Ancient Wisdom for Modern Smiles

Timeless Lessons for Finding Joy in Today’s World

Rich Brown
3 min readNov 12, 2024
DALL-E

Ever feel like the modern world is just too much sometimes? Our phones are always buzzing, and it gets pretty tiring.

Don’t get me wrong — I love technology as much as anyone, but sometimes I think the people from long ago had the right idea.

Even without smartwatches or apps, ancient philosophers had a lot of good advice about happiness that still makes sense today.

Stoicism: Control What You Can

Take the Stoics, for example. The Stoics were ancient Greek philosophers who believed that while you can’t control what happens to you, you can control how you react.

Marcus Aurelius, one of the Stoics, was basically the original “let it be” guy. He taught that the secret to happiness isn’t about avoiding problems but about staying calm and dealing with them.

Imagine your Wi-Fi crashes right before an important presentation. Instead of freaking out, Marcus would have said, “Relax. You can’t control the Wi-Fi, but you can control your reaction.”

There’s a lot of peace in that kind of thinking.

Epicureanism: Find Joy in the Simple Things

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Rich Brown
Rich Brown

Written by Rich Brown

Passionate about using AI to enhance daily living, boost productivity, and unleash creativity. Contact: richbrowndigital@gmail.com

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