The Little Book of Stoicism: Timeless Wisdom to Gain Resilience, Confidence, and Calmness

by Jonas Salzgeber

In Stoicism, what you do with the given circumstances matters much more. Stoics recognized that the good life depends on the cultivation of one’s character, on one’s choices and actions rather than on what happens in the uncontrollable world around us.

You and I, we’re responsible for our own flourishing. We’re responsible for not letting our happiness depend on external circumstances—we shouldn’t let the rain, annoying strangers, or a leaking washing machine decide upon our wellbeing. Otherwise, we become helpless victims of life circumstances out of hand. As a Stoic student, you learn that only you can ruin your life and only you can refuse to let your inner self be conquered by whatever nasty challenge life throws at you.

eudaimonia is a happy and smoothly flowing life that comes from thriving at bringing our moment-to-moment actions into harmony with our highest self.

The Stoics identified strong emotions as our ultimate weakness; especially when we let them dictate our behavior. They’re toxic to eudaimonia and they’re at the root of all human suffering. Unfortunately, according to the Stoics, most of us are enslaved to passions—strong negative emotions such as irrational fear, grief, or anger. This is why so many of us are miserable, we’re far away from being a tower of strength, we’re far away from being at good terms with our ideal self. Our passions cause us to act far beneath of what we’re capable of.

Good and bad come solely from yourself. This follows the first two corners that say external things don’t matter for the good life, so living with areté, which is within your control, is enough to flourish in life. Also, you’re responsible for your life because every external event you don’t control offers an area you can control, namely how you choose to respond to this event. This is crucial in Stoicism, it’s not events that make us happy or miserable, but our interpretation of those events. This is when a tower of strength can be born—the moment you decide to give outside events no more power over you.

virtue is about trying to be the best you can be in every moment. And if you’re able to do that, then you’ll have a good relationship with your highest self and will live a happy and smoothly flowing life. If you’re unable to express the highest version of yourself, this will create space for regret and anxiety to crawl out of the darkness and spread misery.

“Attention (prosochê) is the fundamental Stoic spiritual attitude,” explains author Pierre Hadot. “It is a continuous vigilance and presence of mind, self-consciousness which never sleeps, and a constant tension of the spirit. Thanks to this attitude, the philosopher is fully aware of what he does at each instant, and he wills his actions fully.” Even if this consciousness which never sleeps is the Stoic’s goal, Epictetus said that it’s not possible to be faultless, but we can try and “we must be content if by never remitting this attention we shall escape at least a few errors.”

Treat even strangers and those who oppose us as relatives—brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles. We’re all citizens of the same world. This shared affinity forms the basis for mutual love and friendship.

if we define success as giving our best in the process, then we cannot fail, feel calmly confident, and can accept any outcome with equanimity.