Stoicism isn’t only an antidote to anger and emotional distress. It’s a recipe for genuine joy – the kind of joy and wonder that comes from endless discovery and the satisfaction that ensues ‘just because’.
Stoics don’t need a reason to be joyful. It’s enough that we’re alive and able to be joyful.
Today we consider the very first principle of Stoicism as defined by Epictetus in his handbook, The Enchiridion. What can we control and what can’t we control?
This means understanding the difference between problems and facts.
Stoics choose not to waste energy or emotional effort on facts that they cannot change – it’s pointless. Instead they work on things they can change, control or influence. That means they work on (and worry about) surprisingly little.
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Stoic philosophy isn’t the dry, humourless approach to life that many think it is. ‘Stoic joy’ comes from the ability to manage and control our emotions, the ability to choose our feelings without being blown this way or that by the winds of fortune.
Much of modern mental health practice comes from the wisdom of the ancient Stoics. Some of our most successful modern therapies are derived almost exactly from the Stoics whose philosophy leads inevitably toward happiness, contentment, self control and yes, joy.
This video series introduces the basic elements of Stoicism to a modern audience. It’s the antidote to the instant gratification, consumer culture that is the root of so much misery today.
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Excuse the voice – I had a headcold when I made this. Hopefully it’s still clear enough.
This video outlines the basic idea behind the cognitive model and why, far from being beyond our control, human emotions, behaviours, situations and thoughts are entirely ours to manage and to master.
Beginning with the basic quadrangle of thoughts, feelings, physiology and behaviour we use different examples of situations that people find themselves in to demonstrate how making a change in any one of these four areas of experience can affect all the rest. Then we look at the role of core beliefs, conditional assumptions and the activating events for emotional and cognitive crises that don’t always make a great deal of sense either to us or to those around us.
By following the structure laid out in the cognitive model (the basis of CBT) we can understand precisely how people come to have the negative thoughts they have, what beliefs underpin their emotional distress and begin to see (often with surprising ease) just what to do about it.
That has to be worth 15 minutes of your time!
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