Seneca observed that the person who feels poor amid plenty would feel poor anywhere, because the lack is in the wanting, not the having. It's possible to keep ambitions and still notice that today, right now, your needs are met. The Stoics weren't against improving your lot. They were against the restless hunger that no amount ever satisfies, the feeling that you'll be okay only after the next thing. You can want more and still rest in enough. Both can be true at once. When you root yourself in what you already have, the striving comes from steadiness instead of fear, and that's a far better place to build from.

Inspired by the old idea of gratitude. Written by Ugo Charles.