STOICISM | How to Worry Less in Hard Times

Worse than war is the very fear of war. Seneca

Human history has never been free from adversity. Events like war, the outbreak of plagues, and natural disasters have caused dark times tainted by suffering and death. Without a doubt, the ancient Stoics had their fair share of hardship. And the difficulties of life are the core of their philosophies. In hard times of great uncertainty, many people start worrying about their stable, comfortable lives falling apart, which is not only realistic; sometimes it’s inevitable.

The prospect of undergoing significant changes by the hands of misfortune, not knowing where this change leads to, can be nerve-racking. The Stoics had some profound things to say about dealing with external circumstances, and how to live peacefully in the face of hardship and a troubled future. Living in a society in which mass consumption is the norm, and companies brainwash us into believing that we need their products to feel complete, the distinction between what we truly need and what’s obsolete has become invisible.

In wealthy countries, people rarely concern themselves with their basic needs, because these are a given. But when hard times are knocking on our door, it’s time to create clarity, decide what our priorities are, and learn to deal with uncertainty. First of all, it’s essential to remember the dichotomy of control and to be constantly aware of the fact that we only control our own actions. According to Epictetus, things like our body, property, and reputation are not up to us. When the economy declines, for example, there isn’t much we can do about it.

We could lose a lot of money in the stock market, our jobs and, thus, our income. But from a Stoic point of view, by tying our happiness to these things in the first place, we have already set ourselves up for disappointment. As Epictetus stated and I quote: "The things in our control are by nature free, unrestrained, unhindered; but those not in our control are weak, slavish, restrained, belonging to others. Remember, then, that if you suppose that things which are slavish by nature are also free, and that what belongs to others is your own, then you will be hindered." End quote.

Now, the Stoics make a distinction between virtue, vice, and indifferents. Virtue and vice correspond with our own actions. For example: doing something for the benefit of the community, like providing food to the poor and elderly, can be considered virtuous. And trying to sell necessary goods for exorbitant prices can be considered a vice. But indifferents are neither good or bad. Examples of these are wealth, health, disease, weakness, and poverty. In short: indifferents are external circumstances that are beyond our control.

Now, why is this important? Well, what characterizes difficult times is that these indifferents are threatened, but not our ability to act. Does that mean that we shouldn’t care about these external things at all? Not necessarily, as we need at least some of them to survive. However, when we are facing hard times, we might want to reconsider what we truly need (basic needs like food and shelter for example) so we can let go of the rest and stop worrying about them.

On the verge of economic collapse: how important is it really to possess all kinds of luxurious goods? And to what extent does social status bring food to the table, and protect us from an illness that doesn’t discriminate between rich and poor? The more we are attached to these externals, the more we are disturbed by the prospect of losing them. The truth is that one can be perfectly happy and content without them.

Another essential Stoic lesson concerns death and suffering. This may sound blunt, but, at the end of the day, death and suffering are part of nature. In the West, this is kind of taboo. Death is seen as something negative, something tragic, and needs to be avoided at all costs. And our comfortable lives minimize the amount of pain and suffering as much as possible. But in hard times, we may want to consider that no one is entitled to a long and healthy life...