“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” ―Marcus Aurelius
Stoicism simply explained, is a philosophy that embraces an attitude of indifference and endurance. In fact, practitioners of stoicism believe in not letting their emotions get the better of them.
While it’s similar to ‘positive thinking’ and other law of attraction types of philosophies, stoicism is more grim. Excessive display of emotion is not encouraged. Being unemotional is the default state of a stoic.
A stoic, generally, does endure pain and hardship without complaining about it… and at the same time, they’re not ecstatic or overtly joyous during times of celebration.
While this philosophy may not be practical when taken to extremes, one cannot deny its efficacy when it comes to fostering traits such as discipline, resolve, and grit, which are crucial to business success.
- Your ego is diminished
This is probably one of the biggest benefits of stoicism. Most problems in one’s life tend to stem from one’s ego. If you’re worried about failure because of what others might think, it’s your ego not wanting to ‘look bad’.
Yet, failure is crucial to setting the foundation for success. Stoicism will teach you not to care about the naysayers and to follow the beat of your own drum, no matter where the journey leads – and it often leads to the pinnacles of success.
2. You’re at peace
A stoic person who is not constantly enduring the ups and downs of an emotional roller coaster will be surer of himself or herself. They’ll be less likely to make poor decisions from an emotional standpoint.
Instead of bobbing around like a buoy on a turbulent sea of emotions, you’ll be grounded, aware of the situation from a logical standpoint and take positive measures to overcome any obstacle or problem which rears its ugly head.
Less drama, less fanfare and more peace of mind for you and those around you. This state of being is excellent for running a business.
3. Reduces distractions
Stoicism will keep you focused on what concerns you. You’ll not be distracted by the noise of the world. This will translate to more energy for your business and time savings because you’ll not be expending precious time worrying about world events you have no control of.
Stoics believe in focusing on what they can control. Usually, you’ll find that there are very few things you have control over.
Your diet, your efforts, your energy, where you spend your time, and your habits are a few of the things that you control – and these will make a world of difference in your life.
4. You believe in work
We live in a world where millions of people have an ‘entitlement mentality’ and believe that the world owes them a living. A stoic person believes that the world owes them nothing.
Instead of screaming at the world to give you what you think you’re owed, the stoic believes in taking massive action and going out to get what’s theirs. This is a winning mindset.
- Resilience
While the masses feel offended and disenchanted because the world is a brutal and unforgiving place, the stoic knows that chaos is the natural order of the world – and their mind is the one place that’s serene, calm and under their control.
Tragedy, pandemics, failures, etc. which threaten to derail most positive people from achieving their goals will have minimal impact on a stoic. The word ‘minimal’ is used because stoics are human too.
It’s normal to feel dejection, anger, depression, and unhappiness when one’s best-laid plans don’t yield fruit. But the stoic does not let these external events get him/her down.
They accept it, take a deep breath, pick themselves up and keep going with grim determination because they know that success is around the corner.
The stoic will quietly work on his/her business and take the wins and losses as they come… and he/she will do so without whining or crying or jumping for joy. This is the formula for winning at anything in life.
You may wish to study the concepts of stoicism and apply them to your life and business. You’ll be amazed at how much better you feel, and how your business improves when your mind and emotions are under your full control.
