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The Stoic Challenge
Publisher's Summary
A practical, refreshingly optimistic guide that uses centuries-old wisdom to help us better cope with the stresses of modern living.
Some people bounce back in response to setbacks; others break. We often think that these responses are hardwired, but fortunately this is not the case. Stoicism offers us an alternative approach. Plumbing the wisdom of one of the most popular and successful schools of thought from ancient Rome, philosopher William B. Irvine teaches us to turn any challenge on its head. The Stoic Challenge, then, is the ultimate guide to improving your quality of life through tactics developed by ancient Stoics, from Marcus Aurelius and Seneca to Epictetus.
This book uniquely combines ancient Stoic insights with techniques discovered by contemporary psychological research, such as anchoring and framing. The result is a surprisingly simple strategy for dealing with life’s unpleasant and unexpected challenges - from minor setbacks like being caught in a traffic jam or having a flight cancelled to major setbacks like those experienced by physicist Stephen Hawking, who slowly lost the ability to move, and writer Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered from locked-in syndrome.
The Stoics discovered that thinking of challenges as tests of character can dramatically alter our emotional response to them. Irvine’s updated “Stoic test strategy” teaches us how to transform life’s stumbling blocks into opportunities for becoming calmer, tougher, and more resilient. Not only can we overcome everyday obstacles - we can benefit from them, too.
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What listeners say about The Stoic Challenge
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- Matt. D
- 2020-05-06
Practical Philosophy
Very accessible and to the point practical applications of stoic philosophy. Excellent listen , that's if you're up to the challenge.
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- Josh White
- 2020-04-21
Worth your time
A solid book on the application of Stoic philosophy. I suggest reading a Guide to the Good life first. I really enjoyed this book.
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- James Moyse
- 2020-04-05
Another great one from Irvine
If like me, you enjoyed “a Guide to the good life” but wanted more elaboration on the practical techniques and tools, this is for you. No fluff or BS, just practical techniques explained with good real life examples. And at around 4 hrs, so not the biggest commitment, with a good Narrator even! I will listen again!
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-10-09
The first 5 chapters are Okay, the rest is great.
I love the portions on framing and building mental toughness. Chapters 5-Conclusion are great. Can't wait for his next book.
5 people found this helpful
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- Joel Rogers
- 2020-04-22
Life changing
Life changing. Practical, digestible & exceptionally valuable. Read this book if you want to become happier, more productive & more intentional with your life.
2 people found this helpful
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- Raul Santos
- 2020-08-18
short book on stoicsism
good book on stoicism. there is neither good or bad, its how you interpret the situation.
1 person found this helpful
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- ema
- 2020-04-04
where are your personal stoic gods hiding?
i loved the irony so much, very effective in pushing accross the main message!
1 person found this helpful
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- Antonio Fernández
- 2020-09-12
Review
This book has inspired me, challenged my way of thinking, challenge me in a good way on how I’m living my life, surprised me, fascinated me. Everyone that truly wants to live their life at the fullest should buy this masterpiece. Thanks William for writing such an incredible book!!!
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- frank munoz
- 2020-05-13
Definitely recommend
My favorite self betterment books that I've read so far. It helped me better understand The Four Agreements as well.
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- Ale
- 2020-05-13
Great examples of the Stoic concepts
I like the way William gave great modern day examples of how to implement the Stoic techniques in today's world. He made it easy to understand and to relate to. I finished the audio book in one sitting and now on my second round to try to absorb the information.
Thank you.
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- DragonMama
- 2020-05-10
listened to this 2x in one day
I had the speed set to 2x and restarted as soon as I finished it to get a 2nd chance to go through the concepts. I would love to see a reworking of this to be child-inclusive for families to take this information in together without mentions of concepts early elementary kids may not be ready for or that would disrupt listening for tangental conversations about concepts like rape & Santa. Without those topics included, I would listen to this with my 7 year old. I am making it required "reading" for my teen & tween.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-04-09
Very inspiring!
The book covers basic stoic concepts and their applications. It uses stories and similes to illustrate ideas. It would have been nice to relate ideas to a more Writer and books, to my liking.
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- Alexander H Horn
- 2019-11-04
Ok book on stoicism
It’s a basic book on stoicism perhaps good if you’re brand new stoicism. There are much better books out there that talk more about the original philosophy / teaching
1 person found this helpful