Stoicism
Stoicism, the value of reason in coping with chaos
Professional skills Training Human resources
In a world shaken by constant crises, daily life becomes hectic and our peace of mind suffers. In this context, Stoicism emerges as a guide to living a fulfilling life, grounded in the value of reason and in accepting what lies beyond our control.
Stoicism is a school of philosophy founded in the early 3rd century BC by Zeno of Citium. This philosopher, born in Cyprus, survived a shipwreck, but lost everything he possessed in it. He arrived in Athens, where he gave public lectures, but where, as a foreigner, he could not participate in the politics of the city. Indeed, the name of his philosophy comes from the place where he disseminated his thought; a 'stoa' or covered gallery that was located next to the city's Agora.
What does it mean to be stoic and what are its characteristics?
The word stoic, in its modern usage, is often used to refer to a person who is indifferent to pleasure and joy, as well as sorrow or pain. The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) dictionary defines stoic in its first meaning as "strong, equanimous in the face of misfortune", while the Oxford dictionary defines it as a person who suffers pain or problems without complaining or showing what they feel. However, these interpretations simplify its original meaning: the Stoic doctrine is based more on being guided by reason and, because we cannot control what happens around us, controlling what we think about what happens.
For this reason, Stoicism focuses particularly on emotions, which it refers to as passions, and distinguishes between valuable, harmful and indifferent ones. We should encourage the former, ignore the indifferent ones and face the bad ones with clarity. Its central idea is clear: it is not events that disturb us, but our interpretation of them. Therefore, it proposes evaluating our opinions before accepting them, treating them as hypotheses and not as absolute truths. By questioning them, we can correct them and transform our disordered passions into healthier emotions.
Basic characteristics of Stoicism:
The goal of the Stoics was none other than to achieve happiness or self-realisation, a concept they referred to as eudaimonia. This is achieved through moral virtue (or areté) and serenity (or ataraxia).
Virtue
For the Stoics, virtue has to do with excellence and the fulfilment of one's potential. To this end, four qualities stand out: wisdom, justice, courage and discipline. Reason always shapes all of these and drives us to seek knowledge, act with righteousness, maintain strength and cultivate self-control.
Serenity
If virtue is one of the corners of the triangle that elevates happiness, the other is serenity, or ataraxia. This is a type of mental serenity that prevents negative emotions from taking control, thus facilitating virtuous behaviour. Stoicism warns that emotional reactions to adversity distort reality, leading us to confuse simple thoughts with inevitable facts. This confusion is ultimately the root of all mental turmoil.
What is critical thinking?
The best way to combat fallacies.
The 10 best tips for self-improvement
unleash your full potential and achieve your goals.
What is values education?
The importance of values education in today's society.
What is lifelong learning?
The value of continuous learning in a constantly changing world.
The dichotomy of control
The dichotomy of control is one of the most relevant terms in Stoicism and has evolved from its origins to the present day. It teaches us to distinguish between what depends on us and what does not. While our opinions, judgements and actions are under our control, external events remain beyond it. The secret to peace of mind lies in focusing all our energy on the internal, accepting with indifference what we cannot change. In the words of Seneca: "The wise man is concerned with the intention of his actions, not with their results".
Modern stoicism evolves this idea and proposes a trichotomy, introducing a third category: things over which we have partial control. A classic example is a tennis match, where the final result is beyond our absolute control, as variables such as the opponent's skill, weather conditions or the umpire's decisions influence it. Therefore, in this example the goal should not be to win the match but to play as well as possible, as that is the only thing we can control.
Applying Stoicism in our daily lives
Stoicism has established itself as one of the dominant philosophical currents thanks to its practical nature. Many understand it as a kind of toolbox that allows them to move towards self-realisation. Therefore, true Stoicism should be understood as a guiding ideal and not as a rigid goal. Among the most effective tools are:
Distinguish between our sphere of influence and our sphere of concern
Identify what we can control and what we can’t.
How can we do this? When faced with a problem, ask yourself: Does this depend on me? Can I do something concrete right now?
Transform negative emotions
Deal with negative emotions and analyse them using reason.
How can we do this? When we react to a situation, we must first identify what emotion we are feeling. Then we must ask ourselves what thoughts it generates. Finally, we must analyse that thought rationally so that we can face the situation with greater calm.
Living in the present
Focus on the present moment and avoid emotional suffering over the past or future.
How can we do this? When your mind wanders to the past or is overwhelmed by the future, ask yourself: What requires my attention right now?
Mastering our thoughts
Be mindful of your thoughts and avoid relying on external factors.
How can we do this? By detecting automatic thoughts that arise in stressful situations and trying to reframe them objectively.
Reflecting to improve
Keep a stoic diary where you write down the important things that happened each day to analyse what went well, what went wrong and what remains to be done.
How can we do this? Every night we can spend some time reflecting personally by writing in a notebook. We can ask ourselves every night what we did well and what we can improve on. This habit will help us to be more aware of our actions and to learn constantly from our mistakes.