{"id":86208,"date":"2022-12-10T16:25:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-10T20:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=86208"},"modified":"2022-12-14T11:28:50","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T15:28:50","slug":"benefits-of-stoicism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-stoicism\/","title":{"rendered":"The Benefits of Stoicism: Knowing What to Pursue &#038; How to Get It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-do-you-want-out-of-life\/\">What do you want out of life<\/a>? What should you pursue\u2014and how should you pursue it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These days, many people chase after fame or fortune in an effort to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/stay-happy-and-positive\/\">find joy<\/a> and peace. Philosophy professor William B. Irvine issues a warning for this way of thinking and recommends that Stoicism is a better path to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/tal-ben-shahar-happiness\/\">true happiness<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more to learn about the benefits of Stoicism and see how this ancient philosophy can help you successfully navigate life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-benefits-of-stoicism\">The Benefits of Stoicism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Irvine argues that Stoicism is valuable because <strong>most people today don\u2019t actually know what they want out of life<\/strong>. As a result, they pursue things that society says they should value (such as wealth, fame, success, and material possessions), assuming these things will make them happy. Irvine argues that external rewards like these <em>can\u2019t<\/em> make you happy and that, if you spend your life pursuing them, you run the risk of regretting your choices later on. Moreover, Irvine points out that, <strong>even if you <\/strong><strong><em>do <\/em><\/strong><strong>know <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-figure-out-what-you-want-in-life-2\/\">what you want out of life<\/a>, you might not know how to get it<\/strong>. For example, you might <em>want<\/em> to care less about what other people think of you, but still find yourself craving popularity and approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-subtle-art-of-not-giving-a-f-ck\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck<\/em><\/a>, Mark Manson agrees that contemporary society pushes us to value the wrong things, and he adds that one of the problems is that <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-subtle-art-of-not-giving-a-f-ck#misunderstanding-happiness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">we wrongly believe that we should be happy all the time<\/a>. In fact, Manson argues, <em>un<\/em>happiness is a normal and necessary part of life, and if we don\u2019t accept that, we\u2019ll make <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-subtle-art-of-not-giving-a-f-ck#believing-that-everyone-is-special\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mistakes like always trying to feel good about ourselves<\/a> (instead of accepting that we\u2019ll fail sometimes) and <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-subtle-art-of-not-giving-a-f-ck#trying-to-avoid-pain\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">trying to avoid struggle<\/a> (instead of seeing it as path to growth).)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Irvine says that the benefits of Stoicism are revealed in the way that they answer both of these concerns.<strong> Stoicism tells you <em>what<\/em> to pursue\u2014tranquility\u2014and <em>how<\/em> you can achieve it<\/strong>. Irvine points out that many Stoic ideas and practices echo teachings from various spiritual traditions (particularly Buddhism, which Irvine considered practicing before he discovered Stoicism). He argues that, for contemporary readers who are leery of religion or who like to think analytically, Stoicism may be the ideal vehicle for learning these principles because it requires neither faith nor devotion, and it relies on practical, concrete advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: As Irvine suggests, a number of spiritual traditions have concepts analogous to Stoic tranquility. For example, Buddhism offers the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/eckhart-tolle-meditation-mindfulness\/\">meditation<\/a> practice of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lionsroar.com\/how-to-practice-shamatha\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>shamatha<\/em>\u2014meaning \u201ccalm abiding\u201d or \u201ctranquility\u201d<\/a>\u2014in which you accept your mind just the way it is. Moreover, in Buddhism, shamatha and other practices are designed to help you reach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scienceandnonduality.com\/article\/the-end-of-suffering\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>enlightenment<\/em>, a state of peace in which you no longer suffer<\/a>. Similarly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianity.com\/wiki\/bible\/what-is-peace-that-surpasses-all-understanding.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Christianity speaks of a \u201cpeace that surpasses all understanding\u201d<\/a>\u2014a phrase generally interpreted to mean that, through prayer and faith, you\u2019ll learn not to worry and to find comfort in any situation, although the original language suggests that it means that the peace God gives is superior to understanding.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What do you want out of life? What should you pursue\u2014and how should you pursue it? These days, many people chase after fame or fortune in an effort to find joy and peace. Philosophy professor William B. Irvine issues a warning for this way of thinking and recommends that Stoicism is a better path to true happiness. Read more to learn about the benefits of Stoicism and see how this ancient philosophy can help you successfully navigate life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":86219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,43],"tags":[827],"class_list":["post-86208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","category-self-improvement","tag-a-guide-to-the-good-life","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Benefits of Stoicism: Knowing What to Pursue &amp; How to Get It - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many people pursue fame or fortune in an effort to find joy, but they often find only regrets. 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