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Before I have finished breakfast, I can read about rising prices, a war across the world, and someone my age buying a house I could not afford. I can close the app, but the questions stay with me: Am I doing enough? What happens if my plans fall apart? How much of any of this…

No. Stoicism does not teach you to suppress emotions by pretending they do not exist or pushing them out of sight. But the Stoics also did not believe every emotion should simply be accepted as it is. They wanted to understand the judgments behind destructive emotions and change those judgments. Imagine that someone says something…

Stoicism has become much more visible in recent years. You may have seen quotes from Marcus Aurelius on Instagram, heard someone say “focus only on what you can control,” or watched a video telling you to stop caring about what other people think. That sounds Stoic. But is it? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, only partly. Many…

The 4 Stoic virtues are wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. But the Stoics did not treat them as four badges to collect. They saw them as four parts of one sound character: wisdom reads the situation, justice considers other people, courage carries out the right choice, and temperance keeps fear, desire, and anger from taking…

Stoicism History began in Athens around 300 BCE. Zeno of Citium taught in a public porch called the Stoa Poikile, or Painted Porch. That place gave the school its name. The ideas later moved through the Greek world and became especially influential in Rome. If you know Stoicism mainly through Seneca, Epictetus, or Marcus Aurelius,…

Stoicism is an ancient Greek and Roman philosophy about living well. It asks you to notice your judgments: the meaning or value you give to events. It also asks you to watch your choices and actions. Stoicism does not promise control over events. It offers a way to act with wisdom, courage, justice, and self-control…