{"id":12204,"date":"2022-01-01T05:40:24","date_gmt":"2022-01-01T12:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/?p=12204"},"modified":"2021-12-20T14:02:38","modified_gmt":"2021-12-20T21:02:38","slug":"indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/","title":{"rendered":"Indifference is Power &#8211; Stoic Serenity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/stoic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12205\" src=\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/stoic.jpg\" alt=\"indifference is power\" width=\"356\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/stoic.jpg 356w, http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/stoic-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 356px) 100vw, 356px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>For stoics, indifference is power over a world we cannot control. We still care, but temper our emotions and focus our activities. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p><em>Give me the strength to accept things I cannot change, courage to change things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So, I was enjoying lunch with an old friend in November. Suddenly Eric asked: So, what&#8217;s next in your life? What makes you happy?<\/p>\n<p>His question caught me off guard. I gave the usual responses &#8211; family, grandchildren, friends, hobbies, etc. But then I thought some more. I realized what makes me happy is also getting rid of the things that make me unhappy.<\/p>\n<p>And this is the essence of stoicism. Indifference is power we have over things outside of our control. I once read a humorous description of stoicism as &#8220;not giving a shit about all the stupid things in this world that most people care so much about. Stoics have emotions, but only for things that really matter.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>You see, the only things we can really control are what we believe about our circumstances. After a wasted year of caring too much about politics and pandemics, it&#8217;s good to enter the new year with a fresh outlook.<\/p>\n<h2>Indifference is Power &#8211; Digging Deeper<\/h2>\n<p>According to philosopher <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Massimo_Pigliucci\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Massimo Pigliucci<\/a>, stoicism is a philosophy for an ordinary life. You can <a class=\"vp-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Yhn1Fe8cT0Q\">watch his TED Talk here<\/a>. If that&#8217;s too deep, <a class=\"vp-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qRM5VRIO_TU\">here is a short stoicism cartoon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>So, Happy New Year. And it will be even happier if you embrace &#8220;Indifference is Power&#8221; as a guiding thought towards both real and fake news in the months ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For stoics, indifference is power over a world we cannot control. We still care, but temper our emotions and focus our activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[224],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-12204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insights"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Indifference is Power - Stoic Serenity - Living On The Horizon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Indifference is Power - Stoic Serenity - Living On The Horizon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For stoics, indifference is power over a world we cannot control. We still care, but temper our emotions and focus our activities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Living On The Horizon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-01T12:40:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/stoic.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John VE6EY\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@VE6EY\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John VE6EY\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/\",\"name\":\"Indifference is Power - Stoic Serenity - Living On The Horizon\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/stoic.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-01T12:40:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/9750e0ab227030255d9806757525f945\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/stoic.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/stoic.jpg\",\"width\":356,\"height\":267,\"caption\":\"indifference is power\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"security\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/tag\/security\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Indifference is Power &#8211; Stoic Serenity\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/\",\"name\":\"Living On The Horizon\",\"description\":\"Blogs and Stuff\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/9750e0ab227030255d9806757525f945\",\"name\":\"John VE6EY\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4048edfe09efff51033c48b4fb951e8ac0a4dc84a25c96b25e5ae9f5b7069a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4048edfe09efff51033c48b4fb951e8ac0a4dc84a25c96b25e5ae9f5b7069a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John VE6EY\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/VE6EY\"],\"url\":\"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/author\/play\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Indifference is Power - Stoic Serenity - Living On The Horizon","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Indifference is Power - Stoic Serenity - Living On The Horizon","og_description":"For stoics, indifference is power over a world we cannot control. We still care, but temper our emotions and focus our activities.","og_url":"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/","og_site_name":"Living On The Horizon","article_published_time":"2022-01-01T12:40:24+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/stoic.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"John VE6EY","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@VE6EY","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John VE6EY","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/","url":"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/","name":"Indifference is Power - Stoic Serenity - Living On The Horizon","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/stoic.jpg","datePublished":"2022-01-01T12:40:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/9750e0ab227030255d9806757525f945"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/stoic.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/stoic.jpg","width":356,"height":267,"caption":"indifference is power"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/insights\/indifference-is-power-stoic-serenity\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"security","item":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/tag\/security\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Indifference is Power &#8211; Stoic Serenity"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/#website","url":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/","name":"Living On The Horizon","description":"Blogs and Stuff","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/9750e0ab227030255d9806757525f945","name":"John VE6EY","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4048edfe09efff51033c48b4fb951e8ac0a4dc84a25c96b25e5ae9f5b7069a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4048edfe09efff51033c48b4fb951e8ac0a4dc84a25c96b25e5ae9f5b7069a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John VE6EY"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/VE6EY"],"url":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/author\/play\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6wKKr-3aQ","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12204"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12214,"href":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12204\/revisions\/12214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12204"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fallows.ca\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=12204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}