6 Amazing Insights from the Stoics
Stoicism provides some amazing insights for writer’s and was practised by among others Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. Its basic philosophy is that the way we live should be based on our behaviour and not our words.
It reminds us that the world is unpredictable, it demonstrates how brief our moment of life is and how we can teach ourselves to be steadfast, strong and in control of ourselves, whatever it is we face.
It teaches us to contemplate and prepare for the things than can happen to us in life and argues that the most important thing is staying in the right state of mind.
What 6 amazing insights does it have for the writer?
- Much of life is outside our control.
“Man is disturbed not by things, but by the views he takes of them.” — Epictetus is disturbed not by things, but by the views he takes of them.” — Epictetus
Stoics encourage us to differentiate between what we can change and can’t, what parts of our day are under or control and which are not.
Often the only control we have is to change the way we think about something that has happened to us and we can learn, through time, to reframe the situation and look for the opportunity to grow and develop.
As writers we often face harsh feedback or rejection. Learning not to become too attached to the results of our writing can help us to become more confident and assured about what we are writing about.
- The importance of journaling.
“No man was ever wise by chance” — Seneca
Reflecting on our thoughts in a journal can be a positive experience for writers. Self-reflection enables us to develop empathy and understanding of our views and how they impact on others. It can also provide insight into the motives and actions of others.
It can help us record our progress and gain wisdom from the experiences we have had as well as prepare fully for the writing day ahead.
3. Recognising that happiness does not lie in the hands of others.
“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.” — Marcus Aurelius
The stoic approach teaches us to stand our ground. Having faith in ourselves as a writer’s is important and a steadfast anchor when others fail us or mock our attempts to be true to ourselves.
We all have responsibility for the way how we feel, and no-one can make us feel a certain way unless we let them. A bad review is just a bad review and can only spoil our day if we let it.
- Ask yourself what could go wrong.
“Nothing happens to the wise man against his expectation” — Seneca
It can also help, as the Stoics suggest. to think about what could go wrong in a situation and the possible impact this could have. This can limit the effect of the difficult issues we have to face in life and increase our confidence in our ability to deal with any situation that arises.
What if I am unable to finish writing that book or it doesn’t sell because of a lack of interest? What if when I sit down to write I cannot think of a single idea?
Stoics suggested that If we have thought about the bad things that could happen and mentally rehearsed our ability to deal with them-we will be better prepared to face them when they arise. We will also realise that the downside of any situation is almost always reversible or transient. Nothing endures forever.
- We don’t know everything.
“Throw out your conceited opinions, for it is impossible for a person to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows.” — Epictetus
The Stoics remind us to be humble and patient when trying to learn new skills and to recognise there is much to learn. It is important to discover what we do not know and to ignite our curiosity to find out more.
Writing requires discipline and effort and there is much we can achieve if we apply ourselves fully to it.
Believing that there is nothing new to learn or thinking that we do not need to react to any of the feedback we receive can limit the potential of our work.
- Set yourself writing goals.
“If a person doesn’t know to which port they sail, no wind is favourable.” — Seneca
The Stoics also teach us to set goals and stay focused when faced with distractions.
What are we writing for? Fame and fortune or the pleasure of putting pen to paper and expressing our ideas. This is about the direction you are heading, the big picture.
They also caution to practice flexibility in how we achieve these goals as life doesn’t always turn out the way we would like, and we must deal with what is directly in front of us.
The Stoics also believed in Amor Fati-the concept of loving everything that happens to us. Treating every moment, even the most challenging ones, as something to embrace.
Our achievements as writers can be brief and fleeting and it helps to recognise that it is what we are doing now which is most important.
From these 6 amazing insights from the Stoics we can learn to live life on our own terms and write with courage, determination and honesty and in that way can we say we have truly lived the writer’s life.