“Stoicism is a philosophy that emphasizes calm in individuals when facing difficult feelings or situations. Applying stoicism in your daily life can help you think more logically, make you feel calmer, and also make decisions without haste.”
Have you ever felt negative emotions that were so intense that you felt you had no control over your emotional state? Of course, if you've ever experienced this, there's a feeling of frustration inside because you can't control it.
So, for those of you who want to feel calmer or want to change your life perspective to be more positive, it's a good idea to start learning stoicism. This is a philosophy that has existed for centuries. This stoic behavior emphasizes calm in individuals when facing difficult feelings or situations.
This lifestyle is very effective in helping you think more logically, make you feel calmer, and also decide things without being rash. Sounds interesting right? For those of you who are interested in applying stoicism in everyday life, know what to read below!
How to Practice Everyday Stoicism
Fundamental to stoic philosophy is the understanding that the only thing a person can control is one's own perception and behavior of things. Anything else you can't control what people think of you or uncertain future events shouldn't be allowed to be a cause for negative feelings because.
So, here are some behaviors that you can do everyday that reflect that thought:
1. Reduce emotional investment in the things around you
When you tie your happiness to something like a job, success, or a relationship, there's a risk that the positive feelings you feel could be lost when you don't have those things.
You have invested in an overly strong emotion in something that is volatile, so indirectly you have given control over your happiness.
This is what stoics try to avoid. To practice stoicism, you need to let go of your emotional hold on these things.
Make your happiness stem from a purpose in life, like helping others or making yourself happy. You can also focus more on the little things around you.
2. More often grateful
According to the teachings of stoicism, greed or dissatisfaction will only lead to endless negative feelings. The key to feeling content and happy is to feel that you already have everything you need.
Believing in this statement is indeed a difficult thing, especially if in fact you still need a lot of things. Therefore, Stoics emphasize the importance of being grateful.
3. Train internal perception
You can't control what people think of you. The only thought you can change for sure is yourself.
Even if something bad happens, you can train your mind to have a more positive perception. With this, the emotional condition you feel about the incident can be better.
Observing negative problems and events in this way can help you see the bright side of things. Then, you can also feel calmer because you know that bad events can still bring lessons in the future.
4. Meditate more often
Meditation is an activity that aims to focus the mind on the present. Often, people are too busy thinking about the past or the future to miss the experience that is actually taking place.
With meditation, you learn not to be careless and value calm, similar to the finer points of stoicism. By applying stoicism through meditation, you can also maintain mental health. There are lots of other benefits of meditation for mental health that you need to know about.