What is Stoicism?
Zeno of Cyprus was a wealthy trader and once, during a voyage, lost all his wealth to the sea after his boat sank to the depths. This single event made the once-wealthy man poor. Such an event would make many people curse their faith and cause hopelessness, but it became the foundation of his life's work for Zeno. One small change and reframing in mindset can last for your entire life and change into more impactful decisions. This is Stoicism, and the word Stoic comes from the decorated public colonnade where Zeno and his disciples gathered for discussions, hence the father of Stoicism.
We use the word Stoic for a person who remains calm under pressure and avoids emotional extremes. Acceptance of a situation and indifference is the foundation of Stoicism. According to Stoicism, we do not have control over the different things that happen to us, but we control how those things can affect us. External problems are numerous and endless, but internal problems are something you and only you have control over and can work on. Instead of crying over the fact that his wealth sank deep in the ocean, Zeno kept his composure over the situation and remained calm and neutral. But instead of describing Stoicism as a way of being unemotional, it was a way to view, describe and understand the world and all the different events around one.
Stoic philosophy can be applied today as it was used a thousand years ago and be as beneficial as it was back then. Stoicism allows an individual to process the negative experiences from negative situations and brings a unique perspective to the problem. Everyone in the world is unique as, throughout life, everyone has different experiences that help shape them into the person they are. That is the reason perspective is critical. In reality, we do not get sad because bad things happen to us; it's because unexpected bad things happen entirely out of our control.
Let's take a situation of a farmer. Farmers worldwide are confronted with many different misfortunes from nature, such as droughts, unpredictable rainfall, insect infestations, etc. Still, farmers have developed a close dependency on nature and their knowledge of its cyclical ways over the years. They will weather any storm and endure any distress. You will survive and potentially rise no matter how hard the situation gets if your mindset is right.
"We suffer not from the event in our lives, but from our judgment about them" - Epictetus.
We grow up being taught things in our homes by our parents & family, in school, and by observing the people and the world around us by ourselves. The fact is, all these sources of knowledge teach us different things in different ways and can set up unrealistic expectations from life. The authentic way to live is to focus and improve ourselves, and any external attachment would not be necessary. You might want to blow up all your money to buy a fancy car or a house or even start a family, and we fall in a loop for these things for their external value and not their internal matter. Stoicism focuses that if you approach life this way, you place your happiness in the hands of external entities, which will lead to disappointment and displeasure sooner rather than later.
While Stoicism focuses on self-improvement, it is not a philosophy that that self-centered. It is considered that only the people who have promoted virtue and self-control in themselves can bring positive and empathetic changes in others. One can learn from Stoicism that emotions and sensing them can help you make better decisions. You, as an individual, have control over your life, and the decisions you make will define you. Stoicism does not exist today as an institution but as a philosophy, and one should focus on how one can apply the core principles of Stoicism and reap the benefits.
