With the world rapidly changing and becoming increasingly unstable, the ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism offers lessons for all of us today who wish to remain focused and productive in this time of uncertainty. Stoicism was founded by Zeno of Citum around 300 BC and has been practised since by individuals throughout history, whether they be monarchs, politicians, writers, entrepreneurs or artists. Stoic principles emphasise the importance of upholding reason, virtue and discipline in life, especially when times are tough. The following points on Stoic thought, and how you can easily apply it to your life, would therefore be worth considering.
Epictetus, a famous Stoic from ancient Greece, encouraged others to embrace reason to understand there are many things in life which are outside our individual control. With exponential technologies constantly evolving, polarised politics now the norm, the fracturing of society, a volatile jobs market, or the looming prospect of war, accepting that many things are beyond our individual control at any one point in time, and that reason can help us deal with life as it really is, as opposed to perhaps how we would like it to be, is a useful insight. No matter what is changing around us, education is the one investment we can make that is easily controlled, can transform our lives, be the key to open doors and, most importantly, can never be taken away. Focusing on self-education is therefore well within one’s grasp and using the day wisely by engaging in some form of learning is therefore a day well spent. Ultimately, take control of your life before it takes control of you. This investment will then perhaps better equip you, should you so choose, to change the things in life which warrant change when the time comes.
The notion of virtue is often discussed but rarely practised. Virtue, defined as a good moral quality in someone, comes in many forms. One virtue Stoics promote is that everything you do in life should be done with purpose. Life is too short to mindlessly bumble along. Applying this principle to education, the studying of any subject should always be done with a sense of direction in mind. It could be to pursue the subject to mastery, or simply to gain a good mark for the exam. Either way, you should aim to take something from every one of your lessons. For example, history offers clues on decision making. The principles of mathematics offer a form of problem solving. Learning languages improves memory retention. Taking a moment to return to first principles, pondering the bigger picture of why you are in the classroom and being taught the topic in the first place will help build purpose to every aspect of your education. Following this approach can take a seemingly irrelevant subject and suddenly make it very relevant to your day-to-day life.
Another area to learn from Stoics is the principle of discipline. In the Western world, we live in a time where things are easily obtainable, be it food, water, healthcare, access to information or the ability to travel. Historically speaking, this quality of life is unheard of. This relative comfort, whilst appealing in many ways, has encouraged a certain expectation, self-indulgence and complacency in society. The notion of discipline strangely seems to have become rather unfashionable – much to society’s detriment. It is worth remembering that the road to excellence is built by knowledge, comprehension and skill, but paved with discipline. Upholding some degree of discipline would be advised. Making your bed in the morning, keeping a tidy desk, hanging up your clothes in the evening, exercising even when one would rather not, paying attention to the finer grammatical detail in e-mails, or simply making time to engage in something you enjoy doing are straightforward ways of upholding discipline. Whilst developing disciplined habits takes time, the long term benefits of the mental structure and clarity those habits produce are always worth it and help you perform better in life as a result.
Overall, pondering just these three Stoic principles can help us remain focused and productive during tumultuous times. Stoicism also has the added benefit of being able to transcend cultures, borders and ages – it is therefore difficult to argue against and can be practised by everyone without fear of criticism. One simple way to introduce Stoicism to your life would be to read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. If education is measured by what we remember after we have forgotten everything else, then Stoic principles would be a good thing to stick beyond a single lesson. Ultimately, we need not reinvent the wheel to equip ourselves with the tools to navigate this strange world but rather be willing to stand on the shoulders of giants.
by Hugh Pickering-Carter