I'm a Stoic

It is interesting to me that ideas I thought were unique are in fact very old. Since I was a teenager I have held a philosophy about life which in essence says that we have control over our emotional state. Contentment isn't a factor of how much stuff we have, but decided within ourselves. Now I have a name for this belief; Stocism.

has far less effect. The concern over ones wealth is also a source of stress. So if material wealth does not determine contentment what does? I discovered that I could decide to be "content" - that is not unhappy or angry about the injustices of life and accepting of whatever life brings. The attitude we take towards wealth rather than actual wealth have more impact on our state of mind. This is more than a thought experiment to ponder over. It is a philosophy of life; core to who I am. Generally I have kept my personal beliefs to myself, not least reason for which was that I had not heard of anyone else having similar beliefs. Of course, there were others, and last year I discovered who. Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of the Roman Empire wrote a book called "meditations". In actual fact the book was only ever meant to be private, but ended up being published after this death by those who were inspired by his words. Marcus was a Stoic. He understood the difference between that which he controlled and that which he didn't. This was odd for an Emperor of Rome. Even the theistic beliefs of Marcus were not the theological chains of a specific god, but more of a general deistic belief where nature itself was God. This is also a belief that I had some empathy with when I was younger, although I have now discarded.

In my late teenage years I was training to become a black belt in Karate. Although there is no formal training in eastern thinking Karate is a form of meditation. Meditation, if you strip away the mystical claptrap is a way to clear your mind so you can think with clarity and achieve balance. During this period I thought about the purpose of life. I observed that there were poor people who were content and rich people that were unhappy. Now I know that some degree of wealth provides a more materially pleasant life, but at some point the utility of a little more money

One theme that I have noted throughout life is that there are many different value systems. There is the capitalist value system, which essentially values wealth. This is less about gaining wealth for the benefits it brings, but as a status symbol itself. When people compare their salaries they are really betraying their true value system; one based on wealth and financial success. But this is far from the only value system. During my time in Karate I discovered the martial value system. In a martial arts value system you are judged on your fighting capability. The ability to take punishment, your strength, your speed, your accuracy and precision all become valued as traits of a martial artist, and are respected. Success is measured by ones rise through the ranks. While I was part of Karate we see similar values in other martial groups, such as the Army. In some respects this is a rather honest value system, as it is hard to fake real skill. On the other hand combat is no longer a skill that is required in society at large. Software developers also have their own value system. Their value system is essentially based on intellect. I have previously taken the time to lampoon this trait of software developers, as there are somewhat humorous unintended consequences to such a system. Software developers, including myself, are often characterized as being arrogant and anti-social. This is

explainable when you understand that self worth is often tied up with an estimate of relative intelligence. As a Stoic I am not invested in any of these value systems. While I enjoy the utility of money I am not concerned about accumulating it. I am certainly not a whirlwind of violence when it comes to my martial skills. And in software development I guess I am now atypical in that I put more emphasis on people than on technology. No longer do I try to prove my value through technical skill alone. Success in software is mostly a consequence of good teams given the ownership they need. Being a Stoic gives you a clarity of thought; an ability to look at a situation that you may be affected by, and continue to make a rational decision. What it is not is an intellectual position. Like Marcus I see a Stoicism as a state of mind, a way of life. It allows you to stay rational and collected even when under intense pressure. There is however one misconception about the Stoic. It is not a lack of emotion. A Psychopath is someone that has no empathy, compassion or understanding for others. Stoics are not Psychopaths. A Stoic has all the emotions of any normal person, but have decided that their rational mind will take precedence over their emotions. In other words we decide which emotions to show. When we feel empathy we show it, when we feel

anger we suppress it. When someone is shouting and yelling at you in anger we naturally feel defensive and feel like responding with anger. The Stoic allows his rational mind to understand the anger in others, and to find ways to resolve the issues. This is not repression. Some people think that by not expressing emotion you bottle it up, only for it to explode later. This is not my experience. Instead it is the ability to let go of your anger, not allow it to fester into resentment. The highest achievement of the Stoic is the control of his core emotion by his rational mind. This does not mean suppression of all emotion, but rather the selective decisions about what emotions to act on. If you allow negative emotions to control your life there will be a feedback cycle. If someone wrongs you your behaviour becomes angry. That behaviour leads to others being angry at you, and around it goes. This does not mean we should be uniformly happy all the time, but rather we should have discipline of mind such that we remain constructive and rational in resolving issues. We should be prepared to see things though the eyes of others, and so empathy is an important part of Stoicism. I don't mean sympathy here; empathy is not simply feeling sorry for someone. It means understanding someones point of view and how they feel.

Am I a Stoic Adept? Not in the slightest. In fact the only reason I call myself a Stoic is because on the striking similarity between the philosophy of life I have held since late teenage years and my discovery of the Stoics philosophy. I certainly do not refer to ancient Stoic writings to "correct" my own. But in most respects it is oddly comparable.