How to be Unbothered by Positive and Negative Responses

A Lesson from Epictetus

“The anger of an ape — the threat of a flatterer — these deserve equal regard.”

Epictetus

Many people come to Stoicism looking for ways to deal with negative comments and criticisms from others. None of us enjoy being the receiver of angry comments, to be sure, especially when they are directed at our character.

Learning how to respond to such emotions from others comes naturally with many Stoic practices and ideas, such as the dichotomy of control. Still, it comes hand-in-hand with something else: learning how to respond appropriately to positive comments.

The idea here is simple: if we wish to detach ourselves from the negative responses of others, we must also detach ourselves from the positive responses.