Ancient Wisdom About Wisdom

 The ruins in the ancient city of Ephesus. The Stoics understood that nothing is permanent.
Possessions, indeed all “things”, are indifferents that can’t determine your happiness.

Over the past few years, I’ve read a number of books about Stoicism and how it can lead to happiness and wisdom. In modern English, when someone is described as a “stoic”, we envision a person who is unemotional, detached, and unfeeling. Someone who can withstand extreme hardship. Or, an analogy that Tim Ferriss is fond of using, a stoic is like a cow standing in the rain, just passively accepting circumstances as they are. While self-control is certainly a cornerstone of Stoic philosophy, neither of these characterizations is accurate. Stoicism is not about ridding ourselves of all emotions or failing to respond to injustice with passive indifference. Stoicism is really about understanding our thoughts, reframing our attitudes, and striving for excellence through our actions. In Stoic philosophy, the goal is to achieve eudaimonia – a flourishing life.

Stoicism is built on a central idea: the Dichotomy of Control. Somethings are within your control. Somethings are outside your control. You are probably familiar with the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr. Not only does it allude to the dichotomy of control, but it points to an important stoic virtue: wisdom.

Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

Focusing your minds and actions on those things within your control is the first step toward a happier life. The past is finished. You can’t change that. The future is unknowable. You can influence the future, but you can’t control it. By focusing your attention on what you can control, the things you can do here and now, relieves stress and thwarts catastrophic thinking. You can’t control what other people think about you. You can’t control what other people do. You can’t control whether your property is damaged or stolen. And while you can influence your physical health, you can’t control it. Similarly, you can’t control whether people will appreciate, like, or value the outcomes of your work. When you create expectations about things you can’t control and your expectations aren’t met, it can lead to disappointment. Unhappiness. The Stoic talk about the things you can’t control as indifferents. Not indifference, as if you don’t care. Rather, indifferents can’t determine your happiness.

While you can’t control indifferents (e.g. “external”), you can control how you react. Your reactions includes your thoughts, emotions, and your subsequent actions. When we experience an event, we very rapidly go through a three step process. It’s so rapid that we don’t perceive them as separate and distinct steps. First, we sense that something is happening. We hear, see, feel, smell, or taste something. Or perhaps the event stimulates multiple senses. Second, we note in our minds what happened. We decipher the event and recognize it. And third, we interpret and explain the event. We judge it. Sometimes our judgments of events are positive. Sometimes our judgments are negative. But these judgments, these feelings about whether something is “good” or “bad” or “neutral”, are under our control. The event isn’t positive or negative. Only our judgment is.

People feel disturbed not by things, but by the views they take of them.

   -Epictetus, Enchiridion 5

Wisdom, according to the Stoic, is understanding this distinct between what you can control and what you can’t. Then focusing your thinking toward healthy emotions, desires, and opinions. And finally taking thoughtful, deliberate action. You don’t need to accept the first reaction that comes to your mind. Instead, you can create space to critically examine your emotions and arrive at a well-reasoned response. Only you can decide whether an event is “positive” or “negative.”

True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hope or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of humankind are within us and within our reach. A wise person is content with their lot, what ever it may be, without wishing for what they have not.
   -Seneca, On the Happy Life

Wisdom is achieved by focusing your attention on what you can control and re-centering your efforts. Happiness is about the thoughts inside you, not the things that surround you. The wise person understands that happiness is not a destination but a journey filled with positive thoughts and positive (virtuous) action. You can cultivate positive thoughts by forming healthy judgments about what “fortune” has bestowed on you and expressing gratitude for the gifts you have received. Positive action simply means doing your best to serve people within your sphere of influence. Success should not be defined by the final outcome. You can not control the outcome, only influence it. Doing your best, however, is always under your control and is the truest measure of success.

The wise person looks to the purpose of all actions, not their consequences; beginnings are in our power but Fortune judges the outcome.

   -Seneca, Letters to a Stoic 14

I’ll admit that I don’t always react positively to every event in my life and my actions aren’t always virtuous. But Stoicism doesn’t demand perfection. Rather, achieving the good life requires repeated practice. And with practice, wisdom emerges.

Not to feel exasperated, or defeated, or despondent because your days aren’t packed with wise and moral actions. But to get back up when you fail, to celebrate behaving like a human — however imperfectly — and fully embrace the pursuit you’ve embarked on.

   -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5:9

If you are interested in learning more about how Stoicism can help you lead a happier and more vibrant life, I recommend The Beginner’s Guide to Stoicism: Tools for Emotional Resilience & Positivity by Matthew J. Van Natta. And for some daily inspiration, check out The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

Cheers-

Stuart