\u201cKeep this thought handy when you feel a fit of rage coming on\u2014it isn\u2019t manly to be enraged. Rather, gentleness and civility are more human, and therefore manlier. A real man doesn\u2019t give way to anger and discontent, and such a person has strength, courage, and endurance\u2014unlike the angry and complaining. The nearer a man comes to a calm mind, the closer he is to strength.\u201d
\n\u2014MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 11.18.5b
\nWhy do athletes talk trash to each other? Why do they deliberately say offensive and nasty things to their competitors when the refs aren\u2019t looking? To provoke a reaction. Distracting and angering opponents is an easy way to knock them off their game.
\nTry to remember that when you find yourself getting mad. Anger is not impressive or tough\u2014it\u2019s a mistake. It\u2019s weakness. Depending on what you\u2019re doing, it might even be a trap that someone laid for you.
\nFans and opponents called boxer Joe Louis the \u201cRing Robot\u201d because he was utterly unemotional\u2014his cold, calm demeanor was far more terrifying than any crazed look or emotional outburst would have been.
\nStrength is the ability to maintain a hold of oneself. It\u2019s being the person who never gets mad, who cannot be rattled, because they are in control of their passions\u2014rather than controlled by their passions.
\nRyan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman. \u201cThe Daily Stoic.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cKeep this thought handy when you feel a fit of rage coming on\u2014it isn\u2019t manly to be enraged. Rather, gentleness and civility are more human, and therefore manlier. A real man doesn\u2019t give way to anger and discontent, and such a person has strength, courage, and endurance\u2014unlike the angry and complaining. The nearer a man …<\/p>\n