Delphic Maxim 73: Be happy with what you have

I’ve set myself the challenge of responding to each Delphic Maxim for 15 minutes a day.

73. Be happy with what you have

I’ve always found it strange that a lot of the young men who worship Jordan Peterson and his ~particular~ brand of Stoic philosophy always seem unhappy with their lot in life. At least, the strangest thing is the way some feel compelled to offer critiques of other people, of their own station in life, of the injustice meted out to young white men. One of the core tenets of Stoicism, and definitely one of the most appreciable, is that we should be happy with what we have.

Epictetus encourages us not to let desire force us into striving for things that are out of our control, and accepting that the things we have are ephemeral and won’t necessarily last forever. The same goes for Marcus Aurelius, who not only tells us to be comfortable and grateful for what we have, but also to “love the art we have learned” — we should be satisfied with our achievements.

Now, I’m not one hundred percent on board with Stoic philosophy. I think it’s very good at helping us prepare for loss, to give us a sense of perspective, and especially for reminding us that there are things outside of our control over which it’s not worth losing our tempers. But we should temper that kind of philosophy with a need for self-improvement. Which isn’t outside the realms of these philosophers either: Epictetus suggested that fitness and mental improvement should be built into the processes of our every day life.

I am a bowerbird for these kinds of wisdom: if it looks shiny, doesn’t contradict too radically something else I believe, and it makes sense, then I am happy to use it in my intellectual nest. The idea that we are happy with what we have doesn’t preclude the possibility that we keep striving for more. But it does remind us that we are fortunate to be alive, hopefully in good health, and presumably if you’re reading this you are fairly well off and educated enough to engage with it (and Medium, and social media, etc etc).

Life is filled with blessings, and being unhappy with our comparative advantages is a bit silly. I think that’s also why there’s such a strong emphasis on friendship, family and community in these maxims — these are things that we are always really grateful for, whether we say it out loud or not.

So why do I find it strange that young men critique others, in the light of this maxim? One of Peterson’s core messages is that people should make their own bed (or something like that) before trying to change the world. This is reasonable, if a little anodyne. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting to make the world a better place (especially if our metaphorical beds are made messy by factors that are outside of our individual control). The problem is that some people ignore this advice: they get stuck into others rather than be happy with what they have.

Start from a place of gratitude, and look at how you can bring that sense of contentment to others. That’s probably a nicer way to be a Stoic.