We’ve spoken about the commencement address that Arnold Schwarzenegger made to the Class of 2020. In it, he makes an important distinction that the Stoics make themselves.
If you want to endure and overcome obstacles, he says, it’s not about what you are in life, but who. What he’s talking about is the primacy of character and virtue over recognition and position. Are you going to identify with your stuff or with your abilities? This question matters, because all of us are facing the biggest economic crisis of our generation.
The Stoics continually reminded themselves that what people think doesn’t matter; what job you have doesn’t matter; the size of your bank account doesn’t matter. Because those things aren’t in your control and they can be taken away. But character? That’s all you. Literally and figuratively. It determines your fate, as Heraclitus said, and It can never be taken away from you, as the falsely imprisoned boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter demonstrated, no matter what else can be.
Right now you could be down and out, facing all sorts of adversity, but if you’re a good person, if you aren’t a quitter, if you keep your word (to yourself and others), if you are always focused on learning and getting better, then you’ll get through this. That’s a guarantee. No one knows what the future holds, but those traits will serve you well whatever comes. No doubt about it.
In another earlier commencement, Arnold gave some good advice to someone trying to cultivate a good who. Marcus Aurelius had his “epithets for the self”: Upright. Modest. Straightforward. Sane. Cooperative. They work well alongside Arnold’s:
So let me tell you, as you prepare to go off into the world, remember six rules: Trust yourself, Break some rules, Don’t be afraid to fail, Ignore the naysayers, Work like hell, and Give something back.
We live in a world with plenty to fear: economic downturn, global conflict, and of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. Things are scary and their potential consequences loom before us. What will happen is not ours to decide. But who we are matters more. Events are not our call, but the rules we decide to follow are. So don’t be afraid, work hard, give back and be good.
P.S. This was originally sent on July 15, 2020. Sign up today for the Daily Stoic’s email and get our popular free 7-day course on Stoicism.
