This is part of Lifehacker’s newbook reviewseries.
Who This Book Is For
This book is really for everyonewhether you’re philosophically-minded or not.
It’s all about being happier and having more control over how you react to life’s difficulties.
And don’t we all have those, to some extent?
Some of the tricks you may heard of, some you may notand some may seem like common sense.
But the Stoics (and Irvine) have a way ofputting them into wordsthat can really motivate you.
But you don’t have to think of this book as a massive life change.
The Stoics had a lot of advice on dealing with insults.
Most people think that the best response is a counterinsult, preferably one that is clever.
The Stoics, however, reject this advice.
And how are we to respond to an insult, if not with a counterinsult?
One wonderful way, say the Stoics, is with humor.
Thus, Seneca points approvingly to Cato’s use of humor to deflect a particularly grievous insult.
Cato was pleading a case when an adversary named Lentulus spit in his face.
.Epictetus also advocates the use of self-deprecating humor.
Suppose, for example, you find out that someone has been saying bad things about you.
Irvine’s writing style can be tough to slog through at times.
That’s whyinspirational quotesare so popular, after all.
This is, after all, Lifehacker.
you’re free to alsocheck out Irvine’s web site here
