Navigating Life with Ancient Wisdom: An Introduction

Hey Trailblazers,

Very first edition, so you need to set the bar high! Just kidding. As I said before, this newsletter is meant to share my thoughts with you on something that I believe you'll find valuable and that will leave you thinking.

Today, I want to introduce you to a well-known concept that I’ve been following for a while and which I’ve failed to practice despite preaching it. The concept I’m talking about is stoicism. I’m sure you’ve come across it, but in case you haven’t heard of it yet, here are some definitions:

“Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The Stoics believed that the practice of virtue is enough to achieve eudaimonia: a well-lived life. The Stoics identified the path to achieving it with a life spent practicing the four virtues in everyday life: wisdom, courage, temperance or moderation, justice, and living in accordance with nature…” (Source: Wikipedia)

Here’s a shorter version from the amazing Daily Stoic: “In its rightful place, Stoicism is a tool in the pursuit of self-mastery, perseverance, and wisdom: something one uses to live a great life, rather than some esoteric field of academic inquiry…”

The reason I’m talking about it here is that I just finished reading “Right Thing, Right Now: Justice in an Unjust World” by Ryan Holiday. It’s the latest and the third book in the planned series of four books about stoic virtues. In this book, he expands on self-discipline, and it’s needless to say that I highly recommend it, as Ryan has been my favourite author since I discovered him years ago.

One of the biggest and most powerful ideas of stoicism, which Ryan often talks about, is that you don’t control what happens to you, but you control how you respond to it. Which brings me to how I fell short. As of writing this, just a few days ago I faced such a situation. While I don’t want to bore you with details and complaints, here’s a short story.

While I love living in London, something I never get used to is the weather, rain in particular. And as a cyclist, I’m quite sensitive to it. I know, I know, but trust me, it’s not fun. So I was just about to cycle somewhere when I saw the heavy rain outside, really heavy rain. My reaction was… I don’t want to be rude, but you can imagine. Standing next to me was my friend who heard me complaining and said: “Well, that’s the situation to practice your stoic mindset.”

I don’t know if he meant it as a joke or if he was serious; I guess a combination of both, but it left me thinking. He was right. I preach stoicism by reading about it, discussing it with friends, listening to podcasts... And then I fall short when such a situation arises.

But don’t worry, I don’t want to complain here. The point I’m trying to illustrate is that sometimes we consume content, like reading productivity books, listening to podcasts and following inspiring people. But we forget why we do that. Is it just to be cool, feel productive, fill the space or actually to learn something? Indeed, sometimes less is more, so actually putting into practice what we learned is what we should do.

Apply the insight from the book. Think about the idea that was discussed on the podcast. Have a meaningful conversation with someone. By now, I’m sure you know what I mean and I guess you can find such an example in your life too. So let me give you a little homework. Think about it and if you can relate to it (be honest!), share your experience with me.

• When did you fall short and what did you learn from it?

• How are you going to apply this insight?

• Is there something similar to stoicism that you follow?

Reply to this email and I’ll be curious to hear from you! Now, let’s finish with a quote from Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor and a Stoic philosopher.

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

Keep trailblazing,
Tommen