Cold Showers, Complaining, and How We Cause Our Own Suffering (Epictetus – Enchiridion 5,20; Aurelius – Meditations 4:7)

The Stoic Jew

Synopsis: In today’s episode we explore what is possibly a new technique or avenue of internalizing Stoic insights. The insight was sparked by Naval Ravikant’s explanation of why he takes cold showers, which – surprise surprise! – I couldn’t help but read through the lens of Tara Brach’s Radical Acceptance and Shlomo ha’Melech’s Sefer Mishlei. I decided to share this insight in its nascent form in order to facilitate my own thinking about it. If the idea seems unpolished or unclear, that’s why.

Related Episodes:
- Aurelius – Meditations 4:7: The Secret to Not Getting Hurt
- Mishlei 18:8 - Mishlei on Complaining (Part 1: Translation and Questions)
- Mishlei 18:8 - Mishlei on Complaining (Part 2: Ideas and Answers)

Sources:
- Epictetus, Enchiridion (The Handbook) 5,20
- Aurelius, Meditations 4:7
- Eric Jorgenson, The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, pp.169-170
- Mishlei 18:8; 26:22
- quotation attributed to Viktor Frankl
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If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.
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Stoic texts:
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Letters from a Stoic Master (Seneca)
The Discourses of Epictetus
The Enchiridion (Handbook) of Epictetus
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