Stoicism Aids Perseverance & Resilience

QUICK READ:

• Stoicism is an Ancient Grecian philosophy of personal ethics, preaching the necessity of rationality, self-control, accepting reality, and embracing pain and discomfort without emotion and complaint
• Stoicism aids perseverance and resilience by reminding you to focus on what you can control, fortifying the mind, embracing challenges, and cementing your sense of purpose
• Stoicism helps support perseverance and resilience, but there is no need to be a stoic at all times
• Use stoicism as a tool when you’re faced with adversity and once you’ve overcome your battle allow yourself to feel those emotions that come with defeating or overcoming those challenges you’ve faced

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At its core, Stoicism is a philosophy of personal ethics that emphasizes the importance of rationality, self-control, and the acceptance of one’s fate. It teaches that individuals should focus on the things that are within their control, such as their own thoughts and actions, and should let go of things that are beyond their control, such as external events or other people’s opinions.

Stoicism also emphasizes the importance of living in accordance with nature and the natural order of the universe, and of developing a sense of inner calm and tranquility in the face of life’s challenges and hardships.

Stoicism eventually took on an additional meaning of enduring pain or hardship without the display of feelings and complaint.

The combination of these definitions may lead someone to thinking that an introvert walking through nature is scary, when it could not be further from the truth. Life is pain (there is more to this expression, continue reading), and no one likes to listen to complaints.

With that, here is how Stoicism can aid perseverance and resilience:

Focus On What You Control

One of the fundamental teachings of Stoicism is the idea that we should focus on what is within our control and let go of what is not. By accepting that there are some things we cannot change, we can concentrate our efforts on what we can do, and this can help us persevere in the face of difficulties. It’s said that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond. Stoicism can help you to ignore what is happening and move forward regardless.

Fortify The Mind

Stoicism teaches that we should cultivate a mindset of mental toughness, which can help us stay focused on our goals even in the face of adversity. This means being able to withstand pain, discomfort, and setbacks without losing sight of what we want to achieve.

Emotions have a tendency to cloud rational thought. When you experience pain, it’s most likely the case that you focus on the pain until the discomfort is gone. Well, in reality, that is a terrible practice. Remember, life is pain, and you must find a way to endure. I found myself in a situation where I thought life was over, because I was letting emotion navigate, taking terrible advice to allow myself to feel, when I’d spent so many years employing stoic practices. All those emotions I’d suppressed for years began to erupt and it took me some time to get them back under control.

This is not to say to ignore your feelings, because emotions are necessary, and create feelings of love, joy, and peace. But you must get to a place where you can safely express those feelings and until you’ve climbed your proverbial mountain, you have no time to express any sentiment.

Embrace Challenge

According to Stoicism, challenges and obstacles are not something to be avoided, but something to be embraced as an opportunity for growth and learning. By accepting difficulties and setbacks as part of the journey, we can persevere through them and come out stronger on the other side.

Part of the original definition of Stoicism is unity with nature, living in harmony with the divine. Have you ever gone on a hike before, on a mountain? Well here’s the reality, it’s hard. Hiking slow or fast is irrelevant because it is difficult (depending on the mountain) and complaining doesn’t help. When you hike you get a true sense that the world’s terrain is steep, difficult, and treacherous, but if you embrace the hike, and accept your current circumstance, you realize that mountain [metaphorically] bends to your will and the hike will become easier.

Cementing Your Sense of Purpose

Stoicism emphasizes the importance of having a clear sense of purpose and direction in life. By having a clear goal or mission, we can stay motivated and persevere even in the face of setbacks and obstacles.

I mentioned at the beginning that life is pain, but now I’ll finish that statement. Life is pain, but pain is good, therefore life is good. I wrote in Forgiveness & The Necessity of Pain that our bodies that experience indescribable pain have the ability to experience joy in equal measure. Well, we cannot get to that joy with pain. When employing stoicism in the face of adversity, we are showing that the pain is miniscule in the grand scheme of our ultimate purpose. For me, this is a great technique to avoid getting overwhelmed by emotions.

Conclusion

Stoicism is a great support for perseverance and resilience, because when you face adversity, you need to remain logical and focus on those things that are within your control. Life is primarily about our response to situations and not so much the situation itself.

Don’t be stoic all the time, but when you are facing a seemingly insurmountable wall, you MUST remain logical and focus on that which is in your control.

Overall, Stoicism can help with perseverance by providing a set of tools and principles that can help us stay focused, resilient, and purposeful even in the face of adversity.

REMEMBER: Casper was just a cartoon, don’t be a ghost reader. If you like what you read, react to the post. Share the post if you think someone will benefit. Give a follow as I’ll be working my best to deliver some aspect of growth or technology every single day.