Characteristics Of Stoicism: A Useful Philosophy

We often experience that life does not go exactly as we want. It constantly surprises us with unexpected events that can disrupt our plans, desires or goals. When faced with these difficulties, we tend to feel anxious, upset, and frustrated. However, there is a philosophy in life called stoicism that can help you deal with these feelings. Today we will share some characteristics of stoicism and how you use them in your life.

Stoicism is a philosophical school that appeared in the 300s BC. The principles represent a practical guide to living a good life in an unpredictable world. Although it was created more than 2,000 years ago, its teachings are still valid.

What is stoicism?

Stoicism is a philosophical belief that defends controlling emotions that can disrupt your life. And you control them through virtue and reason. The goal is to achieve happiness and wisdom, regardless of comfort, material goods and wealth.

For Stoics, there are three types of emotions: good, bad and indifferent. They suggest that we focus on those who are unhealthy so that we can learn to deal with them. That way, we can achieve a degree of disruption and a degree of independence when faced with real problems.

This position is based on the principle that people are not disturbed by the facts themselves, but by the belief people have in these facts. So the responsibility when we are frustrated, embarrassed or upset will be entirely ours and not someone else’s.

In addition, it is important to emphasize that you do not want to eliminate or suppress your emotions. That is not what stoicism is about. Instead, you should confront the beliefs that lead to unpleasant feelings and turn them into healthier thoughts.

The history and origins of stoism

Zeno of Citrus founded the Stoic school in the 300s BC. in Athens. The name comes from the Greek word stoikós, derived from stoá , meaning ‘portico’, the place in the city where philosophers met. Seneca (4 BC-AD 65), Epictetus (55-135) and Marcus Aurelius (121-180) are among the most famous preachers.

Stoicism was one of the most influential Greek schools, reaching a great height between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. However, it began to weaken as Christianity became more popular. But you should note that Christianity and other religions took some principles from Stoicism.

Today, stoic ideas are very valid in different positions. It also has a great influence on psychology, especially in the cognitive-behavioral branch.

Characteristics of stoicism

The most important characteristics of stoism are the following:

• Stoism is a philosophy of life. It is recommended daily practice that will help you achieve happiness.
• For Stoics, the universe is a living organism that has a rational soul. This universal and divine reason participates in everything that exists and explains everything. So every situation has an explanation. Each particular element also belongs to the cosmic order in which we participate.

• Every person’s intelligence is a particle of universal reason. Therefore, achieving happiness means living in harmony with it.
• The only thing people can do in the face of external events is to control their own way of seeing and dealing with things.
• The Stoic philosophy of life involves living in harmony with nature through the use of reason. In this sense, your social life can be better if you accept what fate offers.

5 exercises to use stoicism in your daily life

As we have already mentioned, stoicism is a practical philosophy that seeks to improve people’s daily lives. Below we show you some exercises you can use to incorporate the characteristics of stoicism into your daily life.

Acknowledge what is and is not in your control

Identify and separate the problems in your life that are external and therefore not under our control, and that are internal and we can deal with.

According to the contemporary philosopher Massimo Pigliucci, the things we can control our assessments, opinions and values. Everything else is external and beyond our control.

Although it may seem that stoicism encourages you to settle for everything in life, it is actually not true. Instead, it asks: if you can not control what is outside of yourself, what practical sense is there to worry about?

2. Think before you act

Marco Aurelio confirmed that if you are disturbed by something external, the discomfort does not come from the thing itself, but from your thoughts about it. Therefore, you have the power to avoid that discomfort.

So when you feel angry, frustrated or worried about something, you should stop thinking for a moment and reflect on what happened. So ask yourself what is the best way to respond. Just reflecting on things can help you avoid negative and impulsive responses.

3. Define your fears

Another valuable practice of stoicism is to define what you are afraid of. Then you can think of ways to prevent the fear from happening. Or if it happens, you can be prepared to minimize the damage.

This helps us to get our fears out of our heads and assess them objectively. By doing so, we will realize that it is not really that bad. We can control them if we know how to prevent them.

4. Live in the present

Seneca said that happiness lies in enjoying the present without being anxious about the future. It may seem sad, but it is a very valuable lesson that will help us feel happy with what we already have.

Many believe that achievement and success will bring us happiness. However, Stoics know the opposite. Happiness is what gives us success and achievement. So you should not wait until tomorrow to start enjoying your life.

5. Accept the reality of death

We must all accept that one day we will die. Very few people like to talk about death, or even think about it. However, it is the only thing we have in life. And confronting it can be liberating. This is because the fear of death paralyzes us and does not allow us to leave our comfort zones.

Reflecting on your own death is depressing if you do not approach it properly. Life is short. Like it or not, one day we will all cease to exist.

Conclusion

Dealing with your emotions and understanding what is and is not under your control are hallmarks of stoicism. However, this is not always an easy task.

One way to help is to write in a diary before bedtime. As you do so, you can reflect on the most important parts of the day, based on your own perspective on the day. To do this, you can ask yourself questions, such as what went wrong, what went well and what you can improve.