Stoic psychology: a commitment to tranquility

These are the ideas and philosophical foundations on which Stoic philosophy is based.

In the popular lore, having a stoic attitude is synonymous with facing life's difficulties with integrity.

Stoicism is a philosophical current composed of writings and meditations, developed by Greek and Roman masters, and which has served as the basis for the development of Stoic philosophy.It has served as a basis for reflections, recommendations and reasoning, eminently practical.

In addition, it has been the inspiration for the most important currents of philosophy, it has been the inspiration for the most important currents of current and ancient thought, as well as for the most modern psychological theories, and has even influenced the most modern psychological theories.It has even influenced the great monotheistic religions. Therefore, we could consider that in spite of being a millenary wisdom, its teachings are still valid today.

The foundations of Stoic psychology

These are the pillars of Stoic psychology.

1. Search for peace of mind

Immerse yourself in the writings of the great masters of this discipline such as Marcus Aurelius the philosopher emperor, Epictetus the slave or Seneca the Cordovan. It is to approach a practice that places at the center the capacity of each person to govern himself..

In the books of these and other sages of antiquity, we can find different ways to achieve what the Greeks called "Eudaimonia". In today's language we would translate it as tranquility of soul, emotional stability or mental balance.

2. Down with dogmatism

It is essential to keep in mind that these authors wrote their works more than two thousand years ago, so many of their recommendations (such as the total extirpation of passions) would not make sense in today's world.

In addition, one must understand the social and historical context in which these masters lived where slavery was totally normalized and accepted or the role of women was tremendously secondary (although unfortunately, this is still in force today).

But Stoic thought is not a dogma to be followed to the letter; in fact, they considered that it was not a dogma to beIn fact, they considered that there is no single way to live life. In their postulates, besides being very tolerant with other ways of life and in general with all members of society, they considered human beings to be fundamentally sociable, capable of reasoning and reaching agreements.

3. Psychological toolbox

This philosophy provides us today with a series of very valuable psychological tools, eminently practical, easy to understand and very current, that everyone can use as they see fit. The following are some examples the simple and useful advice that we can find in the famous book "the Enquiridion" by Epictetus.

Examine our impressions, reflect on the transience of things, pause and take a deep breath, speak little and correctly, choose the right company, answer insults with humor, do not talk too much about ourselves, do not judge anyone, reflect on our day, etc.

How to live better?

Doing an exercise of synthesis, we can understand four main Stoic virtues, we can understand four main Stoic virtues. These are a fantastic and simple compendium of attitudes towards life that can help us to better understand the world and, incidentally, to have a fuller life.

1. Cultivate wisdom as a practice

Curiosity, study and learning as a vital attitude and a way of understanding the world and a way of understanding the world around us.

2. Not to assume that we live in a tragedy

The courage to face the vicissitudes of life as pure events and not as tragedies. and not as tragedies.

3. To practice justice with the people who surround us

As Marcus Aurelius said, "what does not suit the honeycomb, does not suit the bee".

4. To try to promote temperance

It is important to It is important to be temperate in the face of certain passions such as anger, as well as in the face of negative events, such as the death of a loved one.such as the death of a loved one or one's own illness.

Stoic principles

In short, we recommend reading these masters, as they are a real pleasure for the senses, given the beauty and depth of their words. Three are the fundamental principles of this vital approach.

1. Virtue is the greatest good and everything else is indifferent.

The quest for the good for oneself and for humanity is the maxim of every human being. The rest is superfluous.

2. Follow nature

Each being has something that is particular to him and in himself is what he must follow..... Just as for a river its being is to flow until it flows into the sea, in the case of people following reason and doing good is the end of all activity.

3. Dichotomy of control

Something as simple and at the same time therapeutic as understanding that there are things we do not control. understanding that there are things that we do not control and other things that depend on us.. Therefore, we must strive to cultivate what we can really control (feelings, passions, actions) and admit as part of the natural flow of life what we do not control (illnesses, accidents, deaths).