How to resist temptations
A Stoic life is all about simple pleasures, but how should you act when the entire community is caught up in festivities?
Seneca uses the example of Saturnalia — an ancient Roman several-day-long festival that took place every year in December. People would prepare weeks in advance, occupying their minds with the upcoming city-wide holiday. After all, it’s the time of year when everyone can enjoy food, drinks, and entertainment and leave their work-related worries behind.
Resisting temptations is particularly difficult during the festive frenzy. It takes more willpower and effort to stay sober and in control. You’d think the best way to remain untempted would be to avoid festive activities altogether. However, you can still enjoy your time with the community without indulging in drinking or extravagant pleasures.
⚡️Being rich on the inside doesn’t mean giving up all your possessions. Instead, it’s about being okay without wealth.
Seneca suggests an exercise to test your Stoic moral strength; occasionally, spend a few days enjoying the simplest things.
Cook plain food and wear basic clothes. You can also give up food deliveries or a taxi ride. This practice helps you distinguish genuine necessities from luxuries.
In fact, wealthy men in Ancient Rome often had separate rooms for such training to eliminate their anxiety about losing their fortune. Provided those days are truly challenging and not for entertainment, you can learn to be content without prosperity and know that life gives you all you need to be happy. This exercise’s purpose isn’t inflicting suffering on yourself — it’s a tool that prepares you for scrutiny.
Building a “relationship” with less every few weeks will also help you resist acquiring excessive possessions since you’ll see you can be fulfilled without them. If you can enjoy simple oats for breakfast, you will escape the constant chase for fleeting pleasures and discover a different, long-lasting happiness that permeates your life.
Did you know? Hedonist philosopher Epicurus conducted an experiment similar to Seneca’s; he only ate simple food to see how little he could spend to feed himself. He tried to prove that one can feel satisfaction with very little since enjoyment is the absence of pain (hunger in this case).