So if you haven't heard of 'Stoicism' ,here is Wikipedia's definition :
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC. The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection", would not suffer such emotions.
So what exactly is stoicism?
It is the art of controlling one's emotion to achieve ultimate calmness.
Stoicism deals with two fundamental questions: 1.How can we lead a happy life? 2.How can we become better human beings?
Well known stoics are: Marcus Aurelius(The great Roman emperor),Seneca(tutor of Nero ) and Epictetus(master of Marcus Aurelius).
Lets discuss some of the practical parts of stoicism and try and incorporate in into our lives
1) Thought about death: Most of us take many things in our life for granted and the most thing we take for granted is our life. We all know we will die yet we live our lives as though we are immortal.
Many Successful people think of their day as their last day,this makes them more clear on their goal.
Steve Jobs(Co-founder of Apple Computers) always treated his next day as his last day,he says in his biography by Walter Isaacson, that this thought is what made his days productive and clear.
2) Zero Procrastination:It is normal to procrastinate but abnormal to procrastinate important aspects in life(health related,career realted,etc) every single time. The best way to avoid procrastination is by promising a reward to oneself after completion. We can also increase our productivity by defining our 'big 5 goals' for the day and complete it within the day, by this method we must have accomplished thousands of micro goals by the end of the year.
3)Application of knowledge: We learn a lot but fail to apply it in our lives. For example almost all people who want to reduce their weight know how to reduce but almost always fail.
This means just knowing stuff is not enough but their application too is critical.Try and learn to apply your knowledge on something. Experiment, mix two subjects.The happiness got by making stuff is immeasurable.
4)Failure treated as a stepping stone:Yes,the classic,failure is to be treated like stepping stone,I know, you maybe sick of hearing it again and again but sustainable success is attained only through years of failure. Abraham Lincoln,Gandhi,Edison,Einstein all of these people failed so many times that even 'failure' was sick of them,they had just failed too many times at the start of their careers,yet now they are immortal in our minds.
These words of Marcus have struck me:
"Were you to live three thousand years, or even thirty thousand,
remember that the sole life which a man can lose is that which he is living at the moment;
and furthermore, that he can have no other life except the one he loses.
This means that the longest life and the shortest amount to the same thing.
For the passing minute is every man’s equal possession, but what has once gone by is not ours.
Our loss, therefore, is limited to that one fleeting instant, since no one can lose what is already past, nor yet what is still to come–for how can he be deprived of what he does not possess?
So two things should be borne in mind. First, that all the cycles of creation since the beginning of time exhibit the same recurring pattern,
so that it can make no difference whether you watch the identical spectacle for a hundred years, or for two hundred, or for ever.
Secondly, that when the longest-and the shortest-lived of us come to die, their loss is precisely equal.
For the sole thing of which any man can be deprived is the present;
since this is all he owns, and nobody can lose what is not his."
To put that in a much concise way:"WHAT MATTERS IS THE PRESENT,THAT IS THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE A DEGREE OF CONTROL OVER"
It does not matter if a person lived a thousand years but is not satisfied at the moment.
To sum the article:
1)Think of your death,think of how you will be remembered,think of your actions now.
2)Procrastination is not good. Reward yourself to complete tasks.
3)Apply what you learn,mix two subjects,enjoy learning better by using the stuff you know.
4)Failure maybe bad but is necessary if you want to be happier.
Next up......Books and blogs that will open up your world
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC. The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection", would not suffer such emotions.
So what exactly is stoicism?
It is the art of controlling one's emotion to achieve ultimate calmness.
Stoicism deals with two fundamental questions: 1.How can we lead a happy life? 2.How can we become better human beings?
Well known stoics are: Marcus Aurelius(The great Roman emperor),Seneca(tutor of Nero ) and Epictetus(master of Marcus Aurelius).
Lets discuss some of the practical parts of stoicism and try and incorporate in into our lives
1) Thought about death: Most of us take many things in our life for granted and the most thing we take for granted is our life. We all know we will die yet we live our lives as though we are immortal.
Many Successful people think of their day as their last day,this makes them more clear on their goal.
Steve Jobs(Co-founder of Apple Computers) always treated his next day as his last day,he says in his biography by Walter Isaacson, that this thought is what made his days productive and clear.
2) Zero Procrastination:It is normal to procrastinate but abnormal to procrastinate important aspects in life(health related,career realted,etc) every single time. The best way to avoid procrastination is by promising a reward to oneself after completion. We can also increase our productivity by defining our 'big 5 goals' for the day and complete it within the day, by this method we must have accomplished thousands of micro goals by the end of the year.
3)Application of knowledge: We learn a lot but fail to apply it in our lives. For example almost all people who want to reduce their weight know how to reduce but almost always fail.
This means just knowing stuff is not enough but their application too is critical.Try and learn to apply your knowledge on something. Experiment, mix two subjects.The happiness got by making stuff is immeasurable.
4)Failure treated as a stepping stone:Yes,the classic,failure is to be treated like stepping stone,I know, you maybe sick of hearing it again and again but sustainable success is attained only through years of failure. Abraham Lincoln,Gandhi,Edison,Einstein all of these people failed so many times that even 'failure' was sick of them,they had just failed too many times at the start of their careers,yet now they are immortal in our minds.
These words of Marcus have struck me:
"Were you to live three thousand years, or even thirty thousand,
remember that the sole life which a man can lose is that which he is living at the moment;
and furthermore, that he can have no other life except the one he loses.
This means that the longest life and the shortest amount to the same thing.
For the passing minute is every man’s equal possession, but what has once gone by is not ours.
Our loss, therefore, is limited to that one fleeting instant, since no one can lose what is already past, nor yet what is still to come–for how can he be deprived of what he does not possess?
So two things should be borne in mind. First, that all the cycles of creation since the beginning of time exhibit the same recurring pattern,
so that it can make no difference whether you watch the identical spectacle for a hundred years, or for two hundred, or for ever.
Secondly, that when the longest-and the shortest-lived of us come to die, their loss is precisely equal.
For the sole thing of which any man can be deprived is the present;
since this is all he owns, and nobody can lose what is not his."
To put that in a much concise way:"WHAT MATTERS IS THE PRESENT,THAT IS THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE A DEGREE OF CONTROL OVER"
It does not matter if a person lived a thousand years but is not satisfied at the moment.
To sum the article:
1)Think of your death,think of how you will be remembered,think of your actions now.
2)Procrastination is not good. Reward yourself to complete tasks.
3)Apply what you learn,mix two subjects,enjoy learning better by using the stuff you know.
4)Failure maybe bad but is necessary if you want to be happier.
Next up......Books and blogs that will open up your world
