Epictetus:Feeling Foolish
Learning new skills can be tough. It’s a roller coaster of emotions. The highs that come with reaching the smaller goals along the way are often countered by the lows of the countless defeats between them. It is during one of these periods of defeat that people often give up on their new aspirations. They decide looking, or perhaps closer to reality, feeling foolish outweighs how they think they will feel after acquiring the skill. Whether its breaking your own personal record at the gym, learning a new language, or picking up a new hobby, opportunities to progress and grow as a human are limitless. And, so are the opportunities for failure. So how should we frame progress when shrouded in the shadows of doubt and worry? Today we will be building off of the last episode focused on Marcus Aurelius, The Captain of Your Own Ship and looking at one of The Golden Sayings of Epictetus (CLVIII). We hope you enjoy today’s podcast, don’t forget to subscribe and share!
Howdy and welcome back to The Plutarch Project Podcast. this is episode 2 of our short form podcasts, “resonare illustrationis”-or echoes of illumination a brief illuminating look at a piece of literature, history, or philosophy to fill the gaps between our longer form podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe and share if you find yourself picking up what we are putting down!
Epictetus was a stoic philosopher. Unlike last episode philosopher, the noble born emperor Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus was born a slave in 50 AD in what is now modern day Turkey. As he grew, his owner, a secretary under the Emperor Nero, allowed him to study philosophy. This lucky break made his world-and by extension our own- much richer than it could have been. He was freed sometime after the death of Nero and began teaching philosophy in Rome. In 93 AD all philosophers were banned from Rome and Epictetus set up shop in Greece with his own philosophical school. He lived until 135 AD and all of his works have been passed down to us by his most famous pupil, Arrian of nicomedia.
There’s quite a bit to his philosophy, but for our purposes here today it might be best to categorize him with Seneca and Marcus Aurelius in that philosophy is not some abstract field of study, but rather a way of living life.
If you can recall last episode, Marcus Aurelius believed all things in the human world to be mere opinion: love, anger, wealth, power and so on. The only thing that can aid us in this battle of opinion is to take control of our own mind and “let go” of our own opinions. Epictetus held a similar belief. His writings focus on people knowing, examining and crafting their own actions as acts of discipline and self-control. The reason being that all externalities are simply out of one’s control, the only thing you can have agency over is yourself. With this we can focus on today’s quotation:
It reads,
“If thou wouldst make progress, be content to seem foolish and void of understanding with respect to outward things. Care not to be thought to know anything. If any should make account of thee, distrust thyself.”
It’s probable that Epictetus was talking about grander ideas than picking up the guitar with the goal of playing like Jimi Hendrix in mind. But, for our purposes in the contemporary world we can apply these same words to microscopic goals adding to our macroscopic experience. The thing that really stands out at first is the line, “Be content to seem foolish.” There aren’t too many cats out there that would prefer to seem foolish, especially when aiming to master something. Let’s face it. Unless you’re a prodigy or just happen to have some natural advantage you are probably going to be rather terrible at something the first time you try it. Reflect back on your life, how many things have you given up on because at first they seemed insurmountable after the first attempt? How many rockstar dreams have been smashed by the ironclad hammer of reality? Perhaps its our expectations, or our opinions-to borrow from Marcus Aurelius- of how progress should be that hinder our actual abilities to progress. This is where the next part of Epictetus’ saying comes into play.
He writes, “void of understanding of outside things.” One of the greatest advantages of learning a new skill is being brutally aware of how much we don’t know. It’s great to know what is possible. Seeing Hendrix riff the national anthem, viewing Michael Jordan hit the game winning shot in the championship game, or reading about ultra-marathon runners can be motivating. But, without at least theoretical knowledge of the gap between a newbie and these people who have excelled at the highest levels the newbie is in for a world of hurt.
It’s like training to climb Mount Everest by p stepping up and down off of your sofa; you’re gonna have a bad time when you arrive at the base of the mountain. Recognizing that you are “void of understanding” and letting the anxiety of not knowing flow over you can allow your curiosity and drive to sprout and bloom as progress is made one step at a time. Unfortunately those who don’t recognize their limited understanding are subject to things like the Dunning-Krugger Effect: A cognitive bias where people overestimate their ability because they can objectively view it.
Even world renowned experts have limitations. You can be the foremost expert in the world on something and still there will always be more to be obtained. This is where Epictetus’ notes, “Care not to be thought to know anything.” Now, he isn’t saying forget how to use a spoon and forget wearing pants, although that sounds like it could make for an interesting time. He is saying don’t be content to flaunt your knowledge; there’s always more out there and if not now, then later someone else will have a greater depth of knowledge. There’s no reason to peacock, especially if your understanding of something resides only within the basics. Heck, if experts are free to express that they don’t know it all why shouldn’t a beginner?
Finally Epictetus lets loose with the final line, “If any should make account of thee, distrust thyself.” Progress is great. And it feels great to be praised. Rarely will you see anyone truly praising an expert. I once had a mentor tell me praise is for kids and beginners, when people stop praising you and begin treating you like an expert that’s when you are really onto the path of hard earned progress. A simple example can be found in many people’s lives. At one time you were praised for being able to use a spoon by yourself. How many people are praising you now for the same action? Life is full of examples like this and it’s best to reflect on your own past experiences if you are feeling unsure of your progress in a given activity.
A checkpoint of motivation could be to keep pushing to this point, and once this point is reached, pat yourself on the back for a quick minute, and then keep on working toward the next goal in your idea of progress. It’s up to you to let go of outside opinions, to focus your drive and determination toward something greater, and to keep progressing through the foolishness, through the amatuer stage, up until you are satisfied, truly satisfied, with your level of attainment. So for now, be okay with feeling foolish, be okay with not progressing at lightning speed, be careful of too much praise, and focus on the things you can control your opinion and your actions. Thanks for listening and as always… Onward!
