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Meditations on SelfDiscipline and Failure Stoic Exercise for Mental Fitness William Ferraiolo 9781785355875 Books

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Meditations on SelfDiscipline and Failure Stoic Exercise for Mental Fitness William Ferraiolo 9781785355875 Books

This is a powerful work that is both inspiring and uncomfortable to read. It is uncomfortable, if you are really thinking about it, because it presents a brutally honest level of self examination and uncompromising standard for self improvement. Paradoxically sufficient exposure also, in my case, had a calming effect in that it feels embarrassing, even comedic, to get so worked up about stuff. I actually laughed out loud once or twice, mostly because I recognized the described numbskull as myself a couple times. The very first meditation is probably the most straightforward and concise summary of stoic philosophy that you are likely to find anywhere. You could probably skip the rest of the book if you could really understand and apply that one passage. My advice, however, is to get the book and extract as much attitude adjustment as you can from it.


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Meditations on SelfDiscipline and Failure Stoic Exercise for Mental Fitness William Ferraiolo 9781785355875 Books Reviews

This is a book to be savored. Read a few paragraphs per day. When you get to the end, start again. Perfect for the morning before work. If you’re a fan of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations then you will love this slightly harsher work.
If you find Socrates’ exhortation to have any validity, Ferraiolo’s work is an excellent place to begin the examination. In 300 powerful, yet blunt, essays, the author demands that I, the reader, reflect with unvarnished, brutally honesty, my meager attempts to progress as a human being. All the while reminding me I am insignificant, and that my influence will fade shortly after I die. He reminds me that homo sapiens are not far removed from other species, so any hope we are something more is vain and futile. I love the reminder of the importance of humility, and the necessity for constant striving for self-discipline. I have a long way to go, but, with effort and determination I can make some progress every day. These essays give me encouragement and hope. I highly recommend this book.
This is an extremely potent book. It helps to put things in perspective with a solid grounding in Stoic philosophy. I find this type of book to be extremely useful to read before bed, as a kind of salve, that helps to reduce needless worry about trivial goings on.
That said, I struggled to get past the first third or so, where the book seems to devolve into less coherent or repetitive passages.

Even so, the book is worth it's cost for the first few chapters without a doubt. I have shared passages of the book with my non philosopher friends, since they are so powerful.

After reading several Stoic pieces, I keep this book along Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, as well as an unlikely entry Don't Sweat the Small Stuff at my bedside. These three readings can be seen as almost a spectrum from most to least hardline.

In researching the author, I found it interesting that he holds strong pro-gun views that even border on paranoia about gun control.
Initially, I found these strong right-wing views to be antithetical to stoicism. I had associated stoic philosophy towards a centric view of politics. However, upon further reflection, it's less clear; there needn't be a connection between philosophy and politics, particularly in the unfortunate and divisive hyper-partisan atmosphere of today
William Ferraiolo’s Meditations on Self-Discipline and Failure offers valuable challenges to common thinking that if taken seriously can help bring peace of mind and a more solid orientation toward many common problems. I’ve highlighted and reread many sections. But as Ferraiolo warns in the introduction, this book is not for children and the reader is advised to “think for yourself.” To uncritically accept all of Ferraiolo’s challenges could present risks.

For example, there are suggestions to ignore the law if convinced that the law is wrong, to respond with violence if threatened, to kill oneself if life seems too difficult, to ignore social conventions such as dressing up, to quit a job if the job is bothersome, to treat the opinions of others as irrelevant to success, to treat even libel as irrelevant, and to avoid being concerned about the impact that our words may have on others.

Although directed to the author, the book also contains cognitively distorted references to the reader as a “talking ape,” an “imbecile,” and “a malignacy upon this world that has no need of you,” being “of little use to the world,” and living in a society is “dying.” The rational, empirical approach of modern cognitive behavioral therapy which developed in part from Stoic thinking has documented the risks that this sort of labeling, minimizing the positive, and generalizing about the negative can have on a person’s experience of things.

The reader’s own experiences of suffering and those of others are to be met with indifference. Yet, indifference to one’s own experiences and those of others cuts off many opportunities to make a difference in life that a more mindful, compassionate approach might generate. Empathy can bring more to life than a way to predict what others might do.

I can recommend this book provided the reader is careful to treat Ferraiolo as a Devil’s advocate.
This is a powerful work that is both inspiring and uncomfortable to read. It is uncomfortable, if you are really thinking about it, because it presents a brutally honest level of self examination and uncompromising standard for self improvement. Paradoxically sufficient exposure also, in my case, had a calming effect in that it feels embarrassing, even comedic, to get so worked up about stuff. I actually laughed out loud once or twice, mostly because I recognized the described numbskull as myself a couple times. The very first meditation is probably the most straightforward and concise summary of stoic philosophy that you are likely to find anywhere. You could probably skip the rest of the book if you could really understand and apply that one passage. My advice, however, is to get the book and extract as much attitude adjustment as you can from it.