I woke up at 5:50 a.m. to head to the army camp.

I was in the middle of my στρατωτική θητεία in Greece.

Served as Special Forces Paratrooper until they found out about my kidney health issue.

Spend the reamining months in an office doing administrative work.

I served together with my brother.

We used to drive each morning to the camp with my brother.

That morning, it was winter. Freezing cold. I was looking for my flis jacket.

Laundry. Closet. Living room. Nowhere to be found.

Turns out, my brother had wore it one week ago. He hadn’t asked for my permission. he

As a result, I was left with a thin sweatshirt to wear, which equals “no protection against cold”.

Still, I had slept well. I felt clear. Rested. I didn’t want to ruin that. I didn’t want to hand over my peace.

At some point, you realize that anger is just pollution. It clouds your mind. You start the day sharp, and then you let a single event hijack your clarity. Why would I do that?

I decided not to.

Instead,

I walked over to my brother and asked, “Did you take my flis?”

“Yeah,” he said.

I could’ve snapped at him. (He does this all the time.) I could’ve blamed my father too—he was the one who told him to take it the night before. But what would that solve? Getting mad at 6 a.m. wouldn’t magically make it clean enough for me to wear it.

I had to accept that:

My fleece was gone for the day. Nothing I said or did was going to change that.

So I accepted it. In seconds.

I didn’t resist reality.

I just asked myself: What can I do?

I found another piece of clothing to keep me warm and moved on.

And weirdly enough, I felt strong. Powerful.

Not because I had control over the situation—but because I had control over myself. That was enough.

This is what Stoicism trains you for. Once you accept that you have no control over something, you actually gain power. Because now you can focus on what’s yours: your response.

As Epictetus said:

“So when someone arouses your anger, know it’s really your opinion fueling it. Instead, make it your first response not to be carried away by such impressions, because self-mastery is more easily achieved as time and distance pass by.”

When was the last time you chose self-control over anger, even though your mind wanted to scream?

These are the times your Stoicism is tested.

Not when you pick a book and read.

“Don’t talk about your philosophy. Embody it.” — Epictetus

To your Stoic success,

Ioannis Sintoris

PS. As I promised, here you can find the Complete Beginner Guide:

“How to Handle Insults & Be Unshakeable”

I put a lot of work into it.

Let me know if you have any questions - we can always discuss Stoicism.

Study it here for free. (add link)