The Little Book of Stoicism

How can we overcome negative emotions, failures, disappointments—all these small and big setbacks that cross our professional and personal lives? Many attempt to avoid them by reinforcing their technical competences or their managerial aptitudes. Rarer are those who strive to accept these emotions, to free themselves from them and keep intact their capacity for action.

This is nonetheless the approach that personal development specialist Jonas Salzgeber defends. According to him, we should seek inspiration from the “art of living a good life” proponed by Stoic philosophers. The precepts of Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius have never been more useful than they are in the current times, which are so chaotic and trying for executives and managers. The author does not only recall these age-old principles: he also explains why they function—supported by scientific work—and how to put them in practice on a daily basis in a professional context. The second part of the book thus details fifty-five techniques to live better and overcome disappointments: mental distancing, relativizing, reformulating, quick emotional re-balancing, etc. 

This little book shows how we can gain back control on the way in which we experience the events, independently of our control on the events themselves. A useful read in these troubled times.