>If there is nothing you can do about a particular situation, why beat yourself up about it?
because people who have a stake in things going a certain way, would prefer it to go that way. Otherwise why bother trying if you have no control over the outcome. If we're all going to die, which is h ultimate and final fate of everyone, why do anything? The problem with stoicism is it is kinda a dead end and it creates unrealistic expectations. Ideally, people would not worry so much about things outside of their control, but that is not how people work. Much of modern scientific progress hinges on people trying to control their environment, such as treating disease. Should we just give up on that.
You try because there's a chance of getting the outcome you want, but you don't tether your happiness to that outcome. You accept the limited control you have -- this is how Stoics reconcile the pursuit of mental imperturbation with the pursuit of outcomes. To Quote Cicero, remaking on the Stoics:
“If a man were to make it his purpose to take a true aim with a spear or arrow at some mark, his ultimate end, corresponding to the ultimate good as we pronounce it, would be to do all he could to aim straight … whereas the actual hitting of the mark would be in our phrase ‘to be chosen’ but not ‘to be desired.'”
So a Stoic might try to effectuate a particular outcome in, say, her political life -- choosing actions that align with the outcome, but does not "desire" it -- meaning her self-worth and happiness is tightly bound with whether she gets it or not.
It's a fair thing to ask how psychologically tenable this is. Some people may struggle with this kind of framing. I personally have found it liberating.
because people who have a stake in things going a certain way, would prefer it to go that way. Otherwise why bother trying if you have no control over the outcome. If we're all going to die, which is h ultimate and final fate of everyone, why do anything? The problem with stoicism is it is kinda a dead end and it creates unrealistic expectations. Ideally, people would not worry so much about things outside of their control, but that is not how people work. Much of modern scientific progress hinges on people trying to control their environment, such as treating disease. Should we just give up on that.