Stoicism:
A Complete Guide to Empower your Mindset and Timeless Wisdom to Gain Emotional Resilience, Confidence and Calmness
By
Richard Nolan
Table of Contents
Introduction
Welcome to the complete guide to Stoicism. Your interest in this topic is a signal that you are seeking to learn more about ancient wisdom that served humanity for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. This ancient wisdom is all about finding a balance between life in the material world and how you can use your mindset to navigate it.
On the whole, Stoicism is about finding a sound balance in your emotional life. When you find this balance, you are able to look at things in a completely different light. This is important especially if you are going through a tough time. Moreover, if you have been through tough times in the past, you can appreciate the difficulty that comes in trying to manage your emotions.
Indeed, getting a grip on your emotions and your psychological wellbeing can be a real challenge. After all, its not easy to deal with all of the things which happen around us on a daily basis. Some of us have to deal with persona tragedy and loss while others have to deal with overwhelming circumstances. Sadly, turmoil is nothing new to human civilization. This is why Stoicism evolved from a philosophical school of thought to a philosophy of life.
When you embrace Stoicism, you embrace an entirely new mindset. This is the kind of mindset with which you can find a new lease on life. While Stoicism wont change the circumstances around you, it will help you find new ways to look at the same situation you are in.
This book has been written with the average person in mind. That means that we are not looking for psych or philosophy majors. We are looking to reach real people with real lives. Moreover, we are looking to reach real people who can find a new way of approaching life in Stoicism. This implies that anyone who is interested in learning more about an ancient way of thinking can find solace in the information contained herein.
In addition, this volume has been written in plain and clear language. This book is not an exercise in sound smart; its an exercise in thinking smart. This exercise is all about finding the right way to manage your emotions, your mindset and your attitude in such a way that you will be able to make the most of your own skills and resources to help you overcome whatever you are facing at the moment.
Yes, life can be daunting. In fact, it can downright pummel you. Naturally, there are times when you might feel like banging your head on the wall. But when you embrace Stoicism, you will find that the path to solving lifes hardships becomes clearer. Now, Stoicism is not the answer to all of lifes problems. Rather, Stoicism is the method by which you can find the path to uncovering the answers you seek.
As a result, this book has been laid out in three parts. First, we are going to discuss the theory behind Stoicism. We are going to learn about its history and where it came from. Most importantly, we are going to discuss the philosophy behind it. This implies that we are going to focus on the mental process that leads to the development of this approach to life.
In the second section, we are going to take about embracing Stoicism and making it a part of your life. As such, we are going to be looking at ways in which you can go about implementing the rules for life that Stoicism has to offer. Most importantly, youll learn this in a step by step format. So, there arent any abstract reflections on the meaning of life. We are going to be looking at the practical ways in which you can bring Stoicism into your life right away.
Then, in the third section, we are going to be looking at the transformative power of Stoicism. We are going to look at four ways in which you can implement Stoicism for your benefit. This means that we are going to be honing in on the real ways in which Stoicism can provide you with the guidelines you need to apply this ancient wisdom to todays problems.
Ultimately, this book is about giving you the tools you need to make the most of your experience so that you can build emotional resiliency. And while this may sound like just another catchphrase, please bear in mind that this approach to life evolved through some of the hardest times in human history. So, dont be surprised if it still rings true today.
Part I:
Introduction to Stoicism
Chapter 1: The Foundations of Stoicism
The word stoic is commonly interpreted as lacking emotion. On the surface, most folks view being stoic as not displaying any emotion. In fact, the common belief is that a stoic person is someone who does not feel anything. Stoic individuals are seen as folks who go through life without being swayed by the events around them.
To be clear, the lack of emotion is a sign of psychopathy. Psychopaths are individuals who are unable to feel in the same manner that regular people do. Moreover, psychopaths are individuals who are unable to empathize with others. This is why the garden variety psychopath will engage in behaviors that dont take into account others feelings.
Consequently, this is not the definition of a stoic.
Stoicism is about understanding the impact that the events of the world have on the mind of a person. Its all about understanding what these events make a person feel and how the individual can learn to cope with those feelings. In addition, Stoicism is about learning how to tailor an individuals mindset so that it doesnt break at the first sign of trouble.
When you seek to define Stoicism, the Oxford dictionary provides a great summary of this ancient school of thought: the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint.
That is a harsh definition.
But lets take it one step further. Being stoic is not simply refraining from displaying emotion or not complaining. Being Stoic is about understanding that there are things in the world which we cannot control, yet we need to learn how to manage them. There are circumstances in the world that no matter what we go, we cant change. Therefore, we need to understand how to deal with them.
This is the root of keeping your emotions in check while also avoiding complaints.
You see, when a person does not fully understand the world around them, the world often seems chaotic and random. When a person sees the world in terms of chaos or disorder, it is very difficult to grasp any kind of logic or sense. Thus, Stoicism also calls for the application of logic and reason to the world. And while we cant always make logical assumptions as to why events happen (after all, there is a certain amount of randomness in the world), the fact is that you can always rationalize the feelings that the worlds event evoke.
The virtues of Stoicism
The school of Stoicism is founded upon core virtues. These virtues are attitudes which practitioners of this philosophy embrace in such a way that they are able to use them to guide their actions throughout the course of their lives.
Its important to note that virtues are an important part of all cultures and societies. All societies around the world have virtues that they embrace as part of their ethos. Virtues may vary from culture to culture, yet they are a reflection of the fundamental human nature that we all possess.
So, lets take a closer look at the four core virtues of the Stoicism.
Wisdom
Wisdom is often associated with intelligence or study. Yes, it is true that wisdom can be cultivated through careful study and the use of ones innate cognitive skills. But then again, there is one factor that is essential to developing wisdom: experience.
