Seneca was a philosopher who happened to be the wealthiest person in the Roman Empire.
Success brings an asymmertry : you have a lot more to lose than to gain. You are hence fragile.
Seneca’s practical method to counter such fragility was to go through mental exercises to write off possessions, so when losses occurred he would not feel the sting. Dominate your downside - emotional harm. Your loss will not hurt you. Be ready for the worst case scenario. Seen this way, Stoicism is about the domestication, not necessarily the elimination of emotions.
The first step towards antifragility is to first decrease downside, rather than increasing upside. To make profits and buy a BMW, it would be a good idea to first, survive.
Barbell : A bar with weights on both ends that weight lifters use - Picture.
It represents an attitude of playing it safe in some areas and taking a lot of risks in others - i.e. extreme risk aversion on one side and extreme risk loving on the other, rather than just the medium.
Girls generally have a boyfriend/friendzoned friend whom they use for most of their work, but love to hang out with ‘dudes’ once in a while. Spending their lives with dudes will not ensure financial stability.(borrowed from NNT Book, don’t judge me!)
Or the best way to work is to work intensely for few hours and rest/play for others, rather than mediocre focus for entire day and night.
Barbell is domestication, not the elimination of uncertainity.