and what is outside of our control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As it turns out the only thing that is really in our control is our attitude or how we perceive something. Everything else is largely outside of our control or influence. Why get upset if something is not in our control? We get a bad ruling or someone needs a continuance is not a reason to become dispirited. Consider what possible benefits may result. The Stoics believed the world was fluid and today\u2019s tragedy will evolve into tomorrow\u2019s triumph and today\u2019s triumph will become tomorrow\u2019s tragedy. So don\u2019t get crazy with the daily turbulence. Embrace it and look at the big picture. More to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some reading recommendations:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.<\/strong><\/a> I like the translation by Scot and David hicks called \u201cThe Emporer\u2019s Handbook.\u201d Marcus was a Roman Emperor in addition to being a philosopher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Discourse of Epictetus.<\/strong><\/a> A former Greek slave who became renowned as a teacher of stoicism<\/p>\n\n\n\n