Seneca's Stoicism Will Challenge Your Life Purpose

I often wonder what Stoic habit would enable me to get out of my comfort zone and witness life through different perspectives.

Long story short, I found it. And it’s neither product of Zeno, nor Posidonius or Marcus Aurelius.

However, before proceeding with the theory’s practice, it’s essential to understand our inner spirit and discomfort fears.

After reading hundreds of ‘How to live your life as a Stoic’ articles, this was the approach that captured my attention and helped me understand.

Therefore, this is a specific approach and not an article full of generalities. It’s not about reading or thinking about a change.

It’s about putting in a tremendous amount of work and effort to attain the mindfulness and the spiritual peace you always aspired.

And that’s precisely what the article covers.

2020

2020 taught me many things.

The #1 lesson, however, was to stop taking things for granted.

And I tried to understand why everyone I know (including myself) takes most of the life aspects for granted.

That’s because we rarely face adversity.

There’s a standard order of everything, and we follow the same order every day, without disruptions or severe problems (for most of the time).

We live in a bubble. Outside of this bubble, you see a great sign that says “COMFORT ZONE.” And this is really what we are fighting — leaving this bubble.

But wait. Why would someone want to leave a bubble in which there’s no adversity and feelings that enable our insecurities and fears to pop up?

In reality, most of us don’t.

As one of the old boxing sayings goes, it isn’t easy to wake up at 6:00 AM to go jogging when you are sleeping in silk pajamas.

There’s this 5%, nonetheless, that wants to leave the bubble.

It might be because they want to face their fears. Because they want to understand themselves better. They might want to take some risks.

Or they want to follow the Stoic perspective of Seneca.

Seneca’s Stoicism

The adviser of, among others, an incredibly controversial Roman Emperor, Nero, has something to say for the people who are comfortable with staying in the bubble.

It is in times of security that the spirit should be preparing itself for difficult times; while fortune is bestowing favors on it is then is the time for it to be strengthened against her rebuffs.

— Seneca the Younger

Does anyone practice this notion? Let’s be frank here. Not really.

Who on earth would be, let’s say, rich and try to face adversity by living as poor? Seneca. That’s why this is a valuable lesson.

Being the right hand of a Roman Emperor meant that Seneca was wealthy.

And still, misfortune is the most excellent way to practice facing your biggest fears.

Comfort puts your mind in a box. This box is the key to daily fear. A fear that stems from the anxiety of losing this comfort. Losing the safety of this box. This bubble.

Are You Staying In The Bubble?

The solution lies in Stoicism.

It lies on the notion of practicing the worst-case scenario, in living the model of what frightens you, which builds your resilience, your character, and your strength.

2020 was a real example and a way of understanding people’s directions in life. Who is moving towards Stoicism and who is not even close.

Apart from the people who suffered substantial losses, the rest were the ones who didn’t want to face adversity.

The same people who choose to stay in the bubble forever.

All cruelty springs from weakness.

— Seneca the Younger

The ones that took matters into their own hands and transformed their most significant uncertainties into their most important success stories were the Stoics — the ones who are following in Seneca’s footsteps.

It’s not always about the numbers, but at this point, it’s about the state of mind that you want to follow. COVID-19 has been the prime example of the downside, the rainy day, the worst-case scenario.

What are you going to do? You will always be part of the greater mass that enjoys the comfort zone, loves being part of the daily loop, and shies away even with the thought of misfortune.

Or you’ll choose to follow Seneca in understand your weaknesses, breaking the comfort box, and practice misfortune, so when bad things happen, you know exactly how to handle the situation.

Sources

Stoicism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Davidson, A.I. (1995) Pierre Hadot and the Spiritual Phenomenon of Ancient Philosophy, in Philosophy as a Way of Life, Hadot, P. Oxford Blackwells, pp. 9–10,

Vogt, Katja (2016), “Seneca”, in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2016 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2019–08–19,

Bunson, Matthew (1991). A Dictionary of the Roman Empire. Oxford University Press. p. 382.