WWSD?

[What Would Stoics Do?]

What pops in your mind when you hear the word, ‘stoic’?  Most people likely equate ‘stoic’ with being reserved, unfeeling or repressing emotions.  To be a Stoic, however, and to embrace the philosophy of Stoicism defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as, “…[to show] indifference to pleasure or pain: impassiveness, especially acceptance of misfortune without complaint or discernible emotion” (www.oed.com).  It goes further than accepting difficulties without falling apart; a Stoic welcomes reality as it is and doesn’t label feelings and situations as ‘good’ or ‘bad.’

There are many common misunderstandings of Stoicism, such as being emotionless. Not true. Stoics don’t lack having emotions. Stoics emphasize being emotionally self-controlled no matter the situation.  They aren’t unfeeling zombies. Stoics simply take life as it is.  Another misconception about Stoics is that they suppress their feelings.  Not true.  Stoicism teaches people to accept and manage their emotions practically.  Additionally, some people think Stoics are apathetic toward challenges in life.  Not true. Stoicism encourages understanding of life’s circumstances while remaining rational and unruffled.

According to his The Little Book of Stoic Quotes…Philosophy For A Meaningful And Courageous Life, Phil Van Treuren shares, “There are plenty of ‘natural born Stoics’ in the world, and you may know a few yourself.  There’s a simple reason why so many of them have popped up throughout our history. As it happens, Stoic thinking is just basic human nature.  Stoicism wasn’t created by philosophers; it was identified by them.  Think of ancient Stoics [such as Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Zeno of Citium, or Epictetus] as early psychologists; the first scientists to study the human mind and codify ways of thinking that promote happiness and resilience…Teaching your mind to be calmer and more resilient can take a long time.  It’s tough to make ourselves stop and think about our impressions before we react…But, by consistently studying Stoic concepts, we can slowly give our thought patterns a type of ‘muscle memory’ that eventually crowds out and replaces unhealthy mindsets” (pp. viii-ix).

Every morning I read from the Stoics after meditating to start my day with a dose of accessible wisdom.  Stoicism is not a religion. If you are religious or if you are spiritual without being religious like I am, you may be curious about Stoicism. A great place to start is getting the book by Van Treuren that I introduced in the previous paragraph.  It is a very small book that features short chapters that start with a Stoic’s quote, an illustrative narrative, and ends with integrating the Stoic wisdom with life today.  Also, an English translation of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations is an excellent set of Stoic wisdom.  It’s a series of his personal writing from 161-180 CE.  They were originally written in Greek, translated into Latin, and then into English. Here’s a tip: get a copy that is mostly his quotations because some of his reflections were about his era and would be lost on modern readers. Ryan Holiday’s books are also full of Stoic wisdom:

• The Daily Stoic, published in 2016 and co-authored with Stephen Hanselman

• The Obstacle Is The Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials Into Triumph, published in 2014,

• Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control, published in 2022

• Ego Is The Enemy, published in April 2026

• Stillness Is The Key, published in 2019

You may be wondering why you haven’t heard about female Stoics.  Like most of history, the contributions of women were squelched by the patriarchy and it’s taken many decades to uncover their work.  Still, there are female Stoics whose wisdom is available now:

• Stoic Wisdom, published in 2021, by Nancy Sherman

• Jesus & Stoicism: The Parallel Sayings, published in March 2026, by Dr. Brittany Polat

• Stoic Ethics: The Basics, published in 2024, by Dr. Brittany Polat and Christopher Gill

• Journal Like A Stoic: A 90-day Stoicism Program To Live With Greater Acceptance, Less Judgment, and deeper Intentionality, published in 2022, by Dr. Brittany Polat

• Tranquility Parenting: A Guide To Staying Calm, Mindful, And Engaged, published in 2023, by Dr. Brittany Polat

Here is a sampling of Stoic wisdom from a variety of people:

• “Wise men profit more by fools than fools by wise men” (Porcia Catonis, 1st century BCE).

• “You are not your body or your hairstyle, but your capacity for choosing well.  If your choices are beautiful, so too will you be” (Epictetus, 50- 135 CE)

• “We have the power to hold no opinion about a thing and to not let it upset our state of mind, for things have no natural power to shape our judgments” (Marcus Aurelius, 161-180 CE).

• “We suffer more in imagination than in reality” (Seneca, 4 BCE-65 CE).

• “It doesn’t really matter what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us” (Viktor Frankl, 1905-1997).

Van Treuren sums up for us: “Stoicism is focusing on things that are in your control, overcoming negative emotions, living in the present moment, helping others for the common good, and finding opportunity in every obstacle” (p. xii, The Little Book Of Stoic Quotes)

Have you encountered the Stoics?  Are you interested in learning more about Stoic philosophy? Please share your thoughts, insights, and suggestions by either commenting below this post if you are reading this on social media, or, if you are reading this through your email subscription, please share, by emailing me, at MissyDuncanPhdofficial@gmail.com . I invite you to subscribe to my blog at www.missyduncanphdofficial.com. My YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvddqOlfJbS0ypODwbmQ_JA.  Although my channel is just hatched and is not quite a fledgling, I will keep feeding it and encourage it to take flight.