control

Here’s a lesser-known fact on your’s truly: I don’t like bananas.

I mean, I’ll have one (sometimes), though the amount of pleasure I gain from it is underwhelming at best. Suffice it to say, excessive potassium consumption isn’t really on the bucket list.

However, in the case of fair trade bananas, the sheer pleasure from buying and eating one becomes incrementally higher due to my knowledge that those who toil to stock our supermarket shelves will likely benefit from my actions.

It is important to note that how they fare in the long run is out of my hands. Nevertheless, the small act of purchasing a fair trade commodity means I’m able to participate in an initiative that improves the overall livelihood of these people. A productive effort, helping turn their lemons into lemonade. Even if an individual contribution toward fair trade only improves conditions for a plantation worker by a negligible amount, the compounding effect of aggregate consumption ultimately sends a far greater sum to wherever is needed.

To understand the reasoning behind this further, we must consider the battle between Hedonism versus Stoicism.

The Battle for Happiness

Hedonism is the moral proposal that pleasure (self-indulgence) is the proper aim of human life, thus pain should be avoided at any cost. Alas, eating a banana – however ‘good’ it may be to do so – does not offer me an ounce of pleasure – my tastebuds feel a whole lot of pain instead. Hedonism cannot really be at play here.

Stoicism on the other hand – in its most empirical form – seems to reason that happiness can be nurtured by drawing a line separating everything that lies within your power, from everything that doesn’t.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

–Serenity Prayer, 1934, by American Theologist Reinhold Niebhur

The origins of this prayer go back to Stoic Philosopher Epictetus. James Stockdale, a fighter-jet pilot during the Vietnam War, spent seven and a half years in Hoa Lo prison after being shot down by Viet Cong soldiers. He was often tortured and put into isolation. Stockdale not only survived the ordeal but was also able to coordinate resistance from inside the prison itself. He did all this by simply realising and acting upon the fact that, although he had no control over how the guards treated him, his response remained a personal choice.

This is an example – albeit a rather extreme one – of adopting an attitude of “equanimity” to whatever life launches your way. Stockdale’s efforts not only allowed him to stay alive but also kept his darkest thoughts at bay.

Acknowledging your limits

On the subject of hedonism vs stoicism, I feel I make more of an effort to practice the latter. As of yet, I do not have the means to travel across the globe and distribute substantial pay to the masses. However, I can walk into Tesco and buy a Fairtrade banana. In this sense, I can feel ‘happy’ about that as I’m doing something inside my sphere of direct influence. Consequently, free falling into a void of despair after Trump’s refusal to admit defeat in the Election – as seen from a TV screen in my living room – is not allowed.

But if only I could go and fix it all…

No.

Nice thought, but no. An entirely unattainable aspiration, global pandemics notwithstanding. Such damning sentiments are a foolproof way to descend into self-loathing – the complete opposite of what we hope to achieve. A potential remedy would be to avoid scouring through social media every 10 seconds for something to cry about.

“What upsets people are not things themselves but their judgements about these things.”

-Epictetus

It stands to reason, therefore, that we must only focus on what we can control – explicitly control – in the present moment. Watch as that sphere of influence expands over time. This approach serves us fundamentally better than, say, spending our free time obsessing over the precarious destiny of Artificial Intelligence.

Granted, like me, you may wish to fashion a career out of this debacle someday. For now, though, let it be someone else’s problem. In drawing that line in the sand, you will be happy.

Now go eat that banana.

Further Reading:

To be happier, focus on what’s in your control. (article)

A Handbook for New Stoics: How to Thrive in a World Out of Your Control (book)

Happy: Why more or less everything is Absolutely Fine – Derren Brown (book)