Seneca, Moral Letters 18.3

I am so firmly determined, however, to test the constancy of your mind that, drawing from the teachings of great men, I shall give you also a lesson: Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: "Is this the condition that I feared?"

 

It is precisely in times of immunity from care that the soul should toughen itself beforehand for occasions of greater stress, and it is while Fortune is kind that it should fortify itself against her violence. 

 

In days of peace the soldier performs maneuvers, throws up earthworks with no enemy in sight, and wearies himself by gratuitous toil, in order that he may be equal to unavoidable toil. 

 

If you would not have a man flinch when the crisis comes, train him before it comes. Such is the course which those men have followed who, in their imitation of poverty, have every month come almost to want, that they might never recoil from what they had so often rehearsed.

 

That delicate balancing act I described in the last reflection may sound terribly difficult, though I should remember that the seemingly impossible becomes quite possible with the steady formation of a solid habit. 

 

I have never learned to juggle, but simply because I won’t find the patience. Riding a unicycle appears like a miracle to me, since riding a bicycle was already such a chore. Walking on a tightrope must be reserved for the gods, with all the trouble I have standing in line at the grocery store. 

 

Now imagine someone doing all three simultaneously. It is nothing except sincere commitment and constant practice that made it achievable. 

 

Merely thinking or talking about a good life brings me no closer to actually living well, and taking on the outward appearance of excellence is never a substitute for truly doing the job, over and over again. In building a habit, hardship is transformed into ease, the unbearable is now light, and awkwardness gives way to elegance. 

 

I will only become better within myself by the exercise of better acts, stronger with each repetition, more confident from one time to the next, easier through training, more joyful by being bound to my convictions. It seems to start slowly and painfully, but it soon takes on its own rolling momentum, paying back a thousandfold of what was invested. 

 

At least at first, it is necessary to follow a deliberate and orderly regimen, as true for a moral workout as it is for a physical workout. When should this be done? As early as possible preferably yesterday, since if I wait until I am faced with a crisis of choice, it will then be too late. 

 

It was only when I had to grapple with incredible confusion and agony later in my life that I finally appreciated the Boy Scout motto I had been taught as a child: “Be Prepared.”

 

If I can have my mind and my will honed by discipline, I can be ready for whatever life is going to throw at me. Be firm in principle to cope with liars and scoundrels. Live with little now to thrive during the coming losses. Practice love to bear the inevitable burden of being ignored or despised. 

Written in 8/2012