What is Stoicism? How it can make your life better

I came across the concept of Stoicism on YouTube. The video was by TED-Ed and I immediately fell in love with the video and also with the concept of Stoicism. It’s a philosophy that was developed by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early third century. It is an old concept of philosophy; some concepts of Stoicism may be outdated. Yet I found many gems in the concept of Stoicism and I am writing about those simple yet profound thoughts that I found in the philosophy of Stoicism.

The Core concept of Stoicism is that we have to see the world as it is. If the situation is difficult, then the situation is difficult; if the situation is good, then it is good. We don’t have to pretend that a bad situation is not so bad; we should see what the difficulty is and try to overcome it. If life is good then enjoy it by all means and do use some time to improve upon yourself. Additionally, Character is the most important virtue of a person and we should never corrupt our character.

The world that we live in is not perfect, and the people in it are not perfect. On a daily basis, we will face problems and predicaments that we think will ruin our lives. But will those bad situations really ruin our life?

Loss of job, loss of loved ones, accidents. These are tragedies in our lives. Some we can avert, but others we have no control over. But we can always control our reactions to bad circumstances and bad events. If the skies begin to fall down, we are not superman to stop it. But we can choose to panic or choose to figure out what’s happening and see what can be done. The truth in life is that panicking won’t solve any problems; besides it will create fresh ones.

We as logical beings should always try to improve ourselves. We should try to avert bad circumstances but be prepared to handle difficult circumstances. We should be able to identify solvable problems and unsolvable problems. Solvable ones, solve them and move forward. Unsolvable ones, analyse them, do what can be done and move forward. Crying and panicking about problems is the worst way of solving them.

The Four Cardinal Values in Stoicism

Stoicism gives importance to 4 cardinal virtues and that every person should possess those qualities. They are

Wisdom
Tolerance
Justice
Courage

1) Wisdom: It is the ability to make the right or logical decision at any point in time or at any situation. Wisdom refers not just to knowledge but the practical application of knowledge in real-life situations. Knowledge is knowing the principles of stoicism and wisdom is applying stoicism in real-life situations.

2) Tolerance: A person should not be swayed by his emotions. But we shouldn’t suppress our emotions either. We are human, it’s natural to have emotions. But we should make sure we are not blinded by anger or grief. There are moments when we feel like shouting at our friends or parents; but what good is it? It will only escalate the problem to new levels. What you can do is not to lose cool and use logic and try to resolve the issue. Then be kind enough to forgive. Having the heart to forgive your loved ones is also a divine quality.

3) Justice: It’s more of a social quality. We should be just to the people around us. We should support the people who are less fortunate. We shouldn’t harm the poor and the needy. There are thousands of people dying of hunger; that is not just. Meanwhile, we are wasting food in large quantities.

4) Courage: We should be brave to face what fate throws at us. Adversities will come but we should have the strength to overcome them. We all know that the world is not perfect and then it’s for sure that bad things can happen. That’s just how the world works. But we should cultivate the courage to face them and we should improve ourselves to have the qualities to solve all the problems that may arise. Once we resolve the issues, surely we will have a peaceful time.

Books You can read to be a Stoic

“Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius
“Letters from a Stoic” by Seneca
“The Discourses” by Epictetus

Stoicism is a philosophy that teaches individuals how to live a good life and how to find meaning and purpose in life. These books provide practical advice on how to cultivate resilience, strength, and virtue in the face of adversity. If you’re interested in learning more about Stoicism, these books are a great place to start.