We’ve discussed Stoicism in previous posts. Some of my favourites include reducing anxiety with the Dichotomy of Control, living your best life with Stoic Virtue and how to be happy generally.
Today we’re going to focus on the practical side of the philosophy.
After all, Stoicism is more lifestyle than philosophy. It’s often considered the art of living, as it focuses on living in reality without preconceived illusions. The theory is pretty straightforward, but unless you’re able to put it into practice, you can’t really consider yourself Stoic.
This article discusses how to apply Stoic principles to everyday life. Feel free to learn more about Stoicism before reading this post.
Become the person you want to be
Knowing Stoic theory and putting it into practice are two very different kettles of fish. Epictetus said that you must learn certain things to become a carpenter, and certain other things to become a sculptor. In a similar vein, we must learn certain things to become good people.
After we’ve learned the theory, we must apply our learnings and learn further through our experiences. Stoic theory can change your life, but only if it is put into practice. And the longer you wait, the more you’ll forget. The sooner you start, the better it will turn out.
We must practice Stoicism like professional athletes practice their sport. Just as the carpenter uses wood and the sculptor uses bronze, we use our thoughts and actions as the raw material in crafting our lives. After all, our thoughts and actions are the only things we can control.
If you feel you’re not the person you want to be, what better time is there to start than now? Taking responsibility for your life is a key tenet of Stoicism.
Follow the tips below and apply your Stoic learnings today.
1) Brace Yourself for Challenges
The challenges you face in life are how you prove your Stoicism. You cannot become a great person without every being challenged.
Adversity is important in life and a test of character. Without hard work and obstacles to overcome, you will never know what you’re truly capable of.
Consider this quote from Epictetus:
“What would have become of Hercules, do you think, if there had been no lion, hydra, stag or boar – and no savage criminals to rid the world of? What would he have done in the absence of such challenges? Obviously he would have just rolled over in bed and gone back to sleep. So by snoring his life away in luxury and comfort he never would have developed into the mighty Hercules.”
–Epictetus
Whenever you find yourself in a challenging situation, you must remember that this obstacle is equal parts test and training grounds. Life is tough sometimes, and this is where you show your worth.
You must take what you’ve learned and apply it to the best of your ability. Obstacles are the path to becoming your best self.
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
Marcus Aurelius
And as Ryan Holiday put it, the Obstacle is the Way.
2) Be Mindful of Every Moment
As a practical philosophy, Stoicism will do us no good until we become mindful of the present moment.
For example, the most important theory in Stoicism may be the Dichotomy of Control. Before we can even practice this dichotomy, we must first be aware of our thoughts to avoid unnecessary spirals of negative thoughts and feelings.
We can then accept anything outside our control. Learn to embrace your fate with the Stoic concept of amor fati.
Stoic Virtue
We must be aware of our minds in every moment, to not follow our basic primal impulses. Instead, we must take a step back and look at every situation objectively.
This meta-skill will help us move through life as we make decisions and react to the world around us. We become our best selves by determining our best actions in each moment. After all, our voluntary thoughts and actions are the only things we can truly control in life.
The aim of Stoicism is to live a good life while minimising our negative emotions.
We must ensure we align our actions with our core values in every moment. It’s not uncommon for people to overreact when life throws them a curveball. Stoic Mindfulness will help us react appropriately to every event.
Stoic Mindfulness
Mindfulness helps us approach our challenges in the present moment, accept whatever happens to us and choose the response most consistent with our values.
The Stoics understood the importance of being mindful of every moment. We should bring the same attention to every moment as we would while walking on broken glass. Focused and continuous self-observations is crucial for Stoic development.
Stoic mindfulness involves dedicated time for reflection. Developing a morning and evening routine allows us to plan and reflect on how we live our lives and identify areas for improvement.
We may even use the idea of katalepsis to uncover areas where we have interpreted something in a negative way. Ultimately, Stoic mindfulness helps us find mental clarity and productivity.
Cultivate mindfulness and live your best life in every moment. Learn to become mindful with our Beginner’s Guide to Meditation.
3) Approach Setbacks with Equanimity
Sometimes things happen that suck, and it’s ok to feel bad about it.
We misplace our keys, lose money in the stock market and hurt ourselves in accidents. Occasionally, a loved one will pass away. These are facts of life.
Remember the Impermanence of Things
A Stoic knows that nothing lasts forever, and we should not expect for anything to always remain the same. Things have been given to us in life, but there is nothing we can ever truly own life – apart from our minds.
In this sense, nothing can truly be taken from us. Epictetus said that inner peace is found when we stop saying “I have lost it” and instead start saying “It has been returned to where it came from.”
Have your wealth and possessions been taken from you? They have simply returned to where they came from. Equally, a child or spouse who has died has also been returned to where they came from. In the same vein, we can approach death as a Stoic and use it as a reminder to live our best life.
The important thing is to take great care of what you have while the world lets you have it.
For this reason, we live our best lives by focusing on what we can control, even if that means bouncing back after we’ve suffered a loss.
4) Harness your Self-discipline
Becoming more Stoic will take effort on your part. It won’t be easy, and it will probably require more discipline than you imagined at first. To become more Stoic and approach new challenges head-on, you first need to adopt a new mindset. You will then also probably need to change how you live your life. All this requires discipline
The good news is that practicing Stoicism will also improve your self-discipline, which you can bring into other fields.
Whether your goal is to write a book, start a website, or really anything else, you will be better equipped to do what’s necessary to finally cross off that next item on your bucket list. Bullet Journaling is a proven productivity method to achieving your goals. Stoicism is a philosophy for achieving goals.
Self-discipline is a skill that you will build by practicing Stoicism.
5) Know your Values and Live Accordingly
The Stoics believed that the four cardinal values should be at the heart of everyone’s actions:
- Wisdom
- Justice
- Courage
- Self-discipline
Considering the cardinal values and your own personal values might make it easier to know what you should do in your life. I like to look at my values each time I determine whether or not to pursue a new idea.
If we boil down the Stoic Dichotomy of Control, its purpose is to simplify our lives by focusing on what we can control. The result of this Stoic To-Do list is a set of actions that will have the greatest impact on our lives.
Mind your own Business
We should not worry too much what others think of us. At the end of the day, this is something we cannot truly control. The only things we control are what we do and how we think. By minding our own business, we can focus all our energy on living the lives we truly want.
As we’re no longer bothered by things over which we have no control anyway, we have much more time to focus on things that would have the biggest impact on our lives.
Modern Stoicism, In a Nutshell
In a nutshell, modern Stoicism isn’t too different from ancient Stoicism. We still aim to live our best lives, and many of us are still not fully sure how we might do that.
The global personal development industry grew to $38.2 billion in 2019, which I’m assuming is larger than the time of the ancient Stoics. By the sounds of it, Stoicism is more applicable now than ever.
Despite the size of this industry, the truth is that the answer lies within each of us. By following a few Stoic principles, we can simplify and get what we want from life (if we put in the work).
Beyond the “success” we believe achieving our goals will bring, we can live our best lives everyday. Just as we choose our most appropriate actions, happiness is available to us in every moment.
Living like a Stoic has never been more practical or rewarding.