Understanding Stoicism as a Philosophy of Life (#32)

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"Remember: Matter. How tiny your share of it. Time. How brief and fleeting your allotment of it. Fate. How small a role you play in it." —Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Stoicism as a philosophy is not the same as being lowercase s stoical. It is not about blocking our difficult feelings and emotions. Instead, Stoicism is an approach to life that teaches us how to handle our negative emotions in psychologically healthier ways.

Timestamps:

[04:11] What is Stoicism? Zeno of Citium and the beginnings of Stoicism to the Roman Stoicism centuries later
[09:12] What is a philosophy of life?
[16:26] The basic Stoic beliefs and assumptions
[26:00] Definition of Stoicism in relation to the victim culture of today's society
[31:40] Ataraxia/Tranquility: the grand goal of Stoicism
[38:19] Epictetus and the dichotomy of control
[45:13] Epictetus and the art of acquiescence

What is Stoicism?

So what is Stoicism? What are the Stoic beliefs and principles that can lead to a good life? The meaning of Stoicism can be expressed in many ways, but in essence, it is the difference between viewing something as a blessing or as a curse. It is realizing that the obstacles in life don't obstruct our path—they are the path. Marcus Aurelius, in one of his more famous Stoicism quotes, echoed this by saying the following:

"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way".

Author and advocate for Stoicism Ryan Holiday, founder of the Daily Stoic, wrote a book centered on this concept called The Obstacle Is the Way. Instead of victimizing ourselves when we have difficulties, we can see it as the very thing that advances us forward and makes us grow. As Marcus Aurelius says, this framing of events is what allows us to logically see challenges as blessings:

“So remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain: the thing itself was no misfortune at all; to endure it and prevail is great good fortune.”

We often cannot control external events, but we can always control our internal framing of those events. Stoicism calls this the art of acquiescence, and it is how we bring ourselves into harmony with nature, with what is. While more difficult, this includes accepting the challenges and tragedies of life, even our own death. In fact, Stoic beliefs and techniques centered around learning how to reframe events that happen to you in this more positive framing of a blessing. Stoicism philosophers (so-called Stoics) include famous Greek names like Zeno, Cleanthes, and Chrysippus as well as even more famous Roman names such Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. It is the Roman Stoicism, especially the famous Stoicism quotes by Marcus Aurelius, that serve as the foundation for this episode. For a more in-depth guide to Stoic beliefs, you can read our full article that corresponds to this episode: **Stoicism as a Philosophy of Life** And look out for Part 2 for our episode that takes these Stoic beliefs and transforms them into specific techniques.

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