O

August  18th

ONLY    FOOLS   RUSH    IN

“A  good    person  is  invincible, for they    don’t   rush    into    contests    in  which   they    aren’t  the strongest.  If

you want    their   property,   take    it—take also    their   staff,  profession, and body.   But you will    never

compel  what    they    set out for,    nor trap    them    in  what    they    would   avoid.  For the only    contest the

good    person  enters  is  that    of  their   own reasoned    choice. How can such    a   person  not be

invincible?”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.6.5–7

ne of the most fundamental principles of martial arts is that strength should not go against strength.
That is: don’t try to beat your opponent where they are strongest. But that’s exactly what we do when
we try to undertake some impossible task we haven’t bothered to think through. Or we let someone put us
on the spot. Or we say yes to everything that comes our way.
Some people think that “choosing your battles” is weak or calculating. How could reducing the amount
of times we fail or minimizing the number of needless injuries inflicted upon us be weak? How is that a
bad thing? As the saying goes, discretion is the better part of valor. The Stoics call it reasoned choice.
That means be reasonable! Think hard before choosing, and make yourself unbeatable.