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June 12 - June 25, 2024
You can sum up Stoicism with one simple idea: you need to accept full control of and take total responsibility for your thoughts and actions.
Epictetus says, “Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will—then your life will flow well.”
“If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it.” – Epictetus
“We should every night call ourselves to an account: what infirmity have I mastered today? what passions opposed? what temptation resisted? what virtue acquired? Our vices will abate of themselves if they be brought every day to the shrift.” – Seneca
“Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.” – Marcus Aurelius
Every moment of every day, we make a choice as to how we react and respond to things. It is the only real power we have.
Seneca wrote, “We suffer more in imagination than in reality.”
The problem with these technologies is that our culture of celebrity worship and emphasis on living the perfect life on social media means that many of us fall into the trap of believing self-promotion is more important than self-improvement.
Instead of looking inside to think about how we can improve ourselves, we create a false front to show the world that we’re not just meeting society’s expectations – we’re smashing through them.
Fast on a regular basis. Taking the restricted diet a step further, try abstaining from food completely for 24 hours every month or so. As long as you drink plenty of water, a day without food will not do you any harm (but check with your doctor if you have any medical concerns).
Step outside of your comfort zone.
Volunteer to help others less fortunate.
There are three main processes involved in turning the obstacle upside down. These are perception, action and will. Each of these feed into the other and helps you shift your reality to where you want it to be.
Never underestimate the power of perception, because this is what shapes your life experience.
So, if nothing lasts forever, what’s really important? This moment right now. The only thing that matters is being the best person you can be at all times.
If you are your best, most authentic self in every moment, it doesn’t matter what else happens. Nothing can take that away from you.
Forget yourself.
Riding a motorcycle
Choose a mundane activity, something you do every day, and slow it right down.
When your attention is solely on what is happening right now, it’s impossible to worry about the past or future.
Nothing to be Frightened of by Julian Barnes, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs, The End of your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe, or Dying: A Memoir by Cory Taylor.
One of the most important aspects of living a Stoic life is recognising what you can and cannot change.
Epictetus: “Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions.”
Journaling allows you to reflect on how successful you are in applying everything you’ve learned and how you can continue to apply those lessons.
Journaling reduces stress.
Journaling improves your memory.
Journaling puts you in a better mood.
Journaling makes you more self-aware.
Summarise your week. Once a week, do a more in-depth journaling session to review the previous week and examine your progress towards a more Stoic life. If you have goals, chart what you’ve done towards them and see what needs prioritising for the coming week. Make a note of the biggest lesson you’ve learned that week and how you’re applying your Stoic studies to your life, as well as how things are changing for the better as a result of a Stoic attitude.
Essentially, amor fati is the attitude that regardless of what comes your way, every experience is to be welcomed and accepted, regardless of whether it appears to be positive or negative. When it comes to challenges, amor fati goes beyond simple acceptance. You should love whatever difficulties you face because they are what forge you into a better person. So just like fuel for a fire, those tough times are fuel for your personal growth.
“I accept today as it is, not as I would like it to be.”
Time is our most valuable possession. Spend it wisely and focus your efforts on living a virtuous life that contributes to a just, equitable society.
“Every hour focus your mind attentively…on the performance of the task in hand, with dignity, human sympathy, benevolence and freedom, and leave aside all other thoughts. You will achieve this, if you perform each action as if it were your last…” – Marcus Aurelius
To quote Marcus Aurelius again, “Each man only lives in this present instant…all the rest either has been lived or remains in uncertainty.”
It doesn’t matter what it is you’re doing. If you worry about winning the approval of others, your focus is in the wrong place.
Stoicism isn’t just about being your best self and living a virtuous life; this virtue is intended to build a better society, a community of people who are working together for the common good to create an environment which is positive for everyone involved.
as Marcus Aurelius puts it, “Like the vine that produces its grapes, seeking nothing more once it has given forth its fruit…so the good man having done one deed well, does not shout it about, but turns to the next good deed, just like the vine turns to bear forth its fruit in due season.”
The Stoics had a very simple, two-step process for developing self-awareness. The first was to be suspicious about your perception and opinion about the people and events you encounter until you’ve tested them; the second was to take the opposite approach when it comes to evaluating other people’s behaviour, by being sympathetic to their plight rather than automatically suspicious of their motives.
the only thing we can control is ourselves. So it behoves you to act as compassionately and without judgement as possible while giving the other person the benefit of the doubt.
Marcus Aurelius observed that “most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquillity. Ask yourself at every moment, ‘Is this necessary?’”
The only limit to wealth, according to Seneca, is “First, having what is essential, and second, having what is enough.”
