Put on the Mask: Try a Little Stoicism

We can practice self-mastery and respond appropriately when a cruel world knocks at our door.

An illustration of Epictetus in "A selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion" (1890).

Many years ago, I waited tables at a restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia. I worked five days a week, four or five hours a day. As a waiter, I quickly learned that the attitude I brought to my customers’ tables had a direct effect on my income.

If I came to work in a rotten mood, grouchy, or sullen, the tips left on the table decreased. If, on the other hand, I took orders and delivered meals with a smile and a kind word, the tips increased. Because I was there to earn money, I became an actor.