Five Ways Stoicism Improved My Life
A label I'll own up to.
I’m skeptical of labels, but if you forced me to adopt one, I’d choose Stoic.
Since encountering the Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius at age sixteen — and hating his ideas — Stoicim has sunk into my psyche and changed me.
I turned forty last week, and I’m “better” now than at any point in the past. It’s impossible to objectively disentangle the growth attributable to genetics or luck from the results of my philosophical practice, but I’m convinced Stoicism positively shaped me.
recently asked how Stoicism changed his audience’s life, so I thought I’d give my extended answer here.1) I’m Happier
Stoicism has a dour reputation, but it’s a happy philosophy.
I’m way less annoyed by foolishness and whatever inconveniences fate throws my way. Ten or twenty years ago I was irritable much of the time. I’m not suddenly happy-go-lucky, but I’m happier.
Stoic reframings have me laughing at the crazy world and its people as much as bemoaning it. It’s a less stressful way to live.
The third head of the Stoa, Chrysippus, reportedly died of a heart attack or stroke during a fit of laughter. He’d seen a donkey looking silly eating some dried figs and said, "Now give him a drink of wine to wash down the figs!"
I hope I make my exit from this world like Chrysippus — laughing all the way.
2) A Railroaded Reality
Unwanted things happen, and in the past I viewed that as bad.
Whatever happens now gets rerouted from the standard sorting of blessing/disaster/neutral into a more useful format. Big changes are no longer good or bad but the opening gambit of a new round of the Stoic Invincibility Game.
Winning this games requires executing different “plays.”
Some of my favorite plays:
3) Steering Clear of Bullshit
There’s a lot of bullshit in this life. It’s easy to get so tangled in it that we can’t see straight. Money, prestige, promotions — is this what we dance like monkeys for?
Stoicism shows us a way to be free of bullshit, and Horace’s Wedge is a fantastic technique for seeing straight. Finally, when I can’t help but get swept away by life’s bullshit, I’ve learned to lash myself to a mast.
4) I’m Grateful
Gratitude is powerful and feels great. The ancient Stoics knew it — the first chapter of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations is mostly him expressing gratitude. Now modern psychologists have the data to back up the Stoics ancient assertion.
The problem is that it’s often hard to feel grateful. Stoicism has some suggestions that I’ve found useful.
5) Helpful Handcuffs
As Barry Swartz pointed out in the Paradox of Choice, more options don’t make us happier. Unrestrained freedom can lead to misery.
Modern Westerners have tacitly embraced nihilism as they’ve shed religions, the norms of their parents, and traditional morality/meaning frameworks. Many are miserable and free.
Stoicism helps limit our options to good ones, since the philosophy demands we base our lives around virtue. If it’s not wise, just, courageous, and moderate, we don’t do it.
These very limitations have led to clarity about my life’s direction. I don’t waste time considering the many things I might do without my helpful handcuffs. Ironically, handcuffs — restraints — are the most freeing thing of all, and I’m happier for it.
Thanks for reading Socratic State of Mind.
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I’m with you. I have just started a deep dive into stoicism. I’m currently working through Epictetus. Next comes Seneca and then Aurelius, and I’m supplementing the reading of original texts with the modern stuff.
I’m not yet willing to call myself a stoic, but practicing stoicism is getting me through the very real local catastrophe of Helene. Homes, towns, and people destroyed. My childhood landscapes washed off the map. Seeing it is devastating. Stoicism has given me a path through the rubble.
So I’m 100% sold on the utility of this philosophy.
Stoicism, to me, feels like Buddhism in oil-stained coveralls wielding a giant wrench worthy of an offshore rig or deep pit mining excavator. Is that fair and at least mildly accurate?
Regardless, since it’s infiltrated my algorithm, I’m intrigued enough to follow the threads the universe is unfurling before me. As a result, this post is now “saved” for further exploration.