The last few weeks have been unexpectedly chaotic for me —so much so that it became necessary for me to take a “sabbatical” break from all the tasks on my table. I spent an entire day in the outgoing week unplugged from everything, doing nothing but basking in as much solitude as I could afford with soothing music in the background.

They say if you don’t choose a day to rest, your body will choose it for you. Interestingly, my body chose the same day as mine, and I ended up simultaneously juggling between enjoying my alone time and fighting a fever. Probably not the best way to spend my day off. All of this to say, it’s been a tedious span of days.

Beyond the physical and mental strain, this period has also been characterized by some psychological stress. So many things didn’t go as planned —unforeseen brick walls, missed deadlines, more than a few wrong calls, and a good amount of futile effort. Regardless of the situation, my primary focus was not to let all the frenzy get to me. Of course, I felt some tinge of frustration from time to time, but I made sure to quell it as soon as it arose.

The Philosophy of Stoicism

Not too long ago, I stumbled on a YouTube video by Joey from Better Ideas where he discussed stoicism. I found it interesting and proceeded to learn more about the concept.

As with any other philosophical concept, there are varying schools of thought on stoicism. I’m not about to go into the details of the principles and beliefs surrounding stoicism (I’m not so intrigued with all of that myself). Instead, we’ll focus on the basic idea of stoicism.

This philosophy is said to be founded by Zeno of Citium. He was a wealthy merchant who lost everything to a shipwreck around 300 BC. While visiting Athens, he wandered into a bookstore and was introduced to the works of Socrates, and subsequently studied other philosophers. Having settled into philosophy, he started teaching his own students and developed the principles of stoicism.

Epictetus, a famous stoic Greek philosopher, once wrote: “Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not”. (Emphasis on the last sentence). This quote pretty much sums up the stoic mindset. 

Simply put, stoicism is a mental disposition hinged on acknowledging that life won’t always be as smooth as we would love it to be. It is accepting that life can be tough, and things will sometimes go south, whether or not we want them to. A true stoic is aware of this dynamic of life and focuses more on what they can control (thoughts, feelings, emotions, reactions) and less on things beyond their control (external events or circumstances).

The Way of the Stoic

Well, turns out I adopted stoicism long before I knew it was a thing. I’ve been learning to live by the stoic principle, and I preach it to as many who care to listen. I even referenced it in the “22 things at 22” post from last January. 

I wrote there that “paying more attention to your actions and focusing less on other people’s reactions, and vice versa, saves you from a lot of emotional and psychological stress.” Although that was in the context of relating with others, it also applies to our interactions with occurrences in our personal lives and in society. 

Coming to terms with the idea that things might sometimes not go according to plan helps you react more rationally in the face of unforeseen misfortune. It serves as some form of default mechanism as it leaves you mentally prepared in case things go awry.

Stoicism is not entirely passive or reactive. The stoic mindset also enables us to take proactive steps to reduce the resultant effect of an unanticipated mishap. You probably heard the famous saying, “hope for the best, and prepare for the worst”. By preparing for the worst, you go through all the possible ways things can go wrong and develop means of preventing them from happening. This is sometimes referred to as “strategic pessimism” (not to be confused with actual pessimism).

A Believing Stoic

One of the earliest posts on this platform discussed the issue of worry and how I deal with it. The ideas I shared there can be connected to stoicism as it revolves around maintaining our internal joy and peace when things seem to be falling apart. And even though the post was published over a year ago, its contents are still very valid. (You might want to check it out)

If you’ve followed this space long enough, you would have noticed that my faith is a very integral part of my belief system. As a Christian, my outlook on life is primarily anchored on God’s Word and the principles taught by the Bible. In that post, I also made reference to some Bible verses to drive home the idea of “worry less, pray more”, which I practice myself. 

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28 KJV

In my opinion, the verse above teaches stoicism. It tells us that all things —seemingly good or bad— work in concert to produce good outcomes. Such reassurance! So when things tend to go downhill, I remember that it can only be for good in the end, and I hold my peace.