Stoic philosophy has stood the test of time, standing strong to this very day as a practical, personal philosophy that many people use to develop peace of mind, calm, resilience, and stability.
Stoic quotes are common in today’s information age. Almost every page of the major Stoic writings has a quote that can stand alone as a guiding lesson or practice.
Here are 10 Stoic quotes that have been selected to help develop a deep peace of mind, and shift the way in which we wee the world.
10 Stoic Quotes:
We should always be asking ourselves: “Is this something that is, or is not, in my control?”
One of the most prominent lessons from the Stoic philosopher Epictetus, is that a key element of mental well-being is the ability to discriminate between what is within our control and what is not. This takes the power away from the areas of life that can’t be changed, no matter how much we suffer.
“Time is like a river made up of the events which happen, and a violent stream; for as soon as a thing has been seen, it is carried away, and another comes in its place, and this will be carried away too.”
The Stoic emperor Marcus Aurelius highlights the transient nature of things. The nature of the universe is change, and we must flow alongside it, or suffer as we try and cling to the past, or expect things to remain the same.
“What upsets people is not things themselves, but their judgements about these things.”
– Epictetus
Often it is the judgements we place on things that cause us to suffer, not the things themselves. As the Stoic Epictetus instructs in this quote; if we are able to develop the wisdom to form more favourable judgements, w can live happier lives.
“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”
– Epictetus
In a similar fashion to his previous quote above, Epictetus outlines the fact that we need to understand what we do control and what we don’t, then focus our attention of the former while accepting the later.
“Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions – not outside.”
– Marcus Aurelius
Aurelius here explains that much of our anxieties and worries are self imposed. Over time, if we’re not acting as gatekeepers of our beliefs and perception, we build up a collection of destructive and counterproductive beliefs. These cause us to look upon the world in artificially negative ways.
It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
– Epictetus
In this quote Epictetus hints at the fact that we can’t always decide what happens to us, however, we can decide how we respond. That’s where our power lies.
“How does it help…to make troubles heavier by bemoaning them?”
– Seneca
Seneca makes a very good point. One fact of life is that we will always have to endure hardship. However, what’s the point in making hardship worse by constantly complaining about it, rather than doing something to improve your situation?
“If it is not right, do not do it, if it is not true, do not say it.”
– Marcus Aurelius
This needs very little explanation. Act with virtue. The 4 Stoic Virtues behaved as a compass to Stoic action. To learn more about them you can follow this link.
“We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more in imagination than in reality.”
– Seneca
In this quote, Seneca makes an important point. Again, we are given an example that explains how our mind can work against us if we don’t tend to it. It is much more common for us to suffer because of things we think might happen, rather than things that do happen.
Amor Fati
