Life is unpredictable. Events are uncertain. What can go wrong will. Nice guys sometimes finish last, bad things happen to good people. So much is outside our control.

These realities are all well-known to a Stoic. As Seneca said, fortune behaves as she pleases. So why did they try then? Why did they work hard on stuff when it might not work out? Why did they invest and sacrifice? Why did they form relationships and attachments, set goals or make plans? Especially when success and rewards were so uncertain?

Because, to quote a line from the famous play about Cato–one that was often quoted in the uncertain days of the American Revolution by Washington and Adams–“We cannot insure success, but we can deserve it.” The former is outside our control, the latter is not. Deserving success is up to us, getting it not necessarily so.

The Stoics aimed high. They did their best. They tried to be good people. They tried to be virtuous.

Was that always appreciated or rewarded? No. Did it always pay off? Yes. Because it was the best way to live.