Stoicism for Beginners: An Ancient Guide for Living Well

Table of Contents

I. What is Stoicism?

Stoicism was founded in the 3rd century BC in Athens by Zeno of Citium. Coming from a wealthy merchant family in Citium, now part of Cyprus, Zeno initially pursued the family trade. However, after losing his fortune in a shipwreck near Athens, he turned to philosophy. Zeno’s journey highlights a common path to finding solace and understanding through philosophy.

Stoicism teaches logic and a unique perspective on life. It emphasizes distinguishing between what is within our control and what isn’t. Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher, summed it well:

“To achieve freedom and happiness, understand that some things in life are under your control, and others are not.”

We truly control only a few aspects of life, such as our beliefs, desires, aversions, and attractions, according to Epictetus. Everything else is beyond our control. Stoicism, therefore, is about letting go of worries over what we can’t control and focusing our energy on what we can.

II. Stoicism in the modern world

How is the ancient philosophy of Stoicism relevant today?

Stoicism isn’t just about enduring hardship. To me, Stoicism is a practical philosophy that you can start using right now, no matter what life throws your way. The key is to focus on what you can control.

For example, instead of getting angry and frustrated at being stuck in traffic, a Stoic recognizes that such events are out of their control. So they focus their energy on other things, like making plans or even listening to an audiobook.

Stoicism also emphasizes the importance of living in the present moment. It’s easy to get caught up in constantly planning for the future or dwelling on past mistakes. But by focusing on the present and accepting things as they are, we can find more peace and contentment in life.

III. Core Principles of Stoicism

Reason

This is our mind’s ability to figure out what’s true, make good guesses, and come to conclusions. It lets us think clearly and logically about the world. By using Reason, we can look at evidence and arguments, consider different opinions, and make smart choices. It’s key for critical thinking and solving problems.

Self-control

This refers to managing your emotions, thoughts, and actions to reach your long-term goals. Self-control is key to doing well in school, succeeding in your career, and having good relationships. It allows you to resist things that won’t fulfill your goals, and act in accordance with your values and beliefs.

Indifference

Being indifferent to external events means you don’t get too attached or upset about things you can’t control. It’s about accepting the world as it is, without letting anxiety, anger, or frustration take over. This doesn’t mean you don’t care about others’ suffering. It’s about understanding that we can’t always change what’s happening around us, but we can work on being at peace with ourselves.

Inner Strength

Inner strength means being able to handle stress, tough times, and challenges without giving up on what you believe in or who you are. The key is to build a mindset that welcomes change and growth. People with a lot of inner strength can deal with life’s ups and downs better, and recover from setbacks more easily.

IV. Who are the ancient Stoic philosophers?

You have likely come across these prominent Stoic philosophers already. Their wisdom is relatable and useful, so they are often quoted.

Several ancient Stoic philosophers laid the groundwork for Stoicism that the modern world would come to embrace and study.

Who is Seneca?

“All cruelty springs from weakness.”

Born around 4BC, Seneca the Younger is the son of the wealthy writer, Seneca the Elder. Attalus the Stoic tutored the young Seneca. From Attalus, Seneca learned the value of applying philosophy for real-world improvement.

Despite his drive for self-improvement, Seneca’s father steered him towards a political career. In his fifties, Seneca withdrew from public life to write philosophical works. He was later implicated in a conspiracy against Emperor Nero and was forced to commit suicide in AD 65.

Who is Musonius Rufus?

“If one accomplishes some good though with toil, the toil passes, but the good remains; if one does something dishonourable with pleasure, the pleasure passes, but the dishonour remains.”

Gaius Musonius Rufus is a Stoic philosopher who lived during the same time as Seneca, in the first century AD. He was born into an aristocratic family. Scholars often refer to Musonius Rufus as the “Roman Socrates” for his emphasis on the practical application of philosophy and his insistence on living a virtuous life.

Musonius Rufus’ teachings centered around self-discipline, moral fortitude, and living in accordance with nature. He emphasized the importance of practicing what one preaches and leading by example.

Who is Epictetus?

“When you set about any action, remind yourself of what nature the action is.”

Epictētos is Greek meaning “acquired.” Epictetus was born into slavery, and his given name remains unknown. Epictetus walked with a limp, and it’s uncertain whether a slave master twisted it or he was born with it. Despite that, Epictetus wasn’t broken.

He famously stated, “Lameness is an impediment to the leg, not to the will.” He believed in the power of choice, which was central to his philosophy.

Epictetus gained his freedom after Nero’s death. He then dedicated himself to philosophy, teaching in Rome for 25 years until Emperor Domitian expelled all philosophers. Epictetus moved to Nicopolis in Greece, where he founded a school and taught philosophy until his death.

Who is Marcus Aurelius?

“Time is like a river made up of the events which happen, and a violent stream; for as soon as a thing has been seen, it is carried away, and another comes in its place, and this will be carried away too.”

Marcus Aurelius, born in AD 121, became co-emperor of Rome at the young age of nineteen. He extended Rome’s dominion to include regions that are today known as Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, along with parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. This expansion meant he essentially ruled over nearly all of Europe.

Stoicism deeply influenced Aurelius, who often cites Epictetus in his sole published work, Meditations. This book contains Aurelius’ personal musings and philosophical thoughts. The emperor wrote these during some of the most challenging times of his reign.

V. Applying Stoicism in your own life

The keys to applying Stoicism in your life are twofold: Focus on what you control, and live in the present. Below are major areas of life where we can apply Stoicism. I’m listing my best articles on each topic so you can easily learn more about them.

Self-Improvement and Productivity

You can boost your personal growth and productivity with stoicism by setting small, reachable goals. It’s important to concentrate on the journey, not just the end result.

Stop Putting Imaginary Pressure on Yourself – The “I need to do X (action) otherwise Y (bad outcome) will happen” thinking is a waste of your energy. And yet, we all do it. Here’s how to change that thinking pattern.
How to Use Setbacks as Energy – When I wrote this article, I had just experienced two health and career setbacks: I got a stomach virus after eating ice cream at McDonald’s, and our family business engineer, who’s also a personal friend of mine, suddenly quit so our workflow took a huge hit and we’re all scrambling to maintain consistency. Here’s how a Stoic mindset helped me push through.
Small Habits That Rewire Your Mind to Be Better – Many used to believe that aging halted brain evolution. But recent research found that our brains exhibit “neuroplasticity,” which means it’s constantly shaping our identity. Each new skill learned prompts our brain to adapt, changing in size and structure to accommodate new knowledge. Our brain evolves continuously. And we can help evolve it better with certain small habits.
Strategic Opportunism: How to Thrive in an Unpredictable World – My book, The Stoic Path to Wealth, was supposed to come out in February 2024. But my publisher decided to push it further to July 2024. When I heard about the new publishing date, I had already started with the marketing strategy for the new book. This meant I had to suddenly change my strategy and mindset.

Money, Investing, and Personal Finance

Stoicism advises us to separate our feelings from our finances. It encourages us to see money as a tool, not a source of happiness. This mindset helps us make smart financial choices aimed at long-term success, not just immediate pleasure.

The Stoic Path to Wealth: An ancient investing strategy for the modern world – When this article first came out in 2021, nearly a thousand people emailed me to learn more about stoic investing strategies. This inspired me to write a book about the topic. After more than 2 years of writing and editing, The Stoic Path to Wealth book is now available.
Stoic Investing: Mastering Your Emotions Will Make You Rich – Stoicism is a philosophy that favors the long-term over the short-term. If we apply that philosophy to investing, it means that Stoic Investing is about putting your money to work today so that you don’t have to work later. Stoicism can help you to become a more consistent investor, through the ups and downs of the market.
A Life of Pleasure: How to Enjoy Yourself Without Destroying Your Wealth – An overly luxurious lifestyle will destroy your wealth. But even the ancient stoics didn’t believe in living like a monk. Seneca said it well: “The wise man does not consider himself unworthy of any gifts from Fortune’s hands.”
Get Rich With Stoicism – If your only reason to acquire money is so you can buy a fancier car, go on more luxury vacations, and wear better clothes, you’re missing the point. I believe that everyone should apply the principles of Stoicism to their finances. Without a Stoic mindset, one will succumb to greed.
Investing and The Fear Of Missing Out – The two biggest emotions in investing are fear and greed. Because there are so many opportunities in the market, you feel the pressure to jump on every stock that seems to be going up. Stoicism helps us make better investments by managing our emotions.

Decision-making, mindset, and happiness

Use stoicism to improve your decisions, mindset, and happiness by focusing on what you can control and accepting what you can’t. We can’t control things like the economy, the job market, etc., but we can control how we react and what choices to make.

The Stoic Mindset: How to Use Ancient Lessons to Face Life’s Challenges – I apply Stoicism to my happiness, work, finances, and even relationships. This Stoic mindset allowed me to leverage ancient lessons into my entire life.
5 Classic Stoic Principles to Live By for a Happier Life – Before I discovered stoic principles, I went through life without a clear purpose. Without any idea of how to live a good life. I simply imitated the actions and behavior of those around me.
Five Timeless Life Lessons from Seneca – Detaching your self-worth from material success, pursuing financial independence but not at all costs, making an impact on others, being content with what you have, and valuing your time more than your possessions.
Living with Intention: Lessons on The Brevity of Life – How would you change your life today if I told you that in 3 years, you would die? That’s a good thought experiment if you want to live your life with intention. Look, life is short. We all know it. And yet, we get stuck in the mundanity. Here’s where Stoicism comes in.
Stoicism as a Way of Life – I’ve been reading philosophy since I was 17. And out of all the philosophies I’ve read in my life, I identify most with Stoicism. I came to this conclusion after 13 years and hundreds of finished books.

VI. The best books on Stoicism

If you want to learn more about Stoicism and the teachings of the ancient Stoic philosophers, then I recommend the following books.

The Manual For Living by Epictetus

“It is the act of an ill-instructed man to blame others for his own bad condition.”

A short book. The Manual For Living is exactly what the title says it is. This book also gives you a larger perspective on humanity. People have always had problems with self-confidence, family, work, other people, etc. In a way, nothing has changed. And that’s pretty comforting.

Arian was a student who transcribed Epictetus’ lessons in the early second century AD. Arrian’s notes propelled him to fame in Rome as a political advisor, military commander, and author.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

“Constantly test your mental impressions – each one individually, if you can: investigate the cause, identify the emotion, apply the analysis of logic.”

Meditations is a unique document, revealing the private thoughts of one of the world’s most powerful men advising himself on fulfilling his duties. Marcus Aurelius regularly engaged in spiritual exercises to cultivate humility, patience, empathy, generosity, and strength. Reading this book will help you during difficult times. It’s practical philosophy at its best.

The Stoic Path to Wealth by Darius Foroux

“At its core, Stoicism is a survival strategy. Stoicism is not just a set of beliefs; it is a way of protecting your sanity. But you can also apply Stoicism to protect your money… The Stoics were (in essence) investors. They gave up instant gratification and bad habits to increase their odds of living a peaceful life. That’s exactly the key: to find financial fulfillment is to invest in yourself.”

The Stoics understood that if you can control your reactions and manage your emotions, you can achieve success. The same principles apply to our financial lives today. That’s because money and investing are not logical – they’re mostly emotional.

Combining ancient wisdom with practical investment strategies drawn from analysis of the greatest investors of all time, The Stoic Path to Wealth will teach you how to:

Cultivate an investing edge by managing your emotions and developing your unique skills and talents.
Develop the discipline to ignore short-term market fluctuations and avoid living in the future.
Foster a mindset that allows you to enjoy what you have and avoid greed.
Create a sustainable approach to trading

As financial markets become increasingly unpredictable and chaotic, The Stoic Path to Wealth offers the key to weathering any economic storm while building wealth that will last a lifetime and beyond.

Focus on What Matters by Darius Foroux

“Without accepting that we don’t control most things in life, we can never have lasting happiness. Getting concerned with things outside of our control is a habit.”

Focus on What Matters is a collection of 70 letters/essays I wrote about different aspects of life, from happiness, wealth, health, relationships, and much more. These letters, inspired by the original works of the Stoic philosopher Seneca, serve as reminders to focus on the right things in our chaotic lives.

Focus on What Matters is inspired by those letters. It will show you..

Simple thought exercises to become resilient and focused
How to live in the present moment every day
Authentic Stoic values for a life of happiness
A way to build more discipline

In short, this book helps you live well despite daily life’s challenges.