While I am in this world, I am resolved that no vexation shall put me out of temper if I can possibly command... — Samuel Adams

While I am in this world, I am resolved that no vexation shall put me out of temper if I can possibly command myself. Even old age, which is making strides towards me, shall not prevail to make me peevish.

Author: Samuel Adams

Insight: There's something refreshingly stubborn about this resolve. Samuel Adams isn't saying he'll never feel frustrated—he's acknowledging that vexations will come. What he's refusing is to let them own him. That distinction matters because it's the difference between having a bad day and becoming a bad-tempered person. We live in a time when every minor inconvenience gets amplified into a crisis of our emotional state. The coffee shop got your order wrong. Traffic was worse than usual. Someone didn't respond to your message. These things sting, absolutely, but Adams is pointing to something we've mostly forgotten: there's actual dignity in not letting circumstances dictate your temperament. It's not about toxic positivity or pretending everything's fine. It's about recognizing that you're not a puppet of circumstance, even when life genuinely is difficult. The bit about old age is particularly interesting because Adams is essentially saying that getting older—which we typically blame for grumpiness and irritability—doesn't have to make us peevish. We use aging as a permission slip for bitterness, but his point is that even that is a choice. It's harder to stay even-tempered as time wears on, which is exactly why it matters more.