Stoicism is making a huge comeback even though the world is saturated with self-improvement ideas. Why is this? What does Stoicism offer that is unique?
My answer: Stoicism deals with real life, not fantasy....
Death, life, status, friendship, fame, goals, frustration, anger, impatience, addiction, virtue, being good, having discipline, etc.
To live a good live might be as simple as being a good person rather than collecting good things. That is a harder sell, but the Stoics had some damn good arguments.
Social responsibility/political obligation, and a different idea of success - self help tries to help you achieve your goals, stoicism forces you to evaluate whether those goals are something you should be striving for in the first place.
For me, it's practical and realistic. It's not pushing positivity all the time. It acknowledges that you will face challenges but gives you accessible tools to manage them. It also doesn't falsely present itself as a panacea, it's a lifestyle and a practise requiring mindful effort. I also find that Stoicism plays well with mindfulness and Buddhism which is also seeing a boost it popularity amongst Westerners.
To me, Stoicism provides a complete value system by clearly stating what's to pursue, namely virtue. As pointed out by others, there are clear instructions so that one can judge their actions very precisely. And it's so god damn persuasive and self-evident, compared to what's pushed by society as life goals (fame, money etc.), it clicks immediately. I think people lack this kind of value system growing up and Stoicism is compatible with modern man and it's very comprehensive. Self-improvement ideas are mostly bits and pieces of wisdom and lack clear instructions most of the time.
Another refreshing aspect of it is being able to unplug from the things that are happening around you that you cannot control- like news that you cannot do anything about, the lives of people around you in social media, and especially the things in your life that you cannot do anything about. In the anxiety-driven information age where we are constantly bombarded with others' values, lives, agendas, etc., it provides a mental space to focus on what matters, to become more authentic. It's like a completely different way of living from what's practiced today.
I think stoicism offers clear practical principles. It's been around for millennia and tested by many. To me it's clear why it prevails. Clear instruction and ease of application result in integration.
One plight of the millennial is over complicating the simple, finding problems rather than seeking resolution. I find stoicism, especially through the observant lense of your writing Jon, to offer a reasoned approach to day to day problems. It doesn’t promise a miracle cure, rather a fresh, striped back perspective.
I would say it's important for people to realise that they are more in control of their emotions than they think or thought, and a degree of ownership is required to solve problems. Modern medical science exhibits this through CBT therapy.
I think it was Alan Watts who mentions that in the end you can't point blame at others saying 'You! You Bastard! You did this to me!' when talking of 'The Joker' in one of his lectures.
I agree that a big part of it is that Stoicism questions whether a lot of the goals we've collectively assumed are "good" are actually worthwhile in the first place. I also think, perhaps more cynically, that people flock to "isms," something that they can construct between them and chaotic experience. Stoicism is perfectly suited to this, of course, and it also benefits from being associated with classical antiquity. Ancient wisdom is just "in."
My answer: Stoicism deals with real life, not fantasy....
Death, life, status, friendship, fame, goals, frustration, anger, impatience, addiction, virtue, being good, having discipline, etc.
To live a good live might be as simple as being a good person rather than collecting good things. That is a harder sell, but the Stoics had some damn good arguments.
Social responsibility/political obligation, and a different idea of success - self help tries to help you achieve your goals, stoicism forces you to evaluate whether those goals are something you should be striving for in the first place.
For me, it's practical and realistic. It's not pushing positivity all the time. It acknowledges that you will face challenges but gives you accessible tools to manage them. It also doesn't falsely present itself as a panacea, it's a lifestyle and a practise requiring mindful effort. I also find that Stoicism plays well with mindfulness and Buddhism which is also seeing a boost it popularity amongst Westerners.
To me, Stoicism provides a complete value system by clearly stating what's to pursue, namely virtue. As pointed out by others, there are clear instructions so that one can judge their actions very precisely. And it's so god damn persuasive and self-evident, compared to what's pushed by society as life goals (fame, money etc.), it clicks immediately. I think people lack this kind of value system growing up and Stoicism is compatible with modern man and it's very comprehensive. Self-improvement ideas are mostly bits and pieces of wisdom and lack clear instructions most of the time.
Another refreshing aspect of it is being able to unplug from the things that are happening around you that you cannot control- like news that you cannot do anything about, the lives of people around you in social media, and especially the things in your life that you cannot do anything about. In the anxiety-driven information age where we are constantly bombarded with others' values, lives, agendas, etc., it provides a mental space to focus on what matters, to become more authentic. It's like a completely different way of living from what's practiced today.
Lastly, it's like DIY CBT, and CBT is awesome :).
I think stoicism offers clear practical principles. It's been around for millennia and tested by many. To me it's clear why it prevails. Clear instruction and ease of application result in integration.
One plight of the millennial is over complicating the simple, finding problems rather than seeking resolution. I find stoicism, especially through the observant lense of your writing Jon, to offer a reasoned approach to day to day problems. It doesn’t promise a miracle cure, rather a fresh, striped back perspective.
It’s clear and simple. Just what it is. Thank you Jon!!!
I would say it's important for people to realise that they are more in control of their emotions than they think or thought, and a degree of ownership is required to solve problems. Modern medical science exhibits this through CBT therapy.
I think it was Alan Watts who mentions that in the end you can't point blame at others saying 'You! You Bastard! You did this to me!' when talking of 'The Joker' in one of his lectures.
I agree that a big part of it is that Stoicism questions whether a lot of the goals we've collectively assumed are "good" are actually worthwhile in the first place. I also think, perhaps more cynically, that people flock to "isms," something that they can construct between them and chaotic experience. Stoicism is perfectly suited to this, of course, and it also benefits from being associated with classical antiquity. Ancient wisdom is just "in."