Thinking about the worst that can happen every day might be overdoing it a little, but I have terminal cancer, and I think about it every day. I don't get all miserable or try to experience the pain, though. It's just part of everyday life now.
I am no longer afraid of what's coming, and my wife and I can talk freely about it. We'll still be sad when the time comes, but we are ready.
I think your analysis of why Stoicism failed for you is a very honest and accurate assessment. I think that you are right that Stoic teaching requires someone with a really high tolerance for suffering, because for me, I never really learned about Stoicism until very recently (I’m 21 for reference). However, I already believed and even practiced it without knowing because it just came naturally to me.
When I met a now very good friend and explained my personal philosophy to him, he told me it was very Stoic one, even though I had never studied it. For example, I have a practice of meditating on the most horrifying things (funnily enough, the death of my mother is one I have done the longest) to desensitize myself to them. Also, it’s important to clarify that feeling emotion isn’t bad in Stoic philosophy; emotion is seen as any other stimuli, just something that happens. It’s learning to not let the emotion control you by recognizing the truth in it that is essential.
There are a lot of reasons why Stoicism is eminently practical to me. I’m an emotional and intellectual masochist to an extent, if I’m being honest. It also is very useful in my day to day job of working with young autistic children, where complete control over the emotions is vital. And it works—that’s really all that matters when it comes to a philosophy.
Well, to be clear, I wouldn't say that stoicism "failed" me - so much as I get A LOT of mileage out of some of the practices more than others. I think like all philosophical systems, there are benefits and costs, and for me, I think the benefits are separable from stoicism itself (imagining the worst case scenario and preparing for it when something bad happens, being at peace with the brute facts of the world and responding to them).
Having said that, I think individual people are different psychologically, for various reasons. Stoicism works for many people for this reason!
But yes, generally agree with what you say. I got into stoicism in 2018ish when I was in my mid-20s, but it was really just a phase. Same with Buddhism, per my previous post
Good points all around. I wouldn’t even consider myself a Stoic because I don’t hold their cosmological beliefs, as you said, it’s about practical utility and truth for me. It’s very similar to how I greatly enjoy the philosophy of Nietzsche and his idea of amor fati. I’m curious to see how you view Buddhism, as that’s a faith I have never found myself too attracted to (the parts I did like were often found in other philosophies as well).
Thinking about the worst that can happen every day might be overdoing it a little, but I have terminal cancer, and I think about it every day. I don't get all miserable or try to experience the pain, though. It's just part of everyday life now.
I am no longer afraid of what's coming, and my wife and I can talk freely about it. We'll still be sad when the time comes, but we are ready.
I think Seneca was on to something!
Sorry to hear that. I hope whatever suffering is in front of you is as minimal and manageable as possible :(
I'm ready, but I think I have a while to go yet. My doc promises me a peaceful end.
I think your analysis of why Stoicism failed for you is a very honest and accurate assessment. I think that you are right that Stoic teaching requires someone with a really high tolerance for suffering, because for me, I never really learned about Stoicism until very recently (I’m 21 for reference). However, I already believed and even practiced it without knowing because it just came naturally to me.
When I met a now very good friend and explained my personal philosophy to him, he told me it was very Stoic one, even though I had never studied it. For example, I have a practice of meditating on the most horrifying things (funnily enough, the death of my mother is one I have done the longest) to desensitize myself to them. Also, it’s important to clarify that feeling emotion isn’t bad in Stoic philosophy; emotion is seen as any other stimuli, just something that happens. It’s learning to not let the emotion control you by recognizing the truth in it that is essential.
There are a lot of reasons why Stoicism is eminently practical to me. I’m an emotional and intellectual masochist to an extent, if I’m being honest. It also is very useful in my day to day job of working with young autistic children, where complete control over the emotions is vital. And it works—that’s really all that matters when it comes to a philosophy.
Well, to be clear, I wouldn't say that stoicism "failed" me - so much as I get A LOT of mileage out of some of the practices more than others. I think like all philosophical systems, there are benefits and costs, and for me, I think the benefits are separable from stoicism itself (imagining the worst case scenario and preparing for it when something bad happens, being at peace with the brute facts of the world and responding to them).
Having said that, I think individual people are different psychologically, for various reasons. Stoicism works for many people for this reason!
But yes, generally agree with what you say. I got into stoicism in 2018ish when I was in my mid-20s, but it was really just a phase. Same with Buddhism, per my previous post
Good points all around. I wouldn’t even consider myself a Stoic because I don’t hold their cosmological beliefs, as you said, it’s about practical utility and truth for me. It’s very similar to how I greatly enjoy the philosophy of Nietzsche and his idea of amor fati. I’m curious to see how you view Buddhism, as that’s a faith I have never found myself too attracted to (the parts I did like were often found in other philosophies as well).
You're in luck, I wrote about this last week! https://joerjames3.substack.com/p/remember-when-people-converted-to?r=110d4