The Little Book of Stoic Quotes: Philosophy for a Meaningful and Courageous Life is the newest publication from author Phil Van Treuren, and will be available for purchase in September 2024.
A Sneak Peek at the Preface of The Little Book of Stoic Quotes
When I was in my early twenties, I asked my grandfather if he’d been scared while going through months of radiation treatment for prostate cancer.
“No,” he said matter-of-factly. “There was nothing I could do about it, so worrying wouldn’t have made any difference.”
I doubt that my grandfather — who still lives independently in his nineties — studied the works of many Stoic philosophers. But he probably wouldn’t have gained much from reading their advice, anyway.
At the time I asked about his cancer treatment, my grandfather’s answer was something I couldn’t even comprehend. I never considered that people could simply choose to not worry about stuff that was out of their control.
Today — after reading my weight in books on Stoic philosophy, both ancient and modern — I realize that my grandfather had already given me an example of the right way to practice Stoicism, long before I even knew what the word meant.
There are plenty of “natural born Stoics” in the world, and you may know a few yourself. The reason, it turns out, is simple: Stoic thinking is just basic human nature.
Stoicism wasn’t created by philosophers, it was identified by them. Think of ancient Stoics as scientists or psychologists, who studied the human mind and classified the kind of thinking that lets us be happier and more resilient.
Stoic philosophy is just a “catalog” of the most effective ways to think — so it makes sense that plenty of people naturally discover these methods on their own. Even if we lost every word that was ever written about Stoicism, the concepts would be re-discovered again and again. Human beings are the same joyful, resilient, imperfect people today that we were 100 years ago, 1,000 years ago, and 10,000 years ago. We have the same beautiful minds.
Some people are born with natural athletic ability, while others have to train and practice to become athletic. The same goes for logical thinking: a few have it innately, but most of us need to read (and re-read) the words of ancient philosophers in order to learn it.
In fact, even those of us who actively strive to think Stoically sometimes have to deal with neurological roadblocks like anxiety and depression, which make it difficult to simply “choose” the path of logical thinking.
Ancient Stoic philosophers made frequent metaphorical references to wrestling and lifting weights for a reason: Stoic thinking actually has lots in common with physical exercise. You can’t just lift weights one time and suddenly get stronger. In the same way, you can’t just read one philosophy book and suddenly be adept at Stoicism.
Teaching your mind to be calmer and more resilient can take a long time. It’s tough to make ourselves stop and think about our impressions before we react.
Can we use Stoicism to instantly “logic” our way out of irrational thinking? Of course not. (Admittedly, I’ve been guilty of sometimes preaching philosophy to loved ones and expecting it to “cure” their anxieties). But by consistently studying Stoic concepts, we can slowly give our thought patterns a type of “muscle memory” that eventually crowds out and replaces unhealthy mindsets.
The written words of philosophers are like “training weights of the mind,” as Epictetus so correctly said. The more we read Stoic quotes like those in this book — and really think about what they mean — the more natural the concepts become to us. Our brains start to “rewire” themselves, and old habits of bad thinking fade away.
Another thing that Stoic thinking has in common with physical exercise? If we stop practicing, then our minds get “out of shape” again pretty quickly. To get the most benefit from it, Stoicism needs to become a lifelong study.
We’re rarely given the teachers we need when life’s inevitable hardships leave us crestfallen and confused. Fortunately, we have the ability to linger among humanity’s noblest minds and choose mentors for ourselves — like the famous Stoics quoted on these pages.
But even if you were lucky enough to have a mentor in your early life who embodied Stoic thinking, you might not have realized it. As with many things learned through example, the real benefit we get from Stoic parents or grandparents don’t come until much later in our lives — perhaps even after they’ve already left us.
Whether they realized it or not, the actions of those who loved us in our youth are often more valuable than the written words of any ancient philosopher.
— Phil Van Treuren
Introduction: What’s the Simplest Definition of Stoicism?
Stoic philosophy is an elegant, versatile school of thought that can’t be summed up with just a few words. But if I were forced to describe Stoicism in one simple sentence, what would I write?
That question inspired me to embark on a year-long (albeit sporadic) research and revision project to distill the simplest definition of Stoicism possible.
I started the project by emailing two dozen modern Stoic writers and philosophers for feedback. I was excited to get helpful responses from almost all of them — and more than a little impressed by the patience they displayed with the naive (though sincere) questions of an entry-level Stoic.
After publishing all of their versions of “the simplest one-sentence definition of Stoicism” on my website, I started working on my own description. I carefully tailored it over the course of many months, fine-tuning the words whenever I discovered an eye-opening perspective from a Stoic writer.
There’s much more to the philosophy, of course, but I think the definition below is equally concise, accurate and elegant. Besides, I had to stamp “finished” on the darn thing eventually; as the ancient Stoics frequently remind us, no one lives forever.
“Stoicism is focusing on things that are in your control, overcoming negative emotions, living in the present moment, helping others for the common good, and finding opportunity in every obstacle.”