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February    4th

ON  BEING   INVINCIBLE

“Who    then    is  invincible? The one who cannot  be  upset   by  anything    outside their   reasoned

choice.”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.18.21

ave you ever watched a seasoned pro handle the media? No question is too tough, no tone too
pointed or insulting. They parry every blow with humor, poise, and patience. Even when stung or
provoked, they choose not to flinch or react. They’re able to do this not only because of training and
experience, but because they understand that reacting emotionally will only make the situation worse. The
media is waiting for them to slip up or get upset, so to successfully navigate press events they have
internalized the importance of keeping themselves under calm control.
It’s unlikely you’ll face a horde of probing reporters bombarding you with insensitive questions today.
But it might be helpful—whatever stresses or frustrations or overload that do come your way—to picture
that image and use it as your model for dealing with them. Our reasoned choice—our prohairesis, as the
Stoics called it—is a kind of invincibility that we can cultivate. We can shrug off hostile attacks and
breeze through pressure or problems. And, like our model, when we finish, we can point back into the
crowd and say, “Next!”