I first came across Stoicism when I started listening to the ‘Tim Ferris Show’ podcast a couple of years ago. He often referenced the Stoics during interviews with many of his guests. It became a theme. I then stumbled across the work of Ryan Holiday who champions the writings of the Stoics via his social media channels and books.
Since then, I’ve become a big fan of the Stoic philosophers.
Many of the lessons and suggestions we receive from experts on self-development and high performance can be traced directly back to stoic teachings. Answers to the questions people struggle with. How to be happy. How to become more productive. How to get healthier. How to learn from failure and setbacks. Although their teachings are ancient, their lessons feel easy to integrate into modern life.
In case stoic philosophy is new to you, I thought I’d summarise some of the key lessons and learnings I’ve picked up on so far.
The Three Key Stoic Philosophers
The key principal philosophers are the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright and political advisor Seneca and the slave Epictetus, who later became a teacher. Their writings and teaching form the foundation of Stoicism.
I guess the single most important document is ‘Meditations’ by Marcus Aurelius, which were essentially his private diaries. Fans of stoicism often use quotes from this work.
The Four Virtues of Stoicism
The foundation of Stoic philosophy is ‘the four virtues’. Courage, Temperance, Justice and Wisdom. They work in combination. As a system of values that define how you should live your life.
Courage
This is about being brave. Making difficult decisions. Facing up to challenging problems and standing up for what you believe is right.
Temperance
This is about moderation and sobriety. Avoiding recklessness and seeking balance. It’s also about acquiring good habits and practising these good habits on a daily basis.
Justice
This is about doing what’s right. About fighting for ideals that matter. About believing that your individual actions can have a positive impact on the world.
Wisdom
This is about seeking truth and understanding. About continual learning. About being a humble and committed student.
Applying The Virtues into Practices
These virtues can be translated more widely into ways of thinking and ways of behaving. Of course, there are many practices, but here are a few.
1 Focusing on what you can control
Stoics recognise there are many external matters in your life that you can’t control. Where you have no choice. Despite this, they say that you can always choose how you respond to your situation.
It puts the emphasis on individuals taking responsibility for their actions, rather than blaming their circumstances. On making ‘good’ choices rather than ‘bad’ choices in the face of adversity.
They also recognise that you should only focus on what’s in your control and not get distracted by investing energy in what’s out of your control.
2 Daily journaling
Stoics love capturing thoughts, ideas and feelings on a daily basis. They believe in routine and consistency. In particular, they invest in the whole idea of journaling as a path to enlightenment and creativity. This is founded on their virtue of “Wisdom”.
3 Meditating on your mortality
This is such a core Stoic practice. Imagine that you’re about to die. They call it ‘memento mori’. It sounds depressing - the idea that you might not wake up tomorrow - but it’s not meant to be. Its purpose is to remind us to live life to the fullest. To not postpone anything. Not to waste a second of it. Amen to that.
4 Turning obstacles into opportunities
This is such a core belief. Seeing obstacles as a means of progress. Ryan Holiday has dedicated a whole book to this called ‘The Obstacle is the Way’. I also see echoes of this in one of my favourite books, ‘A Beautiful Constraint’ by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden, which is all about turning limitations to your advantage.
5 Remembering how small you are
This is built on the virtue of Temperance. It recognises that in the grand scheme of things our lives our small, our possessions are ephemeral and we need to be humble and honest. It rails against self-absorption and selfishness. Again Ryan Holiday talks about this a lot in his fabulous book, ‘Ego Is the Enemy’. I can think of many people who could benefit from this lesson.
Where to learn more
These are just a few lessons. There are many more. The most accessible source of information is the Daily Stoic. And anything produced by Ryan Holiday. I follow him on Instagram.
Of course, go back to the source material, which is easily accessible, most notably, ‘Meditations’ by Marcus Aurelius, ‘Letters from a Stoic’ by Seneca and ‘Discourses’ by Epictetus.
Summary
I’ve become a real fan of Stoicism. Adopting their thinking and their philosophies really works for me. Maybe it’s my life stage. The word ‘stoic’ implies that adopting their philosophy is about enduring pain and not complaining about it. It’s simply not true. I’m planning to get to know the Stoics better. There’s a lot more to learn.