Stoicism: How 1000 Year Old Wisdom can Change Our Lives Today (By. Zikang Jiang)

As they sit glassy-eyed, gaze unfocused, body resting haphazardly on the harsh wooden chair, with a pile of work lying in front of them, most students are familiar with the stresses of school. College matriculation and social pressures envelop their lives with frenzied posts and stories across social media. According to Mental Health America, In 2023, 20.17% of teenagers ages 12 - 17 reported suffering from at least one depressive episode in their lifetime. However, not all struggles are quantifiable or visible. Many students may appear perfectly happy but privately struggle with a myriad of insecurities about their grades, their appearances, and much more.

It’s simplistic to believe life must be pervaded with dissatisfaction and anxiety. Although the stresses caused by social media and college matriculation are born from the modern world, ancient philosophies offer potential paths to live meaningful and joyous lives. Here, in the first of a series of articles, join me as we explore the wisdom of the ancient Stoics and how their principles in practice can be transformative even today, centuries after their creation.

Stoicism, created by Zeno of Citium, originated in 300 B.C.E. Its dedication to achieving eudaimonia, a state of peace and joy, through emotional and mental discipline gained widespread adoption in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Key practitioners that have guided its growth include Seneca, Epictetus, and the famed Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. More recently, government officials(Abraham Lincoln), successful Startup Founders(Alex Hormozi), and Celebrated Athletes(Michael Phelps) have credited key stoic principles for their success.

Perhaps the key tenets of stoicism can be encompassed in one quote. “You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” - Marcus Aurelius.

This tells us two key tenets. The past need not affect us. The comments of others need not affect us.

As students, we know that disruptions during the day are mostly minor but often have rippling effects. The reprimands of a teacher in the morning affect our mood before lunch, or maybe even while studying at night. Poor performance in a class can affect our desire to socialize or practice sports. The stresses of college matriculation or minuscule incidents during the day can distract us from what actually matters. When unaddressed, these minor inconveniences may compound to us feeling drained or unmotivated. Although Stoicism is not meant to solve mental illnesses, perhaps its practice can bring peace and purpose to our daily lives, mitigating our reaction to small distractions and minor incidents.

It’s easy to say, I feel sad, angry, or bothered, because of what someone else did. But we will never be able to control our surroundings, only our reactions. According to Orion Philosophy, as Epictetus once said, “If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation”. Instead of wallowing and being victim to our emotions, we can find strength in controlling how we interpret events. We can seek pride in remaining focused through events that would have previously distracted us. If we are insulted, we needn't feel attacked, rather we can use their comments as motivation, we can realize their ignorance and remain unbothered, and we can reflect, realize the truth in their statement, and grow. In these responses, we maintain control over our lives. We turn an unpleasant situation into one that can catalyze our growth or reinforce our sense of self. We live in an interpreted world, where we interact with our interpretation of reality. Instead of allowing it to sabotage us, why not shape it to help us grow?

Acting with the virtue of discipline is difficult and we may often lapse into our poorer, reactionary habits; however, Stoicism offers a potential solution. “Just as nature takes every obstacle, every impediment, and works around it—turns it to its purposes, incorporates it into itself—so, too, a rational being can turn each setback into raw material and use it to achieve its goal.” - Marcus Aurelius. Without purpose, we wander in the wind, unable to differentiate between what matters and what distracts us, clinging to our past mistakes and listening to the disparaging comments of others. With purpose, we gain a sense of self, realizing our self-worth, in striving to accomplish something meaningful. With purpose, we gain a direction in which we can channel our energy, thus better-identifying distractions and better-turning setbacks into growth.

Though Stoicism may be the wisdom of the ancients, even today, their principles can guide us through the many distractions and opportunities of high school.

If you found value from the above, online resources like the Daily Stoic, and Books like Meditations by Marcus Aurelius might be interesting to you!