Stoicism 101

“A Stoic is someone who transforms fear into prudence, pain into transformation, mistakes into initiation, and desire into undertaking.” (Taleb Nassim Nicholas)

If the above quotation seems a bit cryptic, then I hope this article will help to make it clearer, because it looks at:

• A (very) brief history of stoicism
• What stoicism is
• The benefits of stoicism
• The potential downsides of stoicism
• Typical traits of a stoic person
• How to become more stoical

A Brief History Of Stoicism

Stoicism, which is a philosophy that deals with personal morals and which is informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, was founded by Zeno of Citium, in Athens, over 2,000 years ago, although other stoic philosophers (e.g. Cato the Younger, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius) are more commonly associated with it.

And that’s about all you need to know about its history – I told you it would be brief. 🙂

What Is Stoicism?

Stoicism is a philosophy that revolves around making a distinction between what we can control, and we cannot control.

The following graphic puts this in a more visual format:

The whole idea is that focusing on the things we can control, the internal locus of control, rather than the things that we have no power over, allows us to live happier, healthier lives.

In the above diagram, notice that the things you can influence are still ultimately outside of your control. For example, you can advise people to go certain things, but it’s their choice whether they follow that advice or not.

The Benefits Of Stoicism

These are the main benefits of adopting a stoic approach to life:

1. You will be able to minimise distractions.

   By focusing on the things you can control, you will be able to limit the anxiety and fear associated with the things you can’t control, which is helpful because these emotions can be extremely distracting, taking your attention away from the things that matter.

2. You’ll have better control over your emotions.

   Focusing on events and situations that you have no control over can result in a lot of negative emotions. After all, it is completely natural to be scared and anxious about the unknown.

   This is why it’s important to control your thoughts and bring your focus back to your internal locus of control, because this will help to minimise negative emotions, allowing you to feel happier and more optimistic.

   Focusing on what we can control also gives us a feeling of power, making us feel more relaxed and self-assured.

3. You’ll be more productive.

   Stoicism is all about focusing on the things within your power. The problem is, if you focus on the things outside of your control, you are likely to generate feelings of fear and anxiety that will consume a lot of time and energy.

   By minimising these thoughts and feelings, you can turn your attention to the things that do matter.

   And without the distraction of anxiety and stress, your focus will be increased, which means you can direct your attention to the things you need to do and therefore be more productive.

4. You will be more content.

   Stoicism allows you to care less about what other people think, which helps to put you in a better frame of mine, where you feel more relaxed and content with what you have.

   It is also an effective way of improving gratitude and being more appreciative.

The Potential Downsides Of Stoicism

While there are some clear benefits to being a stoic, it’s only fair to point out that there are a few possible disadvantages too, including:

1. People are likely to assume what a stoic person is feeling because they can’t read their emotions.

   Given that a stoic person has better control of their emotions, it probably won’t be obvious what they are thinking, and this means that others may make assumptions and jump to conclusions (or more than usual, since we humans like to do this anyway).

2. Stoic people can appear apathetic.

   Again, it is important to acknowledge that some people interpret the lack of obvious emotion incorrectly: a stoic person may be seen as unenthused when in reality, they just have good (i.e. better than most people) control of their feelings.

3. Stoic people can be less relatable.

   Given the lack of visible emotions, stoic people can appear less relatable, with the result that people who feel emotions strongly may find it difficult to connect with somebody who doesn’t seem to be experiencing the same feelings as they are.

Typical Traits Of A Stoic Person

Here are a few of the more common characteristics you can expect to see in a stoic:

1. Stoic people don’t complain.

   People who practise stoicism tend to have better control over their thoughts, so they are able to direct their attention to the things that matter and therefore have a greater appreciation for what they have.

   This increased sense of gratitude means they often don’t complain as much as other people do because they acknowledge that they are lucky to have what they do, without demonstrating resentment for the things that they don’t.

2. Stoic people are resilient.

   Because the whole concept of stoicism revolves around focusing on the things you can control, you train your brain to become better at problem-solving and action planning, identifying the things you can change and then implementing plans to make it happen.

   In turn, this helps somebody to become more resilient – when faced with adversity, they focus on actions and determining a way to overcome challenges rather than dwelling on their own misfortune.

3. Stoic people are able to adapt to different situations.

   This ability to problem-solve allows people to adapt more easily to different situations – if something changes, stoic people are better placed to deal with it.

   This is because they naturally tend to action plan, rather than find themselves overwhelmed by emotions, and this practical, logical approach helps them to be more adaptable.

4. Stoic people stick up for themselves.

   People who are stoics tend to care less about the opinions of others, so they are more likely to assert their opinions and stick up for themselves when needed.

   This leads to greater contentment because they can focus on the things that are important to them, rather than on what everybody else thinks.

How To Become More Stoical

So, if you like the idea of becoming more stoical, how can you go about it?

Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Establish an internal locus of control.

   To understand stoicism, you must first understand locus of control, which is a concept that divides life into two categories: ‘internal locus of control’ – the things you can control, and ‘external locus of control’ – the things you cannot.

   To become more stoic, you must establish an internal locus of control by training your brain to identify and understand the things you can control and focus on these, rather than spending time and energy worrying about things that are outside of your power.

2. Make an effort to understand your ego.

   Stoics don’t typically have big egos. Instead, they subscribe to a life of learning, never fooling themselves that they know everything.

   If you want to become more stoic, it’s time to let your ego go and understand that you don’t know everything and nor do you have to.

   It’s actually quite exciting when you can become comfortable with the idea of being a lifelong learner – and I have long considered a day when I don’t learn something new to be wasted.

3. Practise meditation or mindfulness.

   Meditation or mindfulness practice is a great way to get your brain focused on your internal locus of control.

   It will make you more aware of your present situation and the things that affect you directly.

   So, try adding some simple meditation or mindfulness activities to your daily routine. (You will find several articles on this subject here.)

4. Use writing to consolidate your thoughts.

   Journalling can be an effective way to make sense of your thoughts and emotions (and it’s generally regarded as being therapeutic too), so if you are struggling to focus on your internal locus of control, try putting your feelings into words.

   This will help you to untangle the mess of ideas in your mind, clarifying your thoughts, and to bring your attention back to what you can control and what matters.

5. Learn to ignore the opinions of others.

   This can be a difficult one (see this article where I talk about a related issue), but it is important nonetheless.

   It is, of course, impossible to keep everybody happy and trying to do that can detract from your ability to be stoic.

   So, try to train your brain to focus on the things that are important to you, rather than the opinions of everyone else. (And knowing what’s important to you is another key factor in being happy, in my opinion.)

Conclusion

While life is much different (e.g. more complicated, faster paced) than it was all those years ago in Greece, we still live in times of change and uncertainty, and given this fact, the philosophy is easily applicable to modern life and can help us to become better, and happier, people.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Stoicism Book