How Can Stoicism Help You at Work?

Focusing on What Really Matters

It's easy to feel overwhelmed at work. We process so much data every day, make so many decisions, and handle so many conflicting demands, that there's barely time to gather our thoughts.

If you've ever felt like this, chances are you could benefit from a pause. Just a few minutes to strip away all the stuff that's coming at you, and to focus on what really matters.

The ancient practice of Stoicism can help you to do just that. In this article, we introduce its key ideas, explain how to practice it, and outline the wide range of benefits it can bring.

What Is Stoicism?

Stoicism dates from the third century B.C. As a "school" of philosophy, it was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium, and was gradually developed by classical thinkers such as Heraclitus, Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius.

In recent years, Stoicism has been championed by business gurus and opinion-formers such as Tim Ferriss. They say that it can help us to be resilient, to develop open and honest working relationships, and to remain calm and focused under pressure.

Stoic philosophy holds that there are four main virtues: wisdom, self-discipline, justice, and courage. Stoics try to live according to these four cardinal principles:

• Wisdom, involving the application of reason – which Stoics believe is the only way to develop a true understanding of the world.
• Self-discipline, requiring the Stoic to overcome irrational desires.
• Justice, which means managing all our relationships with a commitment to fairness and duty.
• Courage – essential to help us overcome irrational fears.

Another key facet of Stoic thinking is that we should divide our experience of the world into things which are realistically under our control, and things which are not. It makes no sense to let ourselves be emotionally affected by situations or circumstances over which we have no control.

In this respect, Stoic philosophy has much in common with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Cognitive Restructuring. Like these modern techniques, Stoicism emphasizes that the way we interpret events can have a greater impact on us than the events themselves. So we can reduce stressful emotions and negative thinking by taking a measured, rational view of our situation.

7 Benefits of Stoicism at Work

Practicing Stoicism in the workplace can bring many advantages, and support you in a wide range of situations. The key benefits of Stoicism include:

1. Rationality. Taking an objective view of problems is valuable when you're dealing with difficult people, or defusing situations where people are angry. Instead of being drawn into a shouting match, a Stoic will seek a rational way to resolve the problem.
2. Calmness. Staying cool and collected is seen as a characteristic of Stoics. By ignoring things they can't control, Stoics are able to focus on the things they can affect. This helps to relieve the stress that's associated with working under pressure.
3. Strength. Stoics are often able to demonstrate a strong, resilient attitude to work. Thinking like a Stoic won't make you immune to the demands of a heavy workload or a hectic working environment, but it will help you to recognize the stressors, and reduce their impact.
4. Flexibility. By seeking solutions to problems, and continually reflecting on their experiences, Stoics benefit from being able to work flexibly. In turn, this helps them to respond to change, quickly and positively.
5. Morality. Modern versions of Stoicism also emphasize the moral elements of the philosophy. Sticking up for what's right, and staying true to your values, are key steps toward achieving ethical leadership.
6. Honesty. The self-scrutiny of Stoic meditation can help you to see what genuinely motivates you – and to communicate that motivation to others. In workplaces with a culture of intrinsic motivation, that can be a particularly valuable skill.
7. Understanding. Bringing reason to bear on your own behavior and motivations can also make it easier to understand other people's actions and emotions. This can help you to empathize with them, and to build better relationships as a result.

Stoic Meditation and Journaling

In its modern form, Stoicism can also be compared with Mindfulness, which advocates meditation as a way to become more aware of our thoughts, emotions and actions.

A particular kind of reflection practiced by Stoics is "negative visualization." This involves thinking about any life situation – but most usefully a potentially stressful one – and imagining the worst possible outcome. You can then prepare yourself to cope with that eventuality, doing so as rationally as possible.

While this might seem pessimistic – and possibly stress-inducing – in practice it can help you to prepare for the worst, and to control your fears before they begin to control you.

While performing the visualization, you make a distinction between the aspects of the situation that you can control, and those that you can't. This allows you to concentrate your efforts on the areas where you can make a real difference.

In time, you'll be able to understand situations that trigger feelings of anger or anxiety. You'll realize that those emotions are either unjustified, or likely to hold you back from achieving your goals.

Keeping a journal is also a valuable way to reflect on your thoughts and feelings, and to see how they interact. Simply keeping a record of your experiences and reflecting on them can help you to rationalize events, however overwhelming they may have seemed at the time.

Journaling in the morning and evening, even if for only 15 minutes or so, allows you to reflect on what you've experienced in the day just gone, and to organize your thoughts for the day ahead.

Potential Pitfalls of Stoicism

Stoics tend to stay calm when unreasonable demands are made on them, because they recognize the value of responding rationally and finding solutions, rather than getting angry.

For this reason, they're sometimes seen as passive, or as being prepared to put up with being treated badly. This may lead some people to take advantage. For example, people with Dark Triad tendencies may interpret Stoic traits as signs that someone can be easily manipulated or bullied.

Organizations with poor corporate cultures may even encourage a stoical outlook as a way to control their employees, under the guise of promoting self-reliance and flexibility.

Yet Stoicism is perfectly compatible with assertiveness. Courage is one of the four Stoic virtues, and that includes having the confidence to set strong personal boundaries, and the determination to make yourself heard.

Setting boundaries is also a rational process. Stoic reflection can help you to understand why you need such boundaries, and exactly what their limits should be.