"Keep this thought handy when you feel a fit of rage coming on--it isn't manly to be enraged. Rather, gentleness and civility are more human, and therefore manlier. A real man doesn't give way to anger and discontent, and such a person has strength, courage, and endurance--unlike the angry and complaining. The nearer a man comes to a calm mind, the closer he is to strength."
--Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 11.18.5b
Why do athletes trash talk each other? Why do they deliberately say offensive and nasty things to their competitors when the refs aren't looking? To provoke a reaction. Distracting and angering opponents is an easy way to knock them off their game.
Try to remember that when you find yourself getting mad. Anger is not impressive or tough--it is a mistake. It's weakness. Depending on what you're doing, it might even be a trap that someone laid for you.
Fans and opponents called boxer Joe Louis the "Ring Robot" because he was utterly unemotional--his cold, calm demeanor was far more terrifying than any crazed look or emotional outburst would have been.
Strength is the ability to maintain a hold of oneself. It's being the person who never gets mad, who cannot be rattled, because they are in control of their passions--rather than controlled by their passions.
--Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic, February 1st
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