First Principles Friday: How to Exhibit Stoic Courage as a Leader
Develop this foundational Stoic virtue to face your inner emotions and become a better leader.
“The man who has virtue is in need of nothing whatever for the purpose of living well.” — Cicero
Stoicism is a school of philosophy focusing strongly on virtues. The ancient Stoics believed that everything we face in life- both good and bad- is an opportunity to respond with virtue. Specifically, Stoicism is built on 4 cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.
For the next four weeks, I’ll talk about each virtue and how to apply them to modern leadership. Today I’m starting with courage because courage is the foundation on which all other virtues are cultivated. Applying Stoic courage to leadership means doing the right thing despite inner emotions that may pull us to take the easy way out.
How the Stoics define courage
The Stoics defined courage as the self-discipline to endure pain and discomfort. It means…
