“In this way you must understand how laughable it is to say, ‘Tell me what to do!’ What advice could I possibly give? No, a far better request is, ‘Train my mind to adapt to any circumstance.’... In this way, if circumstances take you off script...you won’t be desperate for a new prompting.” -Epictetus, Discourses, 2.2.20b-1;24b-25a

I am working through the Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. It’s been a great introduction to Stoicism for me and I would highly recommend working through it and creating your own journals and evaluations of yourself with each meditation.

Every now and then a meditation really resonates with me. Mine from a few days ago was so strong, I thought I’d share a write up with everyone. It relates not only to myself, but to the content I’ve been seeing over on the asktrp sub lately. Most of the content over there (and trust me, I’ve been guilty of this too), is men asking for specific solutions to their problems. They want a script to follow to their desired result; Input “x”, receive “y”.

That’s understandable. We’re human. Part of being intelligent means looking for the route to success that requires the least effort. Work smarter, not harder is generally good advice. Success is dependent on developing easy, efficient, and sometimes autonomous systems. However, clear-cut paths and solutions don’t always work and without an understanding of the WHY behind those systems, they’re destined for failure.

As an INTJ personality type, I have a very rigid, systematic lifestyle. I put systems in place that work very well… until they don’t! I then have a very difficult time adjusting my processes. I’ll sit there trying to force the same round pin that worked for years into the hole that has now become triangular.

Adaptability may be the most important (and neglected) skill on a man’s RedPill Journey. That’s the case for me, so I know it rings true for at least a few of you. Adaptability stems from creativity which is something that we don’t spend enough time training. But that’s a story for another post (I would love to hear your thoughts on how you’ve trained the right side of your brain). We need to have the vision to see when the system isn’t working and the ability to come up with improvements when inevitable external factors or inputs come into play.

It’s absolutely necessary with women. I tried to use TRP as a one-size-fits all approach to women. I was robotic. I took its core tenants and made a sort of “script” for dates. Surely the wisdom of Rollo, Robert Greene, and Aaron Clarey is universal, right? That approach misses the entire point. TRP is a lifestyle. A mindset. One of it’s tenants is adaptability. Instead of gaming, I was weird and robotic. Rather than having fun and playing to my strengths, I analyzed and stressed over having the perfect response to every comment that was made. The result? I watched my success rate plummet even lower than my “pre-enlightenment” levels.

Weak men stick to a script and dig into their routines. Sticking to a script says “I’m scared of the world. I want to be totally in control of my environment. I want to live in a bubble, and if things change, I’m completely lost.” I spend some time watching people on YouTube mess with scammers who claim to work for Microsoft or Amazon. The scammers always stick to a script and look like complete idiots because of it. You can say the most off-the-wall comments, you can ask them any question you want, you can try your best, but no matter what, they always revert back to the script, even if it makes no sense.

Is that who you want to be? Someone who can’t think for themselves? That’s exactly what you’ll become if you take the one-size-fits-all approach I did. It’s unoriginal and people can smell it on you from a mile away.

Strong men however, write their own script as they go. They spend time preparing for multiple scenarios. They train by putting their hypotheses into action and evaluating the results. Strong men may even bend the rules when the situation calls for it. That’s right, they may even stray from the holy sidebar when the situation demands it.

Jordan Peterson used the example of Jesus in his recent book 12 Rules for Life: an Antidote to Chaos. In Matthew 12.9-14, Jesus, a practicing Jew enters the synagogue with the Pharisees, a powerful religious sect at the time. There he finds a man with a withered hand whom he heals. According to Jewish law, it was illegal to do work i.e. healing on the Sabbath. This enraged the Pharisees who clearly had a very shallow view of morality because they had simply followed the script (the law) their whole lives and had not taken the time to understand the WHY behind their morality. So, they became enraged and embarrassed themselves publicly. Because Jesus mastered the “game” of morality, he was able to bend the rules little to achieve a positive outcome when the situation called for it.

This can ONLY be done when you know the game inside and out.

TRP is a training guide. It is a set of principles aimed at developing an independent man. It is not a script. The last thing we should be doing as grown “independent” men is relying on a stranger’s advice on the internet to make a one-size-fits-all plan for us. (okay maybe that’s a little ironic but this is sound advice ;). It’s Epictetus’ not mine, after all).

Understand how the game works and use that knowledge as a guide. Master the game. Manipulate the game. Reap the rewards of individuality and free-thinking.