Achieving genuine, enduring success and happiness seems improbable to many today. Yet the ancient wisdom of Stoic philosophy offers a proven framework for realizing life-affirming goals resilient to modern turbulence. Anyone can transform their existence despite adversities by embracing critical practices like pursuing moral virtue, self-mastery, overcoming destructive emotions, and building grit. Applying these potent Stoic principles promises exceptional achievement, tranquility of mind, and profoundly empowering mindsets distinguished by moral character – the keys to unlocking supreme happiness.
1. Live According to Nature
The Stoics believed people should strive to live in harmony with nature and fulfill their highest human potential rather than pursuing fame, wealth, or pleasure. This means making ethical choices guided by reason, fulfilling our natural roles as rational social beings, and developing excellence of character. Practically, this could involve volunteering, participating in civil duties, and making career choices that align with our values. By living purposefully instead of existing passively, we tap into natural joy.
2. Pursue Virtue and Justice
The Stoics emphasized developing wisdom, courage, justice, and moderation – what they saw as the central human virtues. By actively practicing and embodying such virtues, we play our part in creating a just world where human dignity prevails. The reward is the satisfaction and self-respect from purposeful, ethical living.
3. Manage Your Passions
The Stoics trained to monitor and transform destructive emotions like anger, jealousy, and anxiety through strategies like negative visualization and avoiding unhealthy attachments. Viewing such passions objectively enables us to control them rather than be held by them. This clears the mind for rational decision-making.
4. Practice Voluntary Discomfort
By voluntarily enduring discomforts like cold temperatures, fasting, and other austerities, Stoics hardened themselves physically and mentally to face adversity without complaint. Though modern life offers comforts they lack, practicing small disciplines can still help build self-control and resilience when faced with hardships like failure at work or conflicts in relationships.
5. Limit Your Desires
Checking unnecessary material desires and ambitions is liberating – it reduces dependence on external things for happiness and enables contentment with little. By avoiding envy and unsustainable consumption, we gain time and energy for purposeful living aligned with nature and reason.
6. Focus on What You Can Control
Rather than anxiously trying to control what is ultimately outside our power, like the length of life, public opinion, or fame, Stoics focused solely on mastering their judgments and moral will – the sphere of choice where our power lies. Shifting focus inward is both empowering and anxiety-reducing.
7. View Challenges as Opportunities
Stoics underwent adversity training to emerge stronger through hardship, viewing life’s challenges as opportunities to practice wisdom, justice, and self-discipline. Historical figures like Nelson Mandela demonstrated such Stoic resilience. We, too, can let difficulties temper us rather than embitter us.
8. Reflect on Your Mortality
By periodically contemplating death, Stoics brought immediacy and perspective to living. Remembering the brevity of life motivates us not to postpone joy but to seize the day entirely. Training attention on death paradoxically makes us value life more consciously.
9. Cultivate Self-Discipline
Success in applying Stoic principles relies on self-mastery through order, cleanliness, and regimen. We strengthen agency over our judgments and choices by monitoring impulses and maintaining physical and mental health routines – like mindful movement, reading inspirational texts, and sticking to a morning routine.
10. Contemplate the Brevity of Life
Stoics would take time to meditate on the fleeting nature of all things to imbue everyday living with gratitude and ambition to accomplish things worthwhile. Making mortality salient motivates purposeful living in the present aligned with nature, rather than passive drifting or chasing false promises of immortality through fame or fortune.
11. Be a Good Member of Your Community
Contributing talents for everyday use and fulfilling duties to family, neighbors, and civic institutions were seen by Stoics as natural for social beings, bringing both purpose and tranquility. Prioritizing community over isolated self-interest reaps meaning and friendships that endure.
Case Study: Gerald’s Story From Struggling Artist to Stoic Success
Gerald was a struggling artist in his late twenties who had difficulty selling his paintings and often felt depressed about his lack of fame and meager income. While talented, he measured his self-worth exclusively by external validation, comparisons to more successful peers, and his bank account.
When Gerald lost his day job due to company cutbacks, he hit an emotional low point – he felt like a failure and that a cruel world was conspiring against his artistic dreams. He started drinking excessively and pulling away from friends.
At his lowest point, Gerald came across a book on Stoic philosophy that outlined principles like not basing happiness on externals beyond one’s control but instead developing self-mastery, resilience, and service. These strange but profound ideas resonated and gave him hope for inner change.
He started actively applying Stoic practices – he got control over his drinking, created daily routines to reaffirm his values, and worked to strengthen virtues like temperance instead of waiting for inspiration. He also practiced managing his emotions of envy when his peers succeeded.
Rather than obsessing over wealth or fame, Gerald focused on creating works of excellence true to his artistic talent. He also volunteered at the community center’s art program for disadvantaged kids to give back.
Over time, Gerald found increased peace and fulfillment – his self-worth started aligning with his character rather than unsure external validation. Two years since first learning of Stoicism, Gerald now makes a steady living selling commissioned landscape artwork he loves creating. More importantly, applying Stoic principles, he developed emotional resilience and an inner light undimmed by setbacks. His story is an inspiration to others learning Stoic wisdom.
Key Takeaways
- Prioritize developing excellence of moral character and contribution over wealth, fame, or pleasure.
- Actively strengthen the cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and restraint.
- Regulate destructive emotions like fear and anger through rational detachment.
- Build grit and toughness through voluntary disciplines and hardship training.
- Cultivate contentment and self-sufficiency by limiting material desires
- Direct focus inwards to what is within your control
- Leverage challenges to forge unbreakable strength of mind
- Maintain death awareness to crystallize priorities and deepen urgency
- Institute regular routines and practices to master self
- Reflect often on life’s transience to imbue gratitude and catalyze ambition
- Shoulder duties for common welfare with magnanimity over selfish interests
Conclusion
The renowned philosophical system of Stoicism gifts us an exacting framework for realizing success defined by tranquility and fulfillment originating from within. By aligning conduct with the rational order underpinning existence, pursuing moral perfection, and contributing to society’s betterment with equanimity, we unlock lasting happiness resilient to external vagaries. The principles encourage us to live fully and purposefully according to humanity’s highest nature. Practicing such enlightened self-mastery lifts us to rare peaks of achievement subordinate only to destiny.
