Act On Nothing That Is Untested

[DISCLAIMER]

During the time that I was on voluntary appellate leave from the United States (U.S.) Marine Corps, I worked in the field of loss prevention (LP) regarding the world’s largest retailer by revenue. At that time, I learned various ways of testing currency for authenticity.

For example, LP associates had access to counterfeit detection pens which used an iodine-based ink that reacts with the starch in wood-based paper to produce a dark mark. Also, on occasion, I contacted the U.S. Secret Service concerning counterfeit currency identified by those pens.

Thus, testing the money that entered the store I was tasked with protecting was a core component of my job duties. Likewise, there were instances when I was required to spend a relatively lengthy amount of time on the phone with various law enforcement agencies and prosecutors.

Just as I tested currency as a method of detecting a potential loss of revenue for my assigned store, various legal entities examined my version of events regarding the citizen’s arrest authority I executed when apprehending suspected criminals. (See photo above.)

Although many of those calls served as a frustrating or annoying aspect of my LP duties, I tolerated and accepted the events which served an overall function of my job. Now, I reflect upon that period in my life as I read a book which is aligned with my duties as a psychotherapist.

As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

I invite you to take a moment to think about what would’ve happened if I’d neglected the testing of potential counterfeit currency. To assist in your examination of this matter, authors of The Daily Stoic quote ancient Stoic philosopher Epictetus who stated (page 116):

When it comes to money, where we feel our clear interest, we have an entire art where the tester uses many means to discover the worth . . . just as we give great attention to judging things that might steer us badly. But when it comes to our own ruling principle, we yawn and doze off, accepting any appearance that flashes by without counting the cost.

For context, a principle is a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption that serves as a rule or code of conduct with habitual devotion to these subjective morally and ethically right standards. About this, authors of The Daily Stoic clarify (page 116):

When coins were much more rudimentary, people had to spend a lot of time testing them to confirm the currency they’d just received was genuine. The Greek word dokimazein means “to assay” or check the quality of a mineral ore. Merchants were often skilled enough that they could test coinage by throwing it against a hard surface and listen to the note it rang. Even today, though, if someone were to hand you a hundred-dollar bill, you might rub it between your fingers or hold it up to the light, just to confirm it wasn’t a fake.

All this for an imaginary currency, an invention of society. The point of this metaphor is to highlight how much effort we put into making sure money is real, whereas we accept potentially life-changing thoughts or assumptions without so much as a question. One ironic assumption along these lines: that having a lot of money makes you wealthy. Or that because a lot of people believe something, it must be true.

Epictetus advocated the challenge of one’s own “ruling principle” in a similar way of how people in ancient Greece tested currency. Authors of The Daily Stoic expand upon this notion by encouraging people to examine their “thoughts or assumptions” which create ruling principles.

This, too, is how I approach REBT. In my personal and professional life, I test information entering and exiting my mind. I now invite you to do the same. Regarding this approach to rational living, authors of The Daily Stoic conclude (page 116):

Really, we should be testing these notions as vigilantly as a money changer. For, as Epictetus reminds us, “the first and greatest task of the philosopher is to test and separate appearances, and to act on nothing that is untested.”

Much as I tested currency in my role as an LP associate, and how was tested by various law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, one who chooses to live rationally is reminded not to illogically and unreasonably react to matters in life before testing one’s own ruling principles.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

References:

Daily Stoic. (n.d.). Translating the Stoics: An interview with “The Daily Stoic” co-author Stephen Hanselman. Retrieved from https://dailystoic.com/stephen-hanselman-interview/

Holiday, R. and Hanselman, S. (2016). The daily stoic: 366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living. Penguin Random House LLC. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-daily-stoic-366-meditations-on-wisdom-perseverance-and-the-art-of-living-d61378067.html

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