“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.”
Marcus Aurelius
“The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.”
Both quotes were by a famous Stoic and Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius. He was a Roman emperor during 161-180 BCE. He was the last of the five good Emperors of Rome, a term used to describe emperors who were all adopted successors that brought wealth and peace to Rome.
Every night, Marcus would write down in his diary. Discussing beliefs and ideas he should follow as someone who was practising stoicism. The diary was found later and published as Meditations. It became well known because Marcus Aurelius offers some great insights on how mindset can change everything. His and others’ ideas of stoicism are just as relevant today, and they can help us better manage our emotions and behaviour.
What does Stoicism mean?
The word Stoic means to respond to something that’s painful or pleasurable with neutrality. Someone that is Stoic can be perceived as very tough, as they can keep going on even if they experience pain.
The originals of Stoicism stemmed from a philosopher called Zeno of Cilium(Cyprus) in 300 BCE. It was initially called Zenonism, but the name was changed to Stoicism, because they studied under a famous painted porch called the Stoa Poikile.
We know the history of stoicism, but what does it encourage us to do? Although it was founded thousands of years ago, the philosophy is still more than applicable today. It can help you become more fulfilled and resilient just off mindset alone.
Stoicism tries to find the best way to live a happy life. It can provide wisdom on how we should use our thoughts and actions to become fulfilled. In doing so, you will find you’re calmer and much more rational. Here are some of the key principles they followed.
Live in accordance with nature
This is an important principle in stoicism. When discussing nature, the stoics are referring to the nature of a human and the universal nature of life. So, what is the nature of a human? Well, the stoics looked at the difference between animals and man to find that what makes us human is the ability to reason. This helps us make rational decisions and think in ways that animals can’t. They finish this by suggesting that we use our reason to be virtuous.
Humans have basic needs like an animal, we may need to defend ourselves from threats, but that doesn’t mean we should fight everyone we see. Therefore, reason is detrimental to our nature because it gives us restrained from acting on impulses. A Stoic called then Cicero mentions how humans were born for the sake of human beings and that we should be cooperating for both of our wellbeing’s. To do this, we need to be virtuous. We must be kind, have patience and diligence when approaching something.
Now looking at what living according to the universal nature is. The stoics thought that the world was forever changing and that we should accept the fact that the world will always change, because we cannot change it. Acceptance is a core principle in stoicism. It ties into other principles that they followed as well.
Focus on what you can control
We will always experience some form of misfortune. At some point someone will deceive you, people could steal from you, or a family member could pass away. Even if something bad doesn’t happen, chances are you’ve ruminated about a bad outcome occurring before. Focusing on what you can control addresses this directly. It helps us understand that what we influence is limited. We can’t control our environment or other people, but we will get upset over others’ opinions or the weather. Doing this daily can become emotionally draining, therefore it’s important that we focus on what we can do, which is control our responses. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about anything, but accept the outcome. In doing so, we save time from pointless overthinking and stress.
Being Virtuous
The stoics thought of virtue very highly. They believed that by being a kind person that supports those around them, you will lead a more fulfilling life. This also ties back into following your nature, as you must do what’s right by using your reason. In fact, the stoics put virtue into four categories:
Wisdom. Making good decisions, being considerate, being resourceful and having a good sense.
Justice. Being caring, fair, honest and goodwill
Courage. Bravery, confidence, diligence, toughness and moral.
Moderation. Discipline, restraint, and humility
Stoics argued that being virtuous is to have all these qualities. They give a guide on how you should behave in life. You should try being balanced with each of the virtues, being too courageous can become dangerous and being too righteous can cause someone to become judgmental.
Amor Fati
Amor fati means to love fate. The idea behind this all ties back into acceptance again. Stoics like Epictetus believed we should not try to change what’s already happened but embrace the outcome, “Do not seek to bring things to pass in accordance with your wishes, but wish for them as they are, and you will find them.” This can become vital in coping with problems and issues that you will encounter. If your phone breaks, and you cannot buy a new one, accepting things instead of getting mad helps you address the issue. Amor fati is a very practical mindset.
Preparing for the worst
In some cases, even if you are accepting something, you could still feel stressed or worried. But it’s important to note this is a practice, and it will take time. One way the stoics did this was by mentally thinking of the worst event that could happen (premeditatio malorum). This is also known as negative visualization.
“When you are going to perform an act, remind yourself what kind of things the act may involve. When going to the swimming pool, reflect on what may happen at the pool: some will splash the water, some will push against one another, others will abuse one another, and others will steal. Thusly you have mentally prepared yourself to undertake the act, and you can say to yourself: I now intend to bathe and am prepared to maintain my will in a virtuous manner, having warned myself of what may occur.”
Epictetus
Here Epictetus is describing negative visualization. It can sound like a pessimistic mindset, but it helps us prepare for the future. Instead of getting anxious, it helps us understand the outcome clearer and coming to terms with whatever happens.
Why stoicism?
Not only has this philosophy helped people for thousands of years, but even Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT) was inspired by stoicism. A study looking at how stoicism and resilience training can benefit positive and negative emotions found it had made people feel happier and more content, whilst lowering sadness. A follow-up research had found a 20% reduction in negative emotions, for people that practised stoicism. The research is still new and may require more confirmation, but this could be very promising.
