The new trend of Stoicism is really a timeless lifestyle adapted by many for thousands of years – and now, it’s making a resurgence in the future of work. Why is Stoicism so trendy? And how can it benefit your daily life?
What is Stoicism?
Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy that life’s pleasures and pains are fleeting and unimportant – the real focus of life should be virtue and knowledge. Founded by philosopher Zeno of Citium, many original writings about Stoicism were lost to time. But in his Meditations, Marcus Aurelius elaborated on the concepts of Stoicism invented hundreds of years before and emphasized how it was a philosophy to live by.
Stoics pride themselves on not being caught up in the mood swings of everyday life and not relying on material goods or fleeting relationships to keep them happy. Instead, Stoics work towards a larger goal of virtue, justice, or other values.
Why is it trendy?
Over the past couple of years, Stoicism at work has made a huge cultural resurgence. There have been dozens of podcasts, groups, Instagram, and Twitter pages all dedicated to ancient philosophy. Writers tout Stoicism as a “life hack,” and entrepreneurs embrace the lifestyle as a productivity maximizer. In fact, according to The Guardian, sales of the book Meditations by Marcus Aurelius increased almost 30 percent, and e-book sales of fellow Stoic Seneca’s book, Letters from a Stoic, shot up more than 356 percent.
One of the main reasons that Stoicism is so trendy right now among business professionals is because it caters to mindfulness in a world where emotion seems to rule. It provides structure, realism, and logic for students of the philosophy to utilize daily to improve their quality of life. And by slowing down, regaining focus, and not falling prey to impulse, Stoics end up feeling more in control of their lives.
Daily stoicism
“Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.” – Marcus Aurelius
It seems like a generic saying you’d see on a cheap mug, but to the Stoics, it’s a way of life: you can only control what you can control, and don’t sweat what you can’t prevent. And while experiencing pleasure and pain is a part of life, Stoics say these moods shouldn’t dominate your existence. While there will be moments of happiness and moments of sadness, those shouldn’t be the moments you’re living for. The only thing you can control, the Stoics say, is yourself, meaning how you react to the situation around you.
“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” – Marcus Aurelius
Another meeting filled with talking about talking, another team huddle where you feel like you’re thinking about thinking – are you really doing your work, or just working around your work? Stoics would hate modern business culture that demands the use of jargon, unnecessarily complicated measures for accomplishing tasks, and dozens of meetings where nothing gets accomplished. And if you’re also tired of this old dynamic, refresh things yourself by streamlining your own processes and focusing on what actually matters in your job. What are your values and goals? What do you hope to tangibly achieve this week, this month, or this year? Set an example for your team and cut the fat to start working smart rather than working hard.
“Curb your desire—don’t set your heart on so many things and you will get what you need.” – Epictetus
Another core tenet of Stoicism is to give up thinking that the next great acquisition will make you happy. Maybe you’re grinding until that next bonus until a project is done, or until you get recognition from a manager. But placing value in those things will have you working towards specific things rather than working hard enough that those things come to you. Implementing Stoicism at work means that you can get something for all your hard work that you didn’t even know you value.
“If someone asks you how to write your name, would you bark out each letter? And if they get angry, would you then return the anger? Wouldn’t you rather gently spell out each letter for them?” – Marcus Aurelius
“How does it help to make troubles heavier by bemoaning them?” – Seneca
It can seem exhausting to do things other people tell you to, especially when you feel like you’ve already put in a lot of emotional labor. But Marcus Aurelius argues that emotional labor simply doesn’t exist in the workplace, as it takes more energy to get angry than it does to “just methodically complete your task.” So spare the emotions, frustrations, sadness, and stress, and just do your work – and before you know it, you’ll be done.
“Approach each task as if it is your last, giving up every distraction, emotional subversion of reason, and all drama, vanity, and complaint over your fair share.” – Marcus Aurelius
Stoic advice for completing tasks is to focus on one thing at a time until it’s done, which is definitely some advice that many could learn from in the technology era. While multitasking might seem like it makes things go faster, it really doesn’t, and it just crowds your mind with a thousand different thoughts. By “drama,” “vanity,” and “complaint,” Aurelius generally means that you shouldn’t dwell on how hard it is to focus. Just try it, and if you fail, that’s totally fine – the next quote has advice for that too.
“Get back up when you fail, to celebrate behaving like a human—however imperfectly—and fully embrace the pursuit that you’ve embarked on.” – Marcus Aurelius
While you should be strict with yourself, you should also be forgiving of yourself. If you live your life caught up in anger or resentment that you didn’t do things differently, you’ll be constantly held back by your own devices. No Stoic is an unemotional robot who intentionally tries not to feel pleasure or pain, and if someone says that’s what being a Stoic is, they’re wrong. Stoicism is about aiming to achieve greater harmony and balance and less reactivity, which is extremely difficult.
