Try The Opposite Remedy

In his essay Of Clemency, Seneca tells a story of a time Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire, had his temper severely tested. Augustus receives intelligence that a man named Lucius Cinna was conspiring against him. Augustus summoned a council of close friends to consult on his plan to have Cinna executed. When the group agreed unanimously against Augustus’s retaliation scheme, he blew a fuse, racked equally with anger and fear. His ranting and screaming met only silence from the group he gathered, broken only by more ranting and screaming. Finally, Augustus’s wife intervened: “Will you take a woman’s advice? Do what doctors do when the usual prescriptions have no effect: try the opposite remedies. Strictness has gotten you nowhere... Now try and see how far clemency gets you: forgive Lucius Cinna. He’s been caught and now can do you no harm, though he can do your reputation some good.”Augustus thanked his wife, called the meeting adjourned, and summoned Cinna to make amends. Cinna became Augustus’s “most grateful and loyal adherent,” Seneca reports. “And no one ever again formed any plot against him.”Even if you never find yourself the ruler of an empire or the target of a murder plot, this advice applies to so many circumstances. “What assistance can we find in the fight against habit?” Epictetus asked. Then answered, “Try the opposite!” Viktor Frankl liked to cure neurotic patients with a method called “paradoxical intention.” For insomnia, for instance, instead of standard therapies, his cure for the patient was to focus on not falling asleep. Whether the enemy is a conspirator, a bad habit, or trouble falling asleep, sometimes the best course of action, the best remedy, is to do the last thing they (or it) would ever expect you to do. Break the pattern. Try the opposite. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at DailyStoic.com. Try the opposite remedy. In his Essay of Clemency, Seneca tells a story of a time Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire, had his temper severely tested. Augustus received intelligence that a man named Lucius Senna was conspiring against

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  him. Augustus summoned a council of close friends to consult on his plan to have the man executed. When the group agreed unanimously against his retaliation scheme, the emperor blew a fuse, racked equally with anger and fear. His ranting and screaming meant only silence from the group he gathered, broken only by more ranting and screaming. Finally, his wife intervened. "Will you take a woman's advice?" she said. "Do what the doctors do when the usual prescriptions have no effect. Try the opposite remedies. Strictness has gotten you nowhere. Now try and see how far clemency gets you. Forgive Lucius Senna. He has been caught and now can do you no harm, though he can do your reputation some

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  good." Augustus thanked his wife, called the meeting adjourned, and summoned Senna to make amends. "Senna became Augustus's most grateful and loyal adherent," Seneca reports. "And no one ever again formed any plot against him. Even if you never find yourself the ruler of an empire or the target of a murder plot, this advice applies to so many circumstances." "What assistance can we find in the fight against habit, Epictetus asked, then answered, 'Try the opposite.'" Victor Frankl liked to cure neurotic patients with a method called paradoxical intention. For insomnia, for instance, instead of standard therapy, his cure for the patient was to focus on not falling asleep.

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  Whether the enemy is a conspirator, a bad habit, or trouble falling asleep, sometimes the best course of action, the best remedy, is to do the last thing they or it would never expect you to do. Break the pattern and try the opposite.

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