This is why we say that nothing happens to the wise person contrary to their expectations.
—Seneca, On Tranquility Of Mind, 13.3b
Hesiod, the poet, said that “the best treasure is a sparing tongue.” Robert Greene considers it a law of power: Always Say Less Than Necessary.
We talk bacause we think it’s helping, whereas in reality it’s making things hard for us. If our spouse is venting, we want to tell them what they should do. In fact, all they actually want us to do is hear them. In other situations, the world is trying to give us feedback or input, but we try to talk ourselves out of the problem—only to make it worse.
So today, will you be part of the problem or part of the solution? Will you hear the wisdom of the world or drown it out with more noise?
* Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman