Stocism Book Of Happiness : How To Be A Stoic In The Modern World For Beginners Seeking Peace, Wisdom, Self-Discipline And Calmness In Life

By Donald B. Grey

★★ Everyone needs a guide at some point in life. ★★

 

Your experiences can be so overwhelming you get to a point where you are unsure of what to do. Many people are going about life today like zombies, just getting by. This is not what life is about. Life is for the living, right? Why should you get through it like a zombie?

 

Stoicism offers much-needed guidance to help you find your bearings and bring meaning into your life. If you feel stuck, feel like you are in a dead-end job, your career isn't progressing, you are drowning under the pressure of raising a family, or for whichever reason, you feel your life is chaotic, stoic teachings will help you find true peace and happiness.

 

This book gives you the simplest introduction to stoicism as a way of life. Yes, stoicism is more than just teachings - you live it every day. There are many philosophies in life that can help you stay grounded and find your elusive peace. What's so special about stoicism, then? Well, while most philosophies demand that you learn and embrace new cultures, stoicism is all about you and your mind.

 

Your pursuit of true happiness, calmness, and peace revolves around decluttering your life. You learn the value of knowing the things you can and those you can't control. You learn how powerful your mind is if you only allow yourself to think clearly and rationally. You also learn how to redefine the meaning of happiness in your life. For the most part, we affix the value of happiness to things, events, and people. Stoic teachings offer a timely reminder that you cannot control those things, hence they cannot be the source of your happiness.

 

This book teaches you how to look inwards so you can find more than just true happiness, peace, calmness, and self-discipline - you will find a priceless gem - your true self!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anson Yau
• Release date: Sep 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393033615

Book preview

Introduction

In the early 3rd Century BC, ancient Greeks and Romans came up with a school of philosophy that we know today as Stoicism. The stoic approach to life emphasizes the pursuit of positive emotions over negative emotions, while encouraging you to improve and hone your life through virtuous character. Over the years there have been many interpretations of stoicism - all the way from ancient to modern stoic personalities. The underlying desire in stoicism is to live the best version of your life so far.

Stoicism teaches you different frameworks to enable you to live a good and fulfilling life in all aspects and stages of your life. As a stoic, you are constantly aware of what is most important in your life so that you can get the most value out of life. Of all the life philosophies you might come across, stoicism is useful, understandable, and more importantly, actionable.

We encounter challenges in life all the time. You might be at a point in life where you feel you need a new perspective. Perhaps you feel stuck, doing the same things all the time. You might also be at a point where you feel that you need a dynamic shift to help you make your life more fulfilling and promising, but you don’t know how to go about it. This is where Stoicism comes in handy.

The stoic way of life does not involve learning new and complex terminologies. You don’t need to meditate for hours on end either. Stoicism is a practical way for you to improve your life by strengthening your character. In this way, you will find peace and tranquility in life, and it will help you get out of the current crises you might be stuck in.

Life today is full of challenges around every corner. From family to your corporate or social circles, you encounter a lot of people and issues that challenge your thought process - and your way of life. Most people pursue happiness but never really find it. Could it be that you are looking for happiness in the wrong place? Is it, perhaps, that your definition of happiness needs some tweaking? Think about it for a moment, what is your definition of happiness? Can you mention one or a few things that you believe will make you happy?

You might have many questions about life, especially in your pursuit of true happiness. Stoicism offers a gateway not only to get answers to these questions, but also to understand those answers and their context in your life.

It might be unfair comparing life during the 3rd Century BC, to life today, but there are many similarities that we can learn from it. Naturally, the primary pursuit of life in the early ages was to live a fulfilling and happy life. The order of people’s thoughts, behavior, and decisions was towards achieving satisfaction. Satisfaction, however, did not automatically come through prestige, power, and having all the beautiful things people desired. Your pursuits in life today might not be that different either. You might have all the prestige, wealth, power, and influence, but still feel something is amiss.

From your experiences in life, you learn that material possessions can only please but never fulfill. The emptiness, that void, the crisis you want to get out of can, however, be filled by having an excellent soul. True happiness and satisfaction come from within your soul. That is the lesson you get from stoicism. Stoicism essentially answers the most important question we all seek to answer: What do I want from this life?

Enduring happiness and tranquility can only be achieved when you are a virtuous individual. Positive thoughts and behavior are a prerequisite to a positive experience in life. Your character develops around the things you do, not what you say. Actions do speak louder than words.

Initially, stoic philosophy was centered around physics and logic. With time, however, it shifted to include psychological issues like well-being and tranquility. Stoic principles are not just ideas that you read or think about and forget. They are principles that you learn and induct into your way of life. They become part of your daily routine, practiced and embraced.

Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.

~ Marcus Aurelius

Life is about getting answers and taking action. This is how you can get out of the crisis that threatens to cripple your life at the moment. The stoic life is about going out and putting theory in practice. One of the challenges that many people have today is armchair philosophy. You spew so much wisdom, but hardly apply it in your life. Stoic life is about righteousness and virtue. A good life, by stoic standards, is one of moral conviction and action. For you to live a good life, you must also be morally just.

Embracing the stoic life enlightens you to realize that we do not have control over all the things that happen in our lives. Therefore, worrying about things that you cannot control is unnecessary. This unproductive behavior holds you back from rational action, thoughts, and behavior, and eventually, peace and tranquility evade you.

Stoic philosophy involves a constant reminder not to expend your energy on adversities you cannot control. Every single day alive, you have endless opportunities to choose between right and wrong, or the difference between what is and what isn’t under your control. In situations where most people would be consumed by worry and fear over things they cannot control, stoics would rather spend their energy looking for amicable solutions to the problems, instead of dwelling on the issue at hand.

You might have read a lot about stoicism and materialism, and at times, it can be confusing. Choosing to live a stoic life does not necessarily mean you must leave all your material possessions behind. Besides, stoics do believe material items can only fulfill our happiness up to a certain point, but are unable to make us truly happy, nor enable us to live a virtuous life. That being said, however, by maintaining an awareness of the power consumerism can wield over your life, blind decision-making will never be lost on you.

Why spend most of your days worrying and stressing over not owning a bigger house, or driving the latest car, when you have not seen the inside of a hospital ward in years? Your excellent health is worth more than your car and big house. Most people don’t know how valuable excellent health is until they are in a critical condition. A healthy life is one of the most precious possessions you’ll ever have in your existence.

As you learn more about the stoic way of life, you will also come to realize how it has been embedded in modern psychology and other spheres of life. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), for example, is one form of therapy that focuses on the interaction between cognition, emotions, and behavior. To be precise, your feelings and behavior are a construct of your thoughts.

Your thoughts influence your reality or your experience of it. Assuming that you are going through a difficult time with your partner, your behavior and emotional approach to that situation will depend on your mental assessment of it. Living in the same house does not mean you will naturally experience it the same way. In one misfortune, one person might be overcome by despair while another might be liberated by the prospect of a new opportunity.

Reading through this book should awaken your inner critic and raise your awareness, not just of things that happen around you, but also of your optimism and psychological well-being. That point in life where you feel you cannot find a solution does have a solution. The crisis you are living through is not the definition of your life. It might feel that way, but it isn’t. The event does not upset you - it is your