A Brief Introduction to Stoicism
The ancient Stoics believed that philosophy was to be lived and breathed; it should be embraced and embodied in your daily living. It should not be solely for classroom debate. Stoicism, as a result, is a very practical philosophy that can be applied in all aspects of life. It can help to deal with anxiety, fear, uncertainty, anger and even our own mortality.
The founder of Stoicism was a man named Zeno of Citium, who established the philosophy in the early 3rd Century B.C. Stoicism was most famously practiced by Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca, and has a few central teachings. Most importantly, it strives to remind us of how unpredictable the world can be, how brief life is, and how to be steadfast and in control of yourself, despite these predicaments.
Stoicism aims to help us overcome destructive emotions and tackle problems head on, in a calm, rational and positive manner.
This article will take a brief look at some of the key practices of Stoicism, and how they might be of benefit to us in the modern age.
What Do You Control?
"The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own." (Epictetus)
Perhaps the most important practice in Stoic philosophy is differentiating between what we can change and what we cannot. For example, we cannot change the fact we are in the midst of a global pandemic at the moment, but we can change how we view this situation.
We can either let our minds dwell on the uncertainty that this situation presents, which will lead to increasing anxiety and fear, or we can view it as an opportunity to improve ourselves. As Marcus Aurelius put it:
"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength"
Marcus believed that we have control over our thoughts, judgements and actions, so these things should be cultivated. However, we do not have control over external events, other people’s actions, our reputation, our health (to an extent), our death, our jobs and our wealth. We should learn not to worry about these things, as we do not have any real power over them.
A story about the famous inventor, Thomas Edison, perhaps captures this attitude best. In 1914 there was a massive explosion which engulfed half of Edison’s factories in flames that were too strong to be put out by the fire service. According to Edison’s son, Edison calmly walked over to him as he watched the fire destroy his dad’s work and said, “Go get your mother and all her friends. They’ll never see a fire like this again”. When Charles objected, Edison said, “It’s all right. We’ve just got rid of a lot of rubbish”.
Edison knew he could not stop the fire, but he could control the way he judged the situation.
Embrace Everything That Happens: Amor Fati
The Stoics embraced what fate threw at them. Two thousand years ago, writing in his own personal journal, known as Meditations, Emperor Marcus Aurelius said:
"A blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it."
Amor fati is all about your mindset, and the Stoics used this exercise to make the best out of everything that happened. The logic behind this way of thinking is that it is easier to change the way you view an event, rather than to change the event itself; which is impossible.
The challenge is to try to treat each and every moment, no matter how challenging, as something to be embraced, and not avoided. So, no matter what challenges and adversity you are faced with, it can become fuel for your potential as a human.
There are two basic steps to this concept:
- The first step is to accept that we do not control everything that happens, and whatever happens is okay. For instance, we do not control the weather. We simply must accept it.
- The second step is to not only accept, but to even love everything that happens. So, when the rains comes down on your picnic, you must love and embrace it.
The Stoics used a metaphor, known as ‘The dog leashed to a cart’, to help explain the idea:
Imagine a dog leashed to a moving cart. The leash is long enough that the dog has two options:
- Either the dog can smoothly follow the direction of the cart, over which he has no control, and at the same time enjoy the ride and explore the surroundings, or
- The dog can stubbornly resist the cart with all his force and end up being dragged for the rest of the trip anyway.
We are that dog. We can either make the best of the trip or we can fight against every little decision the cart driver makes.
Practice Misfortune
One key aspect of Stoicism is to mentally prepare for difficult times. The purpose of this is to enable us to deal with unfortunate circumstances with our mindset, should we need to. Seneca articulates this concept by saying:
"It is in times of security that the spirit should be preparing itself for difficult times; while fortune is bestowing favors on it then is the time for it to be strengthened against her rebuffs."
Seneca suggested that we should set aside several days throughout the year to practice poverty, and not just mentally but practice actual poverty. This can be done by eating small amounts of basic food, wearing your worst clothes, sleeping on the floor, having cold showers and just generally abandoning the comforts of modern life. In many ways comfort is the worst kind of slavery because you’re always afraid that something or someone will take it away. If you don’t just anticipate this sort of hardship but practice it, then should such hardship occur, it will not disrupt your life.
Emotions like anxiety and fear largely stem from uncertainty and rarely in the actual experience. The solution is to do something about that uncertainty; make yourself familiar with the things that you’re afraid of.
Meditating On Mortality: Memento Mori
"Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. … The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time." (Seneca)
The quote from Seneca above is part of the ancient practice of reflecting on mortality. Though it may seem like a slightly morbid thing to do, if done properly, it can be a positive experience; by waking up each day thinking that it could be your last can give you that extra impetus to make the most of your day. In his Meditations, Marcus Aurelius wrote:
"You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think."
That was a personal reminder to himself to continue living a life of virtue now, and not wait. Though it can sometimes feel like death is something very distant, it could be just around the corner for any of us. The Stoics found this thought a humble reminder, and a source of inspiration for each day. Epictetus urged his students by saying:
"Keep death and exile before your eyes each day, along with everything that seems terrible— by doing so, you’ll never have a base thought, nor will you have excessive desire."
This practice can also make us realise what actually matters in life. The material things slowly lose their appeal, whereas the meaningful aspects of life begin to become ever apparent.
Journal
Despite their contrasting backgrounds and lifestyles, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius and Seneca all seemed to share the habit of journaling.
In one form or another, each of them did it. Though it was never meant to be published, we are fortunate to have Marcus Aurelius’ journal, known as ‘Meditations’.
Epictetus advised his students that philosophy was something they should write down daily, and that this writing was how they should exercise themselves.
Seneca would journal in the evenings, when the day had drawn to a close and his wife had gone to sleep. He explained to a friend, I examine my entire day and go back over what I’ve done and said, hiding nothing from myself, passing nothing by.
After finishing this exercise, he would go to bed and found that the sleep he experienced after such self-examination was particularly good.
In Stoicism this type of journaling is much more than the usual diary. This daily practice is really the heart of the philosophy. It helps you prepare for the day ahead, if you journal in the morning, and reflect on the day that has passed, if you do it in the evening. We can remind ourselves of the wisdom we have learned from our teachers, from our reading and from our own experiences. It helps to consolidate our philosophy for living as we write down and reflect upon the lessons from each day.
Conclusion
Stoicism challenges us to find strength within ourselves, to embrace what fate throws at us, to treat each day as if it’s our last, to prepare for hardship and to document our experience as each day unfolds.
