I

June 22nd

THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY

“If you are defeated once and tell yourself you will overcome, but

carry on as before, know in the end you’ll be so ill and weakened

that eventually you won’t even notice your mistake and will begin

to rationalize your behavior.”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.18.31

t’s been said that the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over
and over again but expecting a different result. Yet that’s exactly what
most people do. They tell themselves: Today, I won’t get angry. Today, I
won’t gorge myself. But they don’t actually do anything differently. They try
the same routine and hope it will work this time. Hope is not a strategy!
Failure is a part of life we have little choice over. Learning from failure,
on the other hand, is optional. We have to choose to learn. We must
consciously opt to do things differently—to tweak and change until we
actually get the result we’re after. But that’s hard.
Sticking with the same unsuccessful pattern is easy. It doesn’t take any
thought or any additional effort, which is probably why most people do it.