Day 44 · Q1: Self-Knowledge · February 13, 2026
Pause. Breathe. Begin.
I . L E C T I O
Epictetus
Discourses, Book I, Ch. 15
“It is difficulties that show what men are.”
C O N T E X T
Epictetus argues that hardship is not an obstacle to character but its revealer. Just as fire tests gold, adversity tests the person. Without difficulty, you cannot know what you are made of.
I I . M E D I T A T I O
“What recent difficulty has revealed something about your character that comfort could not?”
I I I . S C R I P T I O
Write one sentence about a strength you discovered in yourself only through hardship.
I V . C O N N E X I O
Epictetus's view of difficulty as revelation connects to Frankl's concentration camp insight: extreme circumstances don't create character — they reveal it. Does this change how you approach challenges?
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Sustain it →Tomorrow's passage, delivered at dawn.