You're welcome - and yes there are several similarities between Buddhism and Stoicism, which are interesting as I know of no connection between the two. Both philosophies also teach that suffering is an inevitable part of life and there is no way to avoid it, but a way to mitigate it is through positive mental practices.


One of the most helpful aspects of stoicism to me personally is the idea that "the obstacle is the path" and that I should take the difficult path rather than the easy one in pursuit of a worthy goal. Basically if you don't do something you will suffer anyway with regret. Also stoicism teaches that we should measure our accomplishments by how hard we worked for them rather than if they are successful or get us acclaim. And one of my favourite Buddhist quotes is "Just as a solid rock is unshaken by the wind, so a wise man is unmoved by praise or blame." These ideas are so helpful to me with my fiction writing--to take pride in my efforts regardless of if I get any praise or criticism. It's very hard to do though. I have sold short stories but if I ever sell a book I am determined never to read any reviews.