Welcome to Stoic Snippets,
The philosophy track that is short in length but not in depth.
One of the most asked questions about Stoicism is,
Well,
What is it?
I'm going to answer that in the short minutes that we have together today,
So strap in.
The current-day understanding of a Stoic is that of a person who shows no emotion and is detached.
It has developed meaning from a philosophy to a personality trait.
This is not what the philosophy of Stoicism teaches at all though.
However,
Because this erroneous definition has been around for so long,
It has become a truth,
What is referred to as a misnomer.
In the same way,
Napoleon is thought to be short even though he was above average height for his time.
Just because lots of people believe something doesn't make it true.
Just because people repeat something over and over again doesn't make it true.
So what did the Stoics believe?
They believed that we should aim for apatheia.
Now here's probably where a lot of the confusion lies.
Apatheia sounds a lot like apathy,
Which of course you know is the refusal to care.
But that's not what apatheia means.
Apatheia actually means free from suffering,
And more specifically,
Free from passions.
The Stoics didn't want to stop you feeling,
They wanted to stop you feeling bad.
They recognized that so much of our suffering comes from a lack of rational judgment,
A thought echoed by the most effective school of therapy,
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
In a line,
It's not what happens to us that counts,
But our reaction to it.
The Stoics saw just how our unrestricted emotions could tear us apart and stop us seeing the truth.
They wanted us to take back control and apply rational thought to our lives and to our feelings,
Then decide the best course of action.
Just because we feel something doesn't make it true.
Anyone who has had an argument with a friend or a spouse can attest to how strong emotions without thought can make you do some pretty silly things.
In a similar vein,
Just because you desire something doesn't mean you should do it.
The Stoics urge you to find space between the feeling and acting.
The next important thing they teach us is that some things are in our control and others are not.
If you spend your life worrying about things you cannot control,
You will be anxious and miserable.
Instead,
Concern yourself with the things that you can control.
What are those things?
Well,
Your actions for one,
And two,
Your thoughts.
Now you may say,
Well some thoughts just pop into your head,
But you know as well as I do that there is an element of control to our thoughts.
How long we spend on our thoughts and how far we let the fantasies go.
As Zeno tells us,
We conquer the universe by conquering ourselves.
How do we do that?
Well,
We focus on justice,
Temperance,
Wisdom,
And courage.
These are the cardinal virtues.
If you could exhibit these,
You would develop a character that you could be proud of and that no one could take from you.
Alright,
That is a quick breakdown of Stoicism.
If you're interested in this,
Check out my courses on Stoicism,
I think you're going to love them.
It goes into a lot more detail with a lot more stories.
I hope to see you in there or in a meditation soon.
Take care my friend.
