Fate Permitting

The Stoics added a small clause to plans: I will do this, fate permitting. The point is not a shrug. It is a plan that already contains the world’s right to interrupt.

You still pack the bag and make the promise you can keep. You also decide, before the delay, who you will be if the ship does not sail. The interruption is then a case you rehearsed, not an insult.

Epictetus ties this to desire. Want the effort, and hold the result with a looser hand. The clause keeps the effort honest.

The delayed train

Jules plans to arrive calm, early, and generous at a family lunch. The train stops between stations. Jules spends the hour insulting strangers, then arrives ashamed and late.

A reserve clause would have kept the part Jules could still do: the tone, the message sent, the decision not to make nearby people pay for the timetable.

Try this today Write today’s plan and add who you will be if it gets interrupted.