What is Stoic philosophy?
Stoicism is a philosophy that originated in ancient Greece and Rome in the 3rd century BCE. The philosophy helps individuals maximise positive emotions (gratitude, joy), reduce negative emotions (anger, anxiety) and hone one’s virtues of character.
A Stoic lifestyle includes tools such as mindfulness and value definitions to amplify the human experience. The most important aspect in living like a Modern Stoic is the mindset – which we’ll cover in this post.
A Brief History of the Stoics
Zeno of Citium was shipwrecked in Athens in the 3rd century BCE and came across a bookshop with Xenophon’s Memorabilia, which features an account of Socrates’s teachings.
Just as Zeno asked the bookshop owner where one might find such insightful people, Crates of Thebes walked by, and the bookseller pointed him out. Zeno studied under the Cynic, before eventually beginning to teach in the squares of Athens himself.
For nearly 500 years, Stoicism was a leading philosophy in ancient Greece and Rome. Learn more about the timeline history of the Stoic philosophers.
3 Stoic Pillars of Practice
Stoic practice can be boiled down to three pillars.
- Tranquility
- Virtue Ethics
- Love all Humanity
These three practical pillars involve living in alignment with nature, as well as expressing our best selves through good character.
We ought to do good to others as simply as a horse runs, or a bee makes honey, or a vine bears grapes season after season without thinking of the grapes it has borne.
Marcus Aurelius
2 Stoic Pillars of Theory
Providence is another key pillar in Stoicism that involves “following our nature”. Because the universe is rational, we humans are created to pursue our own definition of excellence.
Physics is another Stoic concept in that all knowledge is interrelated. In other words, our study of nature helps us understand how we should live. The universe is much larger than ourselves. It’s also ever-expanding and interconnected. That’s why we should aim to live in harmony with nature.
One World, made up of all things
One divinity, present in all of them
One substance and one law – the logos that all rational beings share
And one truth…
Marcus Aurelius
Stoic Literature
If you want to start reading some literature, there are classic Stoic texts from three of the most influential Stoics in history.
The Moral Letters by Seneca (4 B.C. to 65 A.D).
The Handbook and Discourses by Epictetus (55–135 A.D.)
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.)
More modern literature includes The Little Book of Stoicism by Jonas Salzgeber.
Ryan Holiday has also written several great books on the subject:
- Stillness is the Key
- Ego is the Enemy
- The Obstacle is the Way
- The Daily Stoic
Donald Robertson is another great modern author, having written a few books on Stoicism:
- How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
- Stoicism and the Art of Happiness
- The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy
What is the goal of Stoicism?
The Stoics aimed to live by 3 core principles, which Jonas Salzgeber calls the Stoic Triangle in The Little Book of Stoicism.
The three Stoic principles are living with virtue, focusing on what you can control and taking responsibility. Living by these three simple principles will help us develop the Stoic mindset.
1) Live with Virtue
The Stoics believed that every person can become the best version of themselves by living virtuously in accordance with nature.
Stoics defined four cardinal virtues that every human should reflect on and incorporate into their lives.
Wisdom involves developing practical and rational thought over emotionally biased impulses.
Courage refers to standing against fear, because it is right
Justice involves treating people fairly and being kind.
Self-discipline involves doing and not doing what you believe to be right.
These four virtues contribute to good character, which the Stoics believed was the only guarantee of ever-lasting, carefree happiness. Meditating on each of these virtues led me to a
Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions. The philosophy helps its followers think more clearly and become less biased in their opinions.
We can all live virtuously by:
- Following the Stoic cardinal values
- Living by your core values
- Always aiming to be your best self (with your thoughts & actions)
2) Focus on what you can control & Embrace what you cannot
Common things we cannot control include the past, the weather, as well as other people’s thoughts and opinions.
Stoic mindfulness involves clearing your mind of unhelpful, negative thoughts by creating cognitive distance. When we can’t do anything about something that is on our minds, we must let it go. This principle is often referred to as the Stoic dichotomy of control.
It’s not the events that upset us, but our judgments of those events. We should instead learn to improve our perception of the world with Stoic katalepsis.
By viewing the world rationally, we aim to focus our efforts where they might have the greatest impact. The easiest way to do this is to understand when there are no clear next steps for our thoughts. We can refer to this productivity technique as the Stoic To Do list. Understanding what we control is our guide to getting things done.
It is important to separate our actions from their outcomes. After all, we can usually control our actions. But after we’ve done our part, the outcome tends to be out of our hands.
The Reserve Clause
Even if we do something to the best of our abilities, the outcome might still not go as planned. This is where the Stoic reserve clause comes in: “Fate permitting…”.
Even if you know exactly how to make a lasagne and you make your best effort, several things can still go wrong. The store might be closed, the oven might be broken or a last-minute dinner invitation may bring you to a restaurant instead.
For this reason, we might take the pressure off ourselves and manage others’ expectations by instead phrasing it: “Fate permitting, I’ll make a lasagne for dinner.”
3) Take responsibility for the life you deserve
Taking responsibility requires both wisdom of what we want, and self-discipline to do what we know we should everyday.
Doing what you know is right is broken down into individual actions we do everyday to be the person and live the life you want.
We save time and effort focusing our mental energy on activities that will bring the greatest intrinsic rewards (character & skills). Activities can also bring extrinsic rewards (desired outcomes), though we are most rewarded pursuing intrinsic rewards – those that are within our control.
The Stoics believed we should do things not for external rewards, but for the intrinsic value of knowing it is the right thing to do. By waking up early, focusing on our goals and avoiding cravings and bad habits, we take responsibility for achieving the life we deserve.
We cannot have the life we want without putting in the work to deserve it. As Ryan Holiday puts it, The Obstacle is the Way.
How do you practice Stoicism?
Understanding Stoic philosophy doesn’t mean we’ll be Stoic when it truly matters. Stoicism is useless unless we make a habit of applying the principles above to our daily lives.
Below are a few Stoic practices to equip you with the Stoic mindset before you can be Stoic in the real world.
Negative Visualisation
This one may seem a bit extreme, but bare with me. Imagine losing everything that’s important to you.
If you imagine losing your income, the death of a loved one or becoming paralysed from an accident, you’ll become more confident and peaceful. We can even conquer our own death in the same way.
Even if we never experience these negative situations, we can learn to appreciate what we have before it’s gone. As a result, we’ll also be more mentally prepared if/when a similar event does occur.
Misfortune weighs most heavily on those who expect nothing but good fortune.
Seneca
Offer yourself to fate
Reframe your mindset. Rather than the world living up to our expectations, we must accept whatever fate has in store for us. Our lives are like characters in a play, and we must all play our parts to the best of our abilities.
If we are given the role of baker, then we take great pride in making the best bread. As the carpenter, we make the best furniture we’re capable of. Just like the finest artists, we should take great pride in the beauty we create everyday.
All of life is a learning experience, and rather than rejecting our reality, we must aim to be our best self everyday. Every moment is a learning opportunity preparing us for our future trials and tribulations.
That’s why we must learn to embrace and even love our fate. Amor fati.
Daily reflection
To ensure we live like a Stoic, we must make time regularly to reflect on our thoughts and actions throughout the day. We can reflect daily on whether our actions are fully aligned with our values and how we can improve. Seneca offered the following practice.
At the end of each day, ask yourself:
- What ailment of yours have you cured today?
- What failing have you resisted?
- Where can you show improvement?
Two simple questions offer a great opportunity for reflection.
What am I grateful for today?
How could I have improved today?
Reflection helps us break up the mundane of daily life. This practice also allows us to understand how we are moving towards our goals and ideal selves.
So What Is Stoicism in a Nutshell?
Stoicism is a practical philosophy that offers its followers a way to live life rationally – without becoming victims to their emotions or circumstances.
The practice offers a model for how to have a “good life” by “living virtuously” and following the four cardinal virtues.
Stoicism also offers a way to clear the mind by differentiating between things we can control and things we cannot.
Ultimately, the Stoics believed that everyone is capable of living their best lives, simply by taking responsibility for their actions to achieve their best life.
Luckily, it’s not that difficult.
Learn more about Stoicism with Mind & Practice.