Stoicism

with Ben Aldridge

Stoicism is an
Ancient Greek philosophy
that has had a resurgence
of popularity in recent years.
Teacher and Author Ben Aldridge
gives us an introduction to the
philosophy, explains why it
changed his life and shows
us how we can use it to
deal with adversity and
challenges.
What is Stoicism?
Stoicism is an Ancient Greek philosophy that
focuses on self-control, developing a good
character and living a life of virtue.

What does
it talk about?

Where did
it come from?

Stoicism addresses many different

things. Some of these include paying
attention to what we can and can’t control,
contemplating our own mortality to
provide a greater appreciation for life,
how mindset and resilience training
can help us to build mental strength
and lots on self-reflection/journaling.
It’s all very practical and packed
with great tips for leading
a good life.

Stoicism originated in Ancient

Greece around 300 BC. Zeno of Citium
started the movement after realising
the importance of self-knowledge,
self-improvement and self-discipline.
He wanted a philosophy that was
practical and could be used daily
to deal with life’s challenges.
These ideas later spread to
Rome where Stoicism
became incredibly
popular.

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Who are the
key players/
philosophers?

There are many Stoic philosophers and plenty of books to read on

the subject. However, the three key players are Aurelius, Seneca and
Epictetus. These guys are a great place to start and if you’re interested
in exploring the philosophy further, I highly recommend their work.

‘Difficulties strengthen the

mind, as labour does the body.’
Seneca

Seneca:
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
(4BC – AD 65) produced several
significant works contributing to
Stoicism. The book Letters from a
Stoic is a great introduction to Seneca’s
philosophy and offers advice that’s
relevant to our modern world. Seneca
eventually became the imperial adviser
to the Roman Emperor Nero. This all
ended rather dramatically when
Seneca was ordered to kill himself.
He handled this like a true
Stoic and accepted his
fate without
complaint.
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Aurelius:
Marcus Aurelius
(AD 121 – 180) was the
Roman Emperor from
AD 161 – 180. He became
recognised in the Stoic
community for his personal
diary Meditations which
was used as his way to
self-evaluate his life
in a Stoic light.

‘Very little is needed to make

a happy life; it is all within
yourself, in your way of thinking.’
Aurelius

Epictetus:
Epictetus (AD 55 – 135)
was born a slave but
eventually gained his freedom.
He later went on to set up a school
for philosophy in Greece. Epictetus’
main work to read is The Enchiridion.
The book acts as a philosophical
roadmap/handbook for how
to live our lives and has a heavy
focus on how we respond
to situations.

‘Don’t explain
your philosophy.
Embody it.’
Epictetus
Who
uses it?

Many iconic leaders have employed Stoic philosophy in their approach to

life. The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Nelson Mandela and Benjamin
Franklin are three of the most famous advocates. These days you’ll hear
about sports teams, writers, musicians and entrepreneurs using Stoicism
to guide their decisions. It’s a philosophy for everyone and the ideas can
be extremely helpful.

How did
you discover
this
philosophy?

Who is
Stoicism
for?

Several years ago, I was hit with severe and debilitating anxiety. I was
in a very bad place and needed to dramatically change my life. After
visiting the doctor and being told that I was experiencing panic attacks
and acute anxiety, I committed to making a change in my life. To better
understand what was happening to me, I started reading extensively on
mental health, philosophy and psychology and this is where I discovered
Stoicism. I loved how pragmatic the ideas were and instantly got hooked.
I started exploring the philosophy in detail and began using it on a daily
basis. My relationship with my anxiety completely changed, I stopped
having panic attacks and I’ve never looked back since!

Stoicism is for everyone! The ideas are very pragmatic and can easily
be incorporated into our lives. It doesn’t conflict with religious ideas so
you’ll often find people of faith alongside atheists using this philosophy.
Stoicism is also accessible for all ages and something that can be
extremely useful for younger minds.
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How are
you using
Stoicism in
your life?

What are
some of the
Stoic challenges
you have
completed?

I use a lot of the ideas within Stoicism on a daily basis and now see them
as an integral part of my “personal operating system”. The main idea that
has really stuck with me is the concept of resilience training. The Stoics
used to deliberately push themselves out of their comfort zones in order to
build mental strength. They would do this in many different ways – cold and
heat exposure; fasting from food and water; sleeping on the floor; wearing
outrageous clothes and hard physical challenges. They would do all of this
in order to practise the concepts of Stoicism in a controlled environment
and build mental resilience. I fell in love with this idea and have been
completing Stoic challenges inspired by this concept. According to the
Stoics, the more we step outside of our comfort zones, the better we get at
facing the chaos of life. I couldn’t agree more and have certainly noticed a
huge difference in my life since actively practising this idea.

There are so many challenges that I have completed in the name of selfimprovement.
In fact, my first book is all about this. Here are some examples:
running marathons, taking cold showers and ice baths, learning Japanese,
sleeping in unusual places, eating strange and disgusting things, climbing
mountains, fasting, learning to solve the Rubik’s cube in under a minute,
completing obstacle course races and enduring long-distance walks. This is just
scratching the surface… These Stoic inspired challenges have helped me to build
resilience over time by stepping outside of my comfort zone in adventurous and
varied ways. Working with frustrations, embracing discomfort, dealing with failure
and cultivating patience are just some of the reasons that these challenges are so
wide-ranging. Different things can challenge us in different ways. It’s a fun
concept
and one that I continue to use in my life. Each challenge is essentially a platform
for practicing the ideas within Stoicism.

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Can you
share with us
some practical
concepts from
Stoicism?

Absolutely! Here are my three favourite ideas within

Stoicism. Hopefully these will whet your appetite and
inspire you to further explore this truly timeless philosophy.

Control
One of the most important ideas within
Stoicism is the concept of control. The Stoics accepted
that we have very little control over external events.
The only thing that we have control over is how we respond
to these events. Epictetus, one of the most famous Stoic
philosophers, used to talk about this all the time! And for good
reason – this is such a helpful piece of advice when you really
think about it. There is so much in life that we can’t control, but
accepting this can be very powerful. When something goes wrong,
we have a choice about how we deal with it. Our power is how we
choose to respond. This is true for so many situations in life.
The perfect example is being stuck in traffic. We’ve all been
there! It’s so easy to make the situation worse by complaining
and stressing about the big queue of cars in front of us.
The Stoics would accept that they can’t control the traffic
and focus on their response to the situation. This way,
the traffic jam becomes a test of character and a way
to practise this philosophy in the real world.
It’s all about how we frame a situation.
All you need now is a traffic jam!
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‘It’s not what happens

to you, but how you
react to it that matters’
Epictetus

Accepting that
we can’t control everything
in life is the first step towards
becoming able to face chaos and
disruption. When we spend time and
energy on things we can’t change, we tire
ourselves out physically and mentally.
It’s so much better if we focus on what
we can actually do and put our attention
there. A lot of things might be beyond
our control in life, but there are still
things we can control. We should
focus on these things. This is how
we can bring ancient Stoic
wisdom back to life!
Journaling
The Stoics were fans of journaling
and would use self-reflection as an
important part of their philosophy. Marcus
Aurelius’ Meditations is essentially a journal
that was never meant to be published.
This was his personal diary where he would
reflect on external events and explore
Stoicism. Interestingly, this book is
now one of the key texts within Stoicism
and is essential reading for anyone
interested in the philosophy.

‘I examine my entire day

and go back over what
I’ve done and said, hiding
nothing from myself,
passing nothing by.’
Seneca

Assigning time
to reflect on our day and look
at how we performed in different
areas can be a great use of our time.
Establishing a morning and evening
routine for this can be very beneficial
and help us to create structure amidst
the chaos of life. The Stoics would
encourage self-reflection as an
important part of the day and
something that can help
us to check-in with
ourselves.

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‘We will train both soul and
body when we accustom
ourselves to cold, heat,
thirst, hunger, scarcity
of food, hardness of bed,
abstaining from pleasures,
and enduring pains.’

Stoic challenges
The concept of challenging ourselves
to build resilience is something that
I absolutely love. The Stoics would do
this all the time and it’s a very practical
concept. If we expose ourselves to hardship
in a controlled environment, we are better
preparing ourselves for the hardships we might
face in the future. Essentially this is training
for life (the tough bits in particular). I think the
following Dalai Lama quote sums up this
training beautifully: A tree with strong
roots can withstand the most violent storm,
but the tree can’t grow roots just
as the storm appears
on the horizon.

Musonius Rufus

We prepare for
adversity by practicing
adversity. The Stoics believed we
could do this and I do too. So, in the
spirit of resilience training, why not
create some challenges that would
push you outside of your comfort
zone? Maybe a cold shower would
be a good place to start…Or signing
up for a physical challenge that will
push both your body and mind.
This is a great way to creatively
bring Stoicism to life. The only
limits with this are your
imagination.
How
can we use
these
ideas?

Using the previously mentioned tips is actually very straightforward. Start

by thinking how you could include them in your life. Look for pockets of
space where you can reflect on your day and asses how things went. Did
you accept that the majority of events were outside of your control? Did
you consider your response to them? You can also start testing the water
with some Stoic challenges. Whilst trying these out, pay close attention
to what your mind is doing and how you respond to the difficulties
encountered. This can be a fun activity to do with others, so think
about how you can bring your family and friends into this type of selfdevelopment
space.

How can
we further
explore
Stoicism?

There are so many great resources to deepen our understanding of

Stoicism. I would suggest that reading some of the classic literature is
a great place to start. Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca will set you up
with a strong understanding of the Stoic roots. There are also plenty
of modern authors who write about Stoicism. Ryan Holiday is one of
my favourites and his book The Obstacle Is The Way and The Daily Stoic
have become modern classics.
There is also a growing online community of Stoics and social
media accounts like @dailystoic are a great place to connect with
these people.

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What’s
your
favourite
Stoic
quote?

Any final
thoughts?

‘You have power over your mind – not outside

events. Realise this, and you will find strength.’
Aurelius

Stoic philosophy has had a huge influence on my life. I credit it as

being the main philosophy that helped me to turn my life around
after experiencing debilitating anxiety. The ideas and concepts within
Stoicism have inspired me to write a book, create online content and
complete countless challenges. My life has improved exponentially
after putting in place a system of thought that allows me to deal
with adversity. I truly believe that these ideas can be incredibly
transformative for anyone who uses them and I hope that they
resonate with you as much as they did with me.

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About
the Author

Ben Aldridge writes about practical philosophy, comfort

zones, mental health and adventure. His first book
How to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable: 43 Weird
& Wonderful Ways to Build a Strong Resilient Mindset is an
exploration of unique ways to leave our comfort zones,
face our fears and overcome our anxieties. Heavily
influenced by Stoicism, Buddhism, Popular Psychology
and cognitive behavioural therapy, Ben’s challenges
encourage us to get uncomfortable and experience the
personal growth that we can only gain from pushing
ourselves to the limit.

A1913

Discover more at Ben’s website and on social media:

www.benaldridge.com
Instagram: @dothingsthatchallengeyou

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