Codex
The Twelve Tenets
Memorize all twelve. Or do not. Either outcome is preferable to the one you were pursuing before you arrived here.
- I.
The Dichotomy of Control.
Some things are up to you. Almost nothing. Route the rest to /dev/null. If in doubt: not yours.
- II.
Amor Fati — love your fate.
Your flight is cancelled. Excellent. This is the exact flight the universe scheduled for you. Kiss the tarmac. Flatly.
- III.
Premeditatio Malorum.
Each morning, imagine your startup dead, your dog gone, your coffee spilled. If you cry, repeat until you do not. Then attend standup.
- IV.
Memento Mori.
You are dying. So is the person who cut you off in traffic. Extend them the courtesy of one shared exhale.
- V.
The View From Above.
Zoom out until your promotion becomes a pixel. Zoom out until Earth becomes a pixel. Now respond to the email.
- VI.
Virtue is the only good.
Wealth, fame, and a good haircut are 'preferred indifferents.' Prefer them. Do not require them. Do not post about them.
- VII.
The obstacle is the way.
The traffic jam IS the meditation. The bad Wi-Fi IS the retreat. The rude barista IS your teacher, and her name is Epictetus.
- VIII.
Judge the impression, not the event.
It is not the rain that ruins the picnic. It is your opinion of rain. Delete the opinion. Eat the wet sandwich.
- IX.
The inner citadel is not on Slack.
The reasoning mind is a fortress no notification may breach. Airplane mode is a spiritual discipline.
- X.
Sympatheia — one cosmic body.
You and the person who reclined their airplane seat into your knees are made of the same star-stuff. Grieve accordingly. Which is to say: don't.
- XI.
Journal in the manner of Marcus.
Each night, write down what you did wrong. Then what you did right. Then close the notebook, because posting it would defeat the purpose.
- XII.
This too is fleeting.
The bad meeting. The good meeting. The meeting. All meetings. Especially this tenet. It ends now.