3 common misconceptions that people have about Stoicism

The Stoics are:
1) Emotionless
2) Disconnected
3) Apathetic

If you think this, here is why you are wrong

And Why Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus are all badass

When people ask "Why Stoicism?"

The answer is that this is a very practical philosophy for a lot of different situations in life

But many think a stoic person is cold, intimidating, and suffers in silence

This is entirely at odds with practicing the art of Stoicism

The overarching theme of Stoicism can be encapsulated in one sentence:

Do the right thing

Stoics do the right thing, or what they believe is the right thing

Then they continuously learn from situations so they are always assessing and preparing for new situations in life

Let's look at the misconceptions

1) Emotionless

Stoics are aware they cannot be emotionless, that they will inevitably encounter and feel emotion in situations

Seneca was one of the wealthiest men in Rome and was Emperor Nero's top advisor

He had a complex life

Nero was an unstable leader; he would randomly have people killed

Do you think Seneca walked around his court unemotional and dead-eyed?

No, he regulated his emotions by understanding them, and when Nero told Seneca to take his life

He was able to stay calm

He even reassured his grieving loved ones as he committed suicide

Seneca did the right thing in the situation

Understood his emotions and acted accordingly

A lesser man would have cried, begged, and made the scene worse

The Stoic is not emotionless

He is an emotional wizard

2) Disconnected

Reading any work on or by the Stoics teaches you to be more connected and in touch with yourself

Stoicism allows us to feel emotion, understand where it is coming from, and do the right thing with it

Self-connection is a key part of Stoicism

Epictetus was a slave for most of his life and left with a limp from the experience

He learned how to connect with his emotions and the world around while being a slave

He controlled very little of his external world but was fully connected to his internal mindset

He coined my favorite Stoic quote

"Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it."

Your values and actions need to be connected and in sync to do this

3) Apathetic

Stoicism teaches you to prepare for all eventualities in life

For a Stoic, it is your civic duty to be prepared

Seneca tells us, "luck is when preparation meets opportunity"

If you are not preparing and learning, how will you deal with the best and worst of life?

The idea of doing the right thing works perfectly here

If you have apathy towards events or people; why would you practice or prepare

The Stoics teach you not to have apathy and to learn from the situations in life and act upon that learning

That is Stoicism in a nutshell

Learning and doing the right thing in all aspects of life

Conclusion:

Marcus Aurelius was the ruler of the known world at one point and the last philosopher King of Rome

Are you suggesting he was disconnected, emotionless, and apathetic?

How could one of the world's most famous Stoics rule if he was all those things?

Without Stoicism, he would have ruled more like Nero:

Remembered as one of the worst of the emperors, not one of the best!

Be in touch with your emotions, be connected to yourself, care about the world around you

And do the right thing

This is Stoicism

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Tactical Stocism

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