Welcome to the November 2016 Newsletter. Sage advice for troubled times is this month's theme. In this edition you can learn the difference between Stoicism and the cartoon version of it, what it adds to CBT and - how it can help you cope with Donald Trump becoming US President.
Stoic week has come to be a November tradition. This year Stoicism came to New York - an unlikely mix perhaps, but it seemed to work and we had talks from such illuminaries as Ryan Holiday, Jules Evans, Donald Robertson, Chris Gill, Massimo Pigliucci and, appropriately for New York, Debbie Joffe Ellis, the widow of REBT legend Albert Ellis, for whom Stoicism was one of the inspirations behind Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy.
Having written about a Stoic response to Brexit, I decided to go into the lion's den in New York and talk about what a Stoic preparation for the possibility of Trump would be like. We did more than talk, we did a negative visualisation of it, which worked really well. Then, as we all know, the fear became reality - but I hope all that preparation is helpful. This article pulls it all together.
In other news, I've been writing some introductory articles on Stoicism for newbies . New this edition is a "From the archives" section to highlight an article from my blog or website that you might not have seen.
If you are free next Saturday (November 19th), there's still time to sign up to my "Positive Psychology and Happiness" one day workshop at the City Lit. Maybe see you there!
My very best wishes
Tim
“I’m trying to use the Stoic disciplines now, Tim, I really am. But I can't yet get any traction on dealing with the anxiety, anger, and downright fear I feel after last night's result. Thoughts? “ (Derek, posted the day after Donald Trump's election).
It’s no longer just a negative visualisation - Donald Trump really is going to be the next President of the United States. How exactly can Stoicism help Derek and others who finds the result hard to stomach? (If you happen to approve of Donald Trump being President, then read no further ...)
Let’s start with a quick mindfulness exercise. Derek mentions anxiety, anger and downright fear. What are you experiencing? Feeling down, sad, upset or shocked are amongst some other possibilities …
Yesterday I suggested that one reason for Stoicism’s continuing appeal is that it is greater than the sum of its parts. In this article I will explain why I think this is the case.
Part 1: “Serenity Prayer” Wisdom
Would you agree that trying to change the unchangeable is one way to lead a life of frustration and misery? And that if instead you focus on what you can and should change, that's a better path to a good life, achievement and serenity? I written
elsewhere about how the Serenity Prayer can help
a lot in all sorts of situations, like losing your wallet or being stuck in traffic.
The Stoics take Serenity Prayer wisdom a step further. They assert that there are really only two things you have control over – what you think and what you do.
Part 2: Look after your thinking
Read on
From the Archives
Self-help: The Classics: No 1 Bertrand Russell's The Conquest of Happiness
For a number of years I've been producing an annual top ten of personal development and self-help books that I've found most useful in my work as a psychotherapist, philosophical counsellor and life coach and indeed in my personal and family life. I hope this has inspired some people to read some of these books, and that reading them has helped them. The most common response I get is people saying "I'd love to read them all - but I haven't got time!" - can't I have a potted version of the best bits? Other people are a but sniffy about self-help books and would like a critical appraisal of them - "Which bits work in practice? Are there any holes in their ideas?".
Listening to both these requests, I've written articles on some of the best personal development books which include both a summary of key points and a critique. I'd like to share some of them with you, starting with my summary and critique of Bertrand Russell's Conquest of Happiness. The first part of the article, below, introduces the book and summarises the great English philosopher's ideas about how to conquer unhappiness.
Advice on how to be happy, from one of the great thinkers of our time.
Who would not welcome advice about how to live well from a really wise person? Someone with a deep understanding of the great thinkers, who has lived as well as thought, and is willing to share their insights. More than all the self-proclaimed self-help gurus, Bertrand Russell stands out as such a man. Undoubtedly one of the great philosophers of the twentieth century, he was also a Nobel Prize winner, campaigner, journalist, teacher, political prisoner, husband and parent. We no longer have personal access to Russell; he died in 1970, aged 98. But he bequeathed to us all a little book, written when he was 58, which sums up much of his wisdom and experience. Called
The Conquest of Happiness, it is the first self-help book I read and, appropriately, the first book I will write about in this series of articles about self-help classics.
Read the
full article here ...
Workshops and Courses Upcoming CourseCITY LIT LONDON
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What is the course about?
The course provides a lively and practice introduction to the positive psychology of happiness.
What will we cover?
The course will give a brief overview of positive psychology and happiness, and then focus on the research findings regarding happiness. Interventions to enhance happiness will be considered and students will be given the opportunity to explore how these might be helpful.
Interested? Click here
Psychotherapy, Counselling & Coaching Availability UpdateI currently have a few slots avail able for CBT, life coaching, counselling and psychotherapy in Central London on Wednesdays Thursdays and Fridays..
E-mail me at
t...@timlebon.com if you are interested.
Feel free to forward this Newsletter to anyone else who may benefit from it.
Live Happily and WiselyTim
