Stoicism

The philosophical school of thought known as Stoicism has affected the way I think and feel for quite a while now. Recently I decided to learn more about it, so I’m better equipped to explain and practice it. The basic idea of Stoicism is that our emotions arise from false judgements and we can actually control the way we react to things. To practice this way of life one needs to focus on what’s actually beneficial. There are so many books and resources on the topic and I’ve only just scratched the surface. Ryan Holiday has a few books, a YouTube channel and a daily newsletter dedicated to the philosophy. I’m reading his book called the Daily Stoic. You read a page a day for a year, and on each page, there is a quote from a philosopher and Holiday’s interpretation of it and how he thinks it should be put into practice. I’ve found it to be a great way to start my day and focus on what’s important.

The three philosophers that have made the greatest contribution to stoicism are Marcus Aurelius the Roman Emperor, Seneca the playwright and political advisor, and Epictetus, a slave turned prominent teacher. Each of them has extensive amounts of thoughts and letters on the topic and there is a lot we can learn from them. Tim Ferriss has also written three free PDFs on his website called the Tao of Seneca, based on the Moral Letters to Lucilius by Seneca. These letters cover every aspect of life and are so specific that they cover topics I hadn’t thought of. I’ve found that looking at each part of our lives, whether it be saving time or retirement, can be very helpful, and these letters can give you a different perspective. That’s what I’ve found so valuable. We tend to get so set in our ways that we don’t seem to give things in our day-to-day lives a second thought. Even if you disagree with the philosophy, just hearing a different perspective and way to approach something makes you think a little bit more than you used to.

Marcus Aurelius wrote, “If, at some point in your life, you should come across anything better than justice, truth, self-control, courage—it must be an extraordinary thing indeed.” These are the main virtues of stoicism: courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom. Being courageous is seen to be important, as it’s what makes us feel alive. If we don’t act with courage, we may end up regretting things we didn’t do. Temperance, also known as self-restraint or moderation, is important for many reasons, but as Aristotle put it, “We are what we repeatedly do, therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit.” Making small adjustments and forming habits can make a big difference. The most important virtue of the four is justice, doing the right thing no matter what. The final virtue, wisdom, is simply knowing when and when not to act and finding the right balance for the other three virtues and understanding that there is always something to learn. As Zeno said, we have two eyes, two ears and one mouth and we should use them accordingly, meaning we should do more observing and listening than talking.

On the Daily Stoic website, there is an article explaining how Stoicism began and lists nine Stoic exercises to get you going. They are as follows:

The Dichotomy of Control

This may be the single most important practice of Stoicism. It’s the ability to differentiate between what we can control and what we can’t, what we have influence over and what we don’t. Some things in life are unchangeable and being able to accept that is liberating. Getting upset or even angry over a cancelled flight because of bad weather or traffic isn’t going to help the situation. Yelling at the person behind the check-in counter is not going to change the weather, but we seem to get worked up about these things. It may seem like reacting to certain things “is just the way you are” but taking a second to consider the circumstances and whether you can change them, can really make a difference.

Journal

Journaling is an integral part of Stoicism and most of the Stoic teachings by these philosophers were made in their journals. I’m sure most of us have heard that journaling is important, or that it’s changed someone’s life, but most of us never seem to get around to doing it. It may seem like a daunting task or too time-consuming, but as I’ve mentioned before, the focus should be on forming the habit before we’re spewing our thoughts out page after page. I have started to journal every day of this year but in an approachable and time-efficient way. I use the Five Minute Journal, which can be bought online or you can write the prompts yourself in any old notebook. The prompts are:

In the morning (AM)

I am grateful for:

1.

2.

3.

What would make today great:

1.

2.

3.

Daily Affirmations:

1.

2.

In the Evening (PM)

3 Amazing things that happened today:

1.

2.

3.

How could I have made today better?

1.

2.

I have found these prompts very helpful, and although I am only 2 months in, just reflecting on my day has motivated me to do more and be more present.

Practice Misfortune

This is something I need to do more of. Seneca was a big advocate for being uncomfortable and experiencing the things we fear most. Once we do this, we realise that it’s not as bad as we expected, and we will be able to cope if it were to get that bad. Of course, it’s easier to do these things having the security of a job and somewhere to sleep at night, but doing things like sleeping on the floor, wearing old clothes or going a few days without food can be beneficial. It makes us appreciate what we have and realise we can cope with less than what we have. It keeps our wants in check and can help with anxiety as a lot of it stems from uncertainty.

Train Perceptions

Marcus Aurelius said “Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.”  Stoics see every obstacle as an opportunity to learn or grow. If someone does wrong by you, you could either choose to be offended or hurt or see it as an opportunity to be considerate or patient. Nothing is good or bad to a practising stoic, there is only perception, and we are in full control of our perception. This has been an important turning point in the way I see and react to things. It is hard to control that immediate reaction to things, but once we do, and take a second to think about how we want to react, we can turn it into a learning experience.

Remember—It’s All Ephemeral

Life is fleeting and so it is important to remember how small everything is. We tend to focus on things that don’t actually matter in the bigger picture. We can make up stories about other people’s perceptions or how we expect a future interaction could go, and this could make us nervous or anxious. We don’t know that for certain and yet we let ourselves be affected by these things. The Stoics say that it is important to focus on being a good person and doing the right thing right now. Focusing on the now and what we can control in the current moment helps us stay focused and happy. 

Take The View From Above

Also known as Plato’s View, it is important to take a step back and put things into perspective. It is easy for us to compare ourselves to other people and feel inferior or superior. This can give us an inaccurate perception of where we really fit into society. This exercise envisions all the billions of people around the world and the “armies, farms, weddings and divorces, births and deaths” and puts things into perspective. The idea is to give us a sense of interdependence with the whole of humanity.

Memento Mori: Meditate On Your Mortality

It is important to regularly reflect on our morality. Constantly reminding ourselves that we will die, helps us live a more fulfilled and virtuous life. We have no good reason to wait for anything and this can act as a motivator to act now. Finding this idea depressing is missing the point, as the Stoics found it to be humbling and invigorating. As Seneca said, “You may not wake up tomorrow,” using this as a daily reminder, we can use it as fuel to live life to the fullest and not waste a moment. This is a thought that I’d like to meditate on more often. Every time I’m reminded of it and give it some deserved attention, I tend to feel motivated and eager to get more things done.

Premeditatio Malorum

Premeditatio Malorum, the pre-meditation of evils, is a self-explanatory exercise practised by the Stoics. They believed that mentally preparing for the worst builds resilience and strength. Some may think that this is somewhat pessimistic but thinking about all things that can possibly go wrong, means that you are prepared for the worst and not taken by surprise. That could be bad weather affecting your flight or your computer crashing mid-assignment/project. Taking these things into consideration means we can prepare for them and not be as affected by them if they were to happen.

Amor Fati

Amor Fati, the love of fate, is about appreciating everything as it is. The Stoics embraced this attitude and every single one had a lot to say about loving and making the best of everything as it comes, and not to avoid it. To not only be okay with it but to love it and be better for it. By thinking this way, we see obstacles and adversity as fuel for our potential. I find this to be one of the most important practices. It would be greatly beneficial if I get into the habit of turning any obstacle or adversity into a positive learning experience.

All of these practices are of course ideals and the Stoics consciously worked on themselves to practice them in their daily lives. They devoted their whole lives to Stoicism and we can’t suddenly start living and thinking this way overnight. Stoicism is something that I plan to improve on and continue to learn more about. I find this way of thinking beneficial to my mental health and I hope that it gives someone a different perspective. We all react to things differently, but I feel it is important to realise that we have more control over our reactions than we think.