Stoicism - A Guide to Modern Life

Book SummaryPodcast Summary
Written By Howard Chan

Does it feel like you’re constantly grinding, busting your chops but not feeling like you’re getting anywhere? Maybe that next promotion would lead to more happiness, what about that bigger house or new car? You may have wondered what the point is if all your hard earned possessions and achievements don't lead to real satisfaction?

Don’t we all want to live our best life? A life where we are achieving our goals and feeling like we’re doing what we’ve been put on this earth to do with the absence of negative thoughts and social judgement. Stoic philosophy attempts to provide a guide to enable us to live this life. The philosophy is ultimately about attaining “tranquility” which sounds like an ancient, antiquated term that I once thought could only be attained when you die!

After diving into the topic further, I now interpret achieving tranquility as living life on your own terms and being comfortable in your skin. It’s like reaching the top of Maslow’s pyramid, becoming self-actualized so that you can fulfill your life’s mission and not care about the critics... “You are doing You” in a constant state of Zen.

Despite images of old men in togas, Stoic philosophy is surprisingly relatable and provides practical advice on a wide range of topics that are still relevant today like: how to handle insults, how to think about wealth, and how to tame your desires so that your desires do not end up owning you. It’s also fascinating to discover how little human nature has changed in over 2000+ years. In the past, humans worried about getting the best seats to watch the gladiators or buying the fastest horse. Today, it’s about aspiring to court side seats or the new car with all the fancy upgrades.

If you’re new to Stoic philosophy, William Irvine the author of “The Guide to a Good Life” was recently interviewed on “The Knowledge Project” and the podcast provides a great entry point into what it means to be a Stoic. I’m going to highlight the 5 stoic techniques outlined in William Irvine’s book and how I’ve personally interrupted each one. The five techniques are: 1) Negative Visualization, 2) The Dichotomy of Control, 3) Fatalism, 4) Self-Denial, 5) Meditation.

Negative Visualization

The first technique, called negative visualization can be summarized as the exercise of imagining in vivid detail how one would respond to the worst case scenario. The Stoics would practice by visualizing what it would be like to lose what they valued the most in this world. For instance, how would you feel if you lost your best friend, spouse, or one of your children? What would your reaction be? How would you live your life if they were gone?

This may sound overly dramatic and depressing, but the Stoics argued that by practicing this technique we end up valuing what we already have and we end up not taking anything for granted. This practice not only forces us to treat each moment preciously but it also mentally prepares us for the worst case scenario.

In a world with an insatiable appetite for more, by appreciating what we already have we may be less likely to want to constantly chase the next shiny object. If we take a moment to reflect on the benefits of items we already own, like perhaps an old car and consider how much money we might be saving by keeping it, perhaps we can control our desire to buy the latest model. If we focus on doing a great job at work and appreciating our role, mastering our craft, perhaps we can stop chasing the next promotion. By avoiding the hedonic treadmill, we can prevent burnout, over consumption, debt and restore our “tranquility”.

Dichotomy of Control

This technique refers to focusing on what we can control and to ignore factors that are outside our control. This reminds me of Stephen Covey’s Circle of Concern and Influence. If we define our goals based on what we have control over, we have a much higher chance of succeeding.

In a work environment, a Stoic would not care what their boss or coworkers think about them. They would not define their success in getting a promotion because they know there are so many factors outside their control for this to happen. Instead, a Stoic would define success as doing their job to the best of their abilities day after day - something well in their own control.

This all makes sense, but my own personal observation of this technique is that despite my best efforts it’s hard to control stress that arises. Although one could argue that it is in our own control to determine how you react to situations, the trigger of the stress and the associated emotions are difficult to control. This definitely an area that I have not yet mastered.

Fatalism

Simply put, this technique is about not dwelling on the past and not spending energy on thinking how things could have been different. The idea is to accept what has happened because according to the Stoics, the past was guided by fate. So instead of complaining and feeling sorry for ourselves, a Stoic would lay plans to ensure future success.

So next time you’re handed a project that has been delayed, it’s not worth your time to dwell on the past and cast blame. Instead, the Stoics would recommend regrouping and correcting the course so that the project can be delivered successfully on a new timeline.

Self-Denial

This technique is an extension of negative visualization but goes one step further. Whereas negative visualization was a mental exercise, self-denial actually encourages us to take action to deny ourselves of key pleasures so that we can observe our reactions and learn to not become dependent on things we treasure the most.

My personal example relates to backcountry camping. I’m always a bit hesitant to book the trip because being in the backcountry requires that we deny ourselves of many of modern life’s luxuries. Despite living with only our bare necessities, I’m always amazed at how much fun these trips are - I can’t remember ever having a bad experience. It really shows how little material goods we really need to be happy if we are surrounded by our friends and family in nature. After a few days in the woods, undoubtedly we start to appreciate all the other modern luxuries we routinely take for granted like a bed to sleep on, warm showers and fresh clothes. The experience brings to mind some more questions like, how much money do we really need to be happy? Can we live with less material goods?

Meditation

As compared to other approaches to meditation where we are told to focus on our breath and clear our minds, the Stoics treat meditation like a daily retrospective. They recommend that we review the day and consider where we could have done a better job at being a Stoic.

For instance, a Stoic may consider how they reacted to an insult and how they will not let this affect them in the future. They may consider how they were lured onto the hedonic treadmill and in a moment of weakness purchased a new gadget just out of the need to buy the next shiny object.

Daily journaling is a great way to check in on yourself to see how you’re doing. It’s an approach I’ve been using to make sure the important parts of life are getting the proper focus and to prevent distraction from external influences.

What’s next

Wouldn’t it be great if we all found a way to live a meaningful life, full of happiness and fulfillment? One where we don’t have this empty feeling of never being enough, never achieving enough or having enough? I believe that we all want to make progress and contribute to the world in a way that is unique to each of us. Sometimes this inner voice gets drowned out by other factors and practical reasons, but perhaps Stoic philosophy can help us attain tranquility and guide us as we navigate these turbulent times.

Inspiration:


Howard Chan
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