Every day this year has, it seems, brought with it worse and worse news. Diseases and death, lockdowns and load shedding, lost jobs and a soon-to-be-lost generation of children. It can be overwhelming – can feel as if it’s the end of civilization sometimes. But giving in to feelings of fear and anxiety is counterproductive; it prevents us from dealing with our daily problems effectively and positively.
So, how can we cope with the negative feelings stirred up by the troubled world around us?
People naturally find comfort in different corners – family, perhaps, or faith, or even exercise. Others choose less salutary methods like drinking, drugs, or numbing themselves with endless social media scrolling.
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One option that many may find helpful comes from an unlikely and ancient source: Stoic philosophy (a favourite of BizNews editor-in-chief Alec Hogg, who is a great admirer of Stoicism’s greatest advocate, Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius).
Today, stoicism (small s) has come to meet an ability to endure pain without complaining, but Stoicism is much more than that. At its heart, Stoicism teaches that human beings can find the path to happiness by accepting each moment as it is, by refusing to allow their emotions to control them, and by doing what they can to improve the world. These broad principles translate into a helpful guide on dealing with difficult times.
- Change what you can control, accept what you cannot
A big part of Stoic philosophy involves accepting that there are many things in the world that will affect you that you cannot affect in turn. None of us, for example, can control the novel coronavirus. We cannot make it cease to be or change what it does to our bodies. Therefore, Stoicism would counsel us not to worry too much about that stuff – we can’t do anything about it anyway.
What we can do is take actions that change what we can control for the good. For example, we can practice good hygiene, keep ourselves in good health (deal with problems like obesity that make us more vulnerable to diseases like Covid-19), and do our best to play our part in protecting others in our communities. Taking positive actions in spheres we can control and refusing to worry about the things we can’t control can help us feel much more empowered and much less anxious.
- Focus on the present
Stoic philosopher Seneca said, “True happiness is to enjoy the present without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied, for he hat is wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”
In other words, Stoicism recommends mindfulness – focusing the mind on what is happening right now without worrying about the past or the future (neither of which you can change or control right now). This means enjoying your breakfast this morning without worrying about what you will eat if global food systems collapse. We should, of course, spend time planning for our future, but we should not spend time ruminating on it or dwelling on it when those thoughts create anxiety. Do what you can today to prepare for the future, but don’t live in it – live today.
- Separate your real problems from your imagined problems
Let’s say you lose your job due to the lockdown. That is a real problem. But if you are worrying that you may never find another job, that’s an imagined problem. A job loss is a problem that can be solved by looking for another job, starting your own business, learning a new skill, and so on. The risk that you may never find another job is an imagined problem, not something that has actually happened, and so it is impossible to solve – all you can do is worry about it.
- Learn to recognise, understand, and manage your emotions
Often, we feel that our emotions are us. When we feel sad, we say “I am sad” – as if sadness is the core of what we are – rather than “I am feeling sad”, which acknowledges sadness as something passing through us.
Stoicism recommends understanding your inner landscape, learning to recognise what emotions you are experiencing, and understanding that those emotions – while very real and powerful – are not you. They are just something you are experiencing, like being warm or cold and you can manage them (to an extent, at least).
It’s a difficult time and we are all struggling to adjust to radically changed circumstances. Being there for our friends and family and colleagues means taking time to care for ourselves. Armed with ancient wisdom, we can learn to remain positive and content through the most difficult times.
