Happiness = reality - expectation

I read a fair bit of Stoic literature like Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. Stoicism is the school of philosophy that influenced me the most. I also got into Buddhist philosophy when I was a regular meditator. Stoic philosophy and Buddhism overlap in meaningful ways, with one important principle in common: low expectations. If we go through life with high hopes and lofty goals that can’t be…