Stoicism is an old Greek school of thought/philosophy that practices virtues, ethics, and teaches that being reactionary is a negative. That we shouldn’t worry about anything beyond our control. We have things that we can decide and those that we cannot. It is a tool for self-mastery, perseverance, and wisdom. It can have a real role in shaping your life and your habits in a positive way.
If you’re interested in learning about stoicism you should check out the book “The Stoic Challenge” by William B. Irvine. Personally I listened to the audio book. It’s easy to read/listen to, and is jammed packed full of great information and tools.
One of the most impactful pieces of advice he mentions is, “The Stoic gods” challenge. He doesn’t mean any actual gods of stoicism. This “god” can be made up by you or one from your religion. The premise is that whenever challenges come up in life, frame it as a sort of challenge from a higher power. Then rate yourself on how you handled everything. Take note of what could be better and try to improve on it. It’s a really great exercise and encourages you to get better and be more thoughtful about what’s going on in your life.
You may also want to check out “Daily Stoic”. It’s a website with easy to read advice and teachings from great stoics from the past. I’m not sure if the website actually posts everyday but their Instagram page does.
It’s a pretty cool way think and navigate through life. Here’s my challenge to you: See if you can use this frame of mind for at least one problem this week. As a side note you can see I used the title “Chew On This!” I think it’ll be nice to have some shorter interesting posts with some good information to think on.
If you have any suggestions let me know on the contact page! Thanks for reading! -JC