Happy Sunday Friends!

Hello from Washington DC and the AUSA Conference (Tomorrow) Here is 1 quote I’m musing, 2 Ideas, 3 of my favorite things from the week, and 1 question. If you find it useful or interesting, please feel free to forward this along to some friends or others!

One Quote I’m Musing

“When force of circumstance upsets your equanimity lose no time in recovering your self-control, and do not remain out of tune longer than you can help. Habitual recurrence to the harmony will increase your mastery of it.”

-Epictetus

The One Thing You Can Control, You

I read a lot. Something I don’t see often is real reflection from many authors beyond the ideal. In the interest of openness and transparency: Reflecting on the week, it wasn’t my favorite, or my best, I fell short of being the person philosophy would like us all to be. I let several things that were outside my control get under my skin. I allowed, as Epictetus would say, “My mind to be a slave, jerked about…” of how I performed, I gave into some frustration. Not the best. Then again, we aren’t perfect all the time.

So, first, public apology to my wife. I was frustrated over the week, it boiled into the weekend and weekend prep. I’m Sorry.

Second, there’s more to learn from failure than success, and honest reflection is one of the best ways I have found (the Stoics too) to truly learn and improve.

For everyone, if you can’t acknowledge your faults, you can’t work on them. Work on them.

Which brings us into my thoughts this week.

Everyone who reads this has absolute control over one thing. You control your performance.

You can’t control what your coworkers do, you control how you perform.

You can’t control what people say about you behind your back, you control how you act.

You can’t control what they say about you after you’ve gone, you control how you perform.

You can’t control whether an APT attacks your network, You control how you perform

You can’t control your compensation package, you control how you perform.

You can’t control when your teammates get sick, or if they are doing the right thing, you can’t control if the senior decides to groom and mentor you or not, you control how you perform.

You can’t control if an adversary cheats, you don’t control whether or not your boss is a bully, or a nepotist, you control how you perform.

You can’t control whether people doubt you and your abilities, or who believes in you, you control how you perform.

You can’t control whether or not the organization is successful today, you control how you play.

You get the picture, right?

All you control is how you perform. Your decisions, the effort you put in, your principles that you let guide you.

Being focused on what we control, what’s in front of us. That’s how we will be happier, have more energy, and more focus for what we need to do than if we were with the others who are spending pointless time and energy on what they don’t control.

Moreover, it will help you act, and react, more steadfast and reliably to both the good and bad things; accepting the good things in life without arrogance, and let the bad things go with indifference.

Because, ultimately, Memento Mori. Let that determine, as Marcus Aurelius says, “what you will do and say and think.”

-e

Two Ideas From Me

Figure out what you want/need. Determine the cost of getting it. Don’t reduce what you need by haggling over the price; it’s what you need.
Think about something you’re naturally good at without trying. Now TRY, try hard.

Three Favorite Things From Others

“I’ve made it a principle not to be over-influenced by minor disappointments.” | Marianne Moore - Sweet Theft
“If you’re trying to choose between two theories and one gives you an excuse for being lazy, the other one is probably right.” | Paul Graham - What You’ll Wish You’d Known
“The first and best victory is to conquer self.” | Plato

One Question

Does your present situation require ingenuity or persistence? The former helps you discover what may work, the latter lets you lets you make the most of it.

Have a wonderful week,

I’ll see you Sunday.
-e