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Stoic Lifestyle

Stoic

The older I get the better I understand my nature and how pressure causes you to change. Generally, I see myself as stoic, not reacting emotionally to the things that others tend to become emotional about. I also tend to remain resolved about my tasks in life without anyone seeing me break down from it.

Now there are different takes on being stoic - there is the modern and the ancient definition as well as the urban.

Ancient stoics made bearing pain and suffering a chore not shown - in other words you would never know the pains a person endured because they would never disclose it or show it. Stoicism was also a religion in ancient Greece. I've read descriptions of Japanese culture among the seniors being very similar to that of someone who is stoic.

Modern stoics simply ignore the bells and whistles most people are drawn too. For instance they do not give into fads or advertising and do not react to other people's audacious actions even if it is hurtful or degrading. Stoics would seem confident in their own skin and do not need any confirmation from peers.

How do you define being stoic and what are your thoughts about someone who chooses to be or is naturally stoic?

Related:
* Minimalist Lifestyle
* Are You A Realist?

Lifestyle Stoic

Interesting topic for discussion. What happens when something (Death in the family, terrible accident, robbery) should cause an emotional reaction, is the stoic still "Stoic" Or do we see a response?

Stoic Lifestyle Health & Special Psychology

A true stoic accepts unfortunate things as they occur without complaint and the good things in life without overly enthusiastic reactions. There are a number of ways of doing this. In ancient times, a person was judged more noble in being a Stoic if one was subjected to the full range of temptations. Anyone who has been a human probably knows how hard that is to do, but those Spartans could be tough folks. This is not "Being macho", as a person who takes pleasure in the adulations of others for their self-control is not doing well at being stoic. The way this helps one to cope is to bury one's feelings and to craft emotional armor against life itself. Life was pretty tough for most people back then, and the thought that a person could overcome trouble by not being broken was more popular.

In this day and age, people are more encouraged to come to grips with inner pain. Social media, modern psychology, and our general culture celebrates self-expression and scorns stoicism outside of certain sub-cultures. Professional athletes, for instance, are often lionized for NOT excessively celebrating or disguising their injuries. A holdover of warrior culture is what remains in modern days.

I get through life with humanistic stoicism. Life is hard and short. Bad things will happen. You can't prevent the bad things, so you should struggle, but it will eventually all fall apart, and you will die. So why go on? Sounds kind of depressing, right? But it's actually kind of beautiful. We really aren't built to be immortal. We need to take the most we can out of life, and when we can't take any more, it ends to make room for the rest of the folks coming afterwards. It seems a bit more honest than telling people that there's a beautiful eternal afterlife to look forward to that's nicer when your life was roughest. So enjoy what health you have while you have it. Live in the moment. If you're suffering, it will eventually pass; we can only take so much. If you can help other folks get through their hard times, so much the better. It makes you feel better immediately, and perhaps somewhere down the line someone will take care of you in your hardships. It gets a little more complicated than that, but the universe keeps working, and you can find happiness even when you're not rich and successful. When you accept this, railing against fate doesn't make sense. Acceptance allows one to overcome the hardships and tragedy without ignoring it, but by putting things in context. Perhaps I'll need to start a new thread for this philosophy.