How to Be a Stoic

by Massimo Pigliucci

Stoicism is its practicality: it began in the guise of, and has always been understood as, a quest for a happy and meaningful life.

ataraxia, or tranquillity of mind.

What is the goal of virtue, after all, except a life that flows smoothly? —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, I.4

Zeno did follow Crates and became his student. One of the first things he learned from his new teacher was to practice not being ashamed of things of which there is nothing to be ashamed.

“eudaimonic”—that is, their objective was to figure out the best way of living a human life.

Moreover, our “garden” needs to be fenced off from unwanted and destructive influences, or it will be taken over by weeds and nothing good will grow in it: the fence is the logic, keeping bad reasoning out of the way.

These are often referred to as the three Stoic disciplines: desire, action, and assent.

“Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens. Some things are up to us and some things are not up to us. Our opinions are up to us, and our impulses, desires, aversions—in short, whatever is our own doing. Our bodies are not up to us, nor are our possessions, our reputations, or our public offices, or, that is, whatever is not our own doing.”