On Stoicism

For a long time I’ve been drawn to the philosophy of Stoicism, taking my cues from the books of Ryan Holiday, Robert Greene and others. The idea to start writing on my own first came to me back in 2019, and it wasn’t until 2024 that it finally took shape!

So what is Stoicism?

As a school of thought, it appeared more than two thousand years ago.

Its fundamental practical principle is the dichotomy of control: dividing things into those we can influence and those that lie beyond our power. In truth, we control only our thoughts, our actions and… everything that depends on our own choice and will! And what don’t we control? Almost everything else in this world: the thoughts and actions of other people, the past and the future, the weather, the laws of nature, exchange rates, the circumstances of our birth, our parents, our heredity.

The idea is that by shifting our focus away from the things we can’t affect and onto what is genuinely within our power, we find inner calm and the strength to keep moving forward. Stoicism is a way of thinking grounded in common sense.

What appeals to me personally is that, unlike many other currents, it doesn’t ask you to retreat from reality, renounce society or give up on achievement. On the contrary — Stoicism preaches a radical acceptance of the world, without illusions or false expectations, alongside a proactive stance on the road to great things.

The reality around us is what it is — and all sorts of things happen in it, at times terrible ones. The point is not to fixate on the negative and become a hostage to those thoughts, but to keep realizing good aims, step by step — for ourselves, and for our society, our country, the world.

Marcus Aurelius (the figure on the book’s cover) was one of the most famous Roman emperors and a vivid embodiment of Stoicism — as was the philosopher Seneca, one of the wealthiest and most respected men of his time (though in the end he was forced to open his veins).

What else can we draw from this philosophy?

— Not to criticize others, and not to take others’ criticism to heart.

— To focus on exploring and creating rather than consuming.

— To savour the feeling of self-realization that comes through overcoming hardship.

— To stay yourself and never lose your identity, whatever the circumstances.

— To reflect regularly on the inevitability of your own death — “Memento mori” — and on the fact that everything in life is temporary: material things, friendship, love, the people close to us. At any moment all of it can be called “back,” and we have no power over that.

— To think through every possible negative scenario in advance, down to the worst of them, and to map out what you’d do — so you can avoid a fiasco, or at least recover from one.

— To build yourself an inner hero and mentor in the form of a real or imagined figure, someone you can ask in any hard moment: “How would my teacher act right now? How would he make this decision?”

Among the best-known sayings of the Stoics:

— Seneca: “Countless are the men who have ruled over peoples and cities; the men who have ruled over themselves you can count on your fingers.”

— Epictetus: “Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views they take of things.”

— Seneca: “It is not the man who has too little who is poor, but the one who always craves more.”

— Seneca: “We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”

Here’s to a wonderful day! 😎