The speaker shares their personal story of struggling with suicidal thoughts and bipolar depression, and how they found solace in stoicism. Stoicism is an ancient philosophy that focuses on separating what one can control from what one cannot, and using exercises to manage emotions and make better decisions.
The speaker highlights the concept of "fear-setting," which involves visualizing worst-case scenarios, identifying potential problems, and finding solutions. This exercise helps individuals overcome fear and anxiety, and make more informed decisions.
The speaker shares a personal example of using fear-setting to overcome their fear of taking a break from their business and traveling to London. By breaking down their fears into manageable parts, they were able to take action and ultimately benefit from the experience.
The speaker also introduces the concept of "easy choices, hard life; hard choices, easy life," which suggests that making difficult decisions can lead to a more fulfilling life.
The talk concludes with the speaker encouraging the audience to apply stoicism and fear-setting to their own lives, and to focus on defining and overcoming their fears rather than just setting goals.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The speaker was a senior in college in 1999.
2. The speaker had a plan to commit suicide about a week and a half after a happy picture was taken.
3. The speaker has bipolar depression, which runs in their family.
4. The speaker has had over 50 major depressive episodes.
5. The speaker learned about stoicism in 2004.
6. Stoicism is an ancient philosophy that originated in Athens around 300 BC.
7. Zeno of Citium taught stoicism in Athens.
8. Stoicism was used as a comprehensive system for doing many things in the Greco-Roman world.
9. Stoicism involves training oneself to separate what can be controlled from what cannot be controlled.
10. Stoicism involves doing exercises to focus exclusively on what can be controlled.
11. The speaker uses a written exercise called "fear setting" to overcome anxiety and make decisions.
12. The "fear setting" exercise involves three pages: defining fears, preventing worst-case scenarios, and repairing damage.
13. The speaker used the "fear setting" exercise to make a decision about taking a trip to London.
14. The speaker took the trip to London and it had a positive impact on their life.
15. The speaker has used the "fear setting" exercise at least once a quarter since 2004.
16. The speaker knows a modern-day Stoic named Jerzy Gregorek, who is a four-time world champion in Olympic weightlifting.
17. Jerzy Gregorek is a published poet and a political refugee.
18. Jerzy Gregorek has used stoicism to make important decisions in his life.
19. Jerzy Gregorek's mantra is "easy choices, hard life; hard choices, easy life."
20. The speaker encourages the audience to ask themselves where in their lives they need to define their fears and make hard choices.