What is it all about?
Stoicism
Stoicism is a school of philosophy that began in ancient Greece around 300 BCE, founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens. He taught his ideas at the Stoa Poikilē, a painted porch in the city, which gave Stoicism its name. The early Stoics built the foundation of the philosophy, emphasizing reason, virtue, and living in harmony with nature as the path to a good life. Stoicism later spread to Rome, where it flourished and became deeply influential. Notable Roman Stoics include Seneca, a statesman and writer; Epictetus, a former slave turned respected teacher; and Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor who wrote Meditations, a personal journal of Stoic reflections. While Stoicism declined after the fall of the Roman Empire, its core ideas, such as focusing on what we can control and cultivating inner strength, have endured through the centuries. In modern times, Stoicism has seen a resurgence, especially in areas like psychology, leadership, and personal development, where its practical wisdom and emotional resilience continue to inspire people around the world.
Personal Development
Stoicism teaches us to shift our energy inward, toward our own thoughts, actions, and choices, rather than being consumed by what we can’t control. The Stoic path isn’t about changing the world around us, but about becoming the kind of person who can face that world with integrity and inner peace.
A Life of character
Stoicism teaches that being a good person means living with virtue, treating others with fairness, acting with courage, and staying true to your values. It’s not about perfection, but about choosing what’s right, even when it’s hard.
Mental wellbeing
Stoicism teaches that mental well-being comes from focusing on what you can control and letting go of what you can’t. By staying calm, using reason, and accepting life as it is, you build inner peace and resilience.
Control
One of the central ideas in Stoic philosophy is the dichotomy of control, the clear distinction between what is within our control and what is not. According to Stoics like Epictetus, our thoughts, actions, and choices are fully up to us. Things like the weather, other people’s opinions, or the outcomes of our efforts are not.
The Stoics taught that peace of mind comes from focusing only on what we can control and accepting the rest as it is. Trying to control the uncontrollable leads to frustration, while mastering our responses brings freedom and resilience. This mindset helps us stay calm in chaos, act with intention, and live in harmony with reality.
Present
The Stoics believed that the present moment is all we truly have. The past is gone, the future is uncertain, but the present is within our reach. Living wisely means being fully present, using reason to guide our actions, and not letting regrets or anxieties distract us from what matters now.
Stoicism teaches us to approach each moment with clarity, purpose, and virtue . Instead of drifting through life on impulse or emotion, we aim to act thoughtfully, aware of our values, grounded in reality, and accepting of whatever the moment brings.
Virtues
For the Stoics, the goal of life is simple but demanding: to become a good person . This means living with virtue, choosing wisdom over impulse, justice over selfishness, courage over fear, and self-discipline over excess.
They taught that we should focus not on status, wealth, or comfort, but on building strong character . Each day is a chance to improve, to act with integrity, and to become more of who we’re meant to be, rational, honest, and kind.
Character is shaped by our choices. And that, the Stoics remind us, is always within our control.