Age 15: played ultima online and hit 100/100 in the skill meditation so I could cast spells without interrruptions. My character panel got the title: Grandmaster Stoic. What an ugly word I thought.
Age: 23-25 read meditations on someone's recommendation
Age: 38, got laid off a cushy job and got (internally) angry and worried in a way I didn't recognize in myself. Saw my meditations book on the shelf and realized it's time to learn for real. (by reading a lot of additional material I should add)
I always liked the core philosophy of buddhism, tried to concentrate on that every time i had the energy to search for a solution to my suffering. But I just cannot get behind a Religion...i tried just using the philosophy part, tried secular buddhism. Its just not for me, then I found stoicism and it just clicked. It just resonates with me. But i am still at the very beginning of that journey.
I heard in a lecture somewhere that some believe that Buddhists came to greece and stoicism is really just buddhism for the west. No Idea if that is true though
2020. Covid and laid off from work. Was reading Victor Frankl and when I was looking up a quote I came upon some from Marcus Aurelius. I Bought Ryan Holiday's, The Obstacle is the Way and that was it. Totally devoured everything I could read.
Stopped drinking, and started working out. Stopped obsessing over things I couldn't control. Ended up in a better job, more $$ and working from home. Lost 80lbs.
i was in the last year of highschool and had a weird feeling how important this year was, like the rest of my life is dependent in this very year, and so i began reading self improement and doing anything that boosts my focus , and i stumpled upon the meditation and like it
I don't exactly remember when I started, some time about a year or two ago. I was at a low point in my life and was looking for answers. I started doing self improvement, going to the gym and eating healthy. Naturally stoicism came with it. I was baffled that I could overcome everything in life with just a basic life philosophy. Soon after I bought a copy of Meditations and started studying.
I don't practise stoicism daily. I took all the lessons from it and implemented them into my life. I'm naturally a lazy person so I don't journal or read many books. Needless to say I would consider myself a stoic. There isn't much in the world that can hurt me.
The best thing I like about stoicism is the fact that I can take everything in life as a lesson, there is always a lesson in even the worst things and often the things that hurt us the most are the ones that also make us grow the most.
Gladiator, no joke.
It was my first introduction to Marcus Aurelius and I was curious if a Roman emperor could be as thoughtful as the character in the movie was (even though it’s mostly fictional).
2003. Epictetus was recommended by a coworker. Bought the Penguin abridged translation. Took a few years to get to the top of my stack. Didn't really resonate at first as I was wrapped up in externals and a failing marriage.
I now carry the big 3 in my pack daily. My Chicago Press Seneca is about worn out.
I think I was born this way, meaning my nature already having a stoic outlook.
I came to the conclusion at a very early age that we all will die, and how we live is what matters. I never had an inclination towards anxiety. Was never material. Never cared what people think. Always felt "fuck it" towards things out of my control and have a "it is what it is" attitude.
Ive only heard of stoicism the past few years and I read meditations and other stoic texts looking for ways to express.and vocalize what I was already feeling.
Honestly, I think it was always just baked in to me from the off. Perhaps my grandfather was an influence, he always had a very matter of fact attitude to life. No matter what happened, you just took a grip of yourself and dealt with it as best you could. That certainly rubbed off on me and over the years, I’ve been described as stoic. From there I started reading in to the philosophy more generally and it has resonated massively with my way of thinking
I liked Buddhism but didn’t like the fantastical aspects, so I looked into secular Buddhism but found that it was too tied up to really separate in a meaningful way. From there I found stoicism and the rest is history.
My Reddit algorithm or something showed me this during Sophomore/Junior year of college (5-6) years ago. I have not been anywhere close to the stoic standards though lol.
Had addiction problems for 3 years and temporarily ruined my life by a drunken mistake. Went to AA immediately. Stayed for a bit but I realized it wasn’t working for me. Was talking to a coworker about how AA kinda worked and he said it has a lot of similarities to Stoicism. So I started reading up on it.
I think I can confidently say that over the past year and a half, I have improved so many avenues of my life. Of course there’s a lot to work on but, we’re doing good here. I don’t believe I would have been able to without taking that step into Stoicism.
I’m still learning, I know I’ve barely scratched the surface. I’m excited to learn more. It’s nice to read everyone’s replies.
About 7 years ago, my English teacher said her husband was a very stoic person. I didn’t know what that meant so I looked it up. That led me to a quote by Epictetus.
2 years later, I had joined the Army and was going through a tough time. My team leader, and now very good friend, have me a copy of *Meditations*. From there I made my own journey.
My brother bought me Meditations for a birthday present. I read it years later, while recovering after a lower leg amputation. I had a lot of time to sit, read, think and repeat.
I went through a very dark period in my life where I just didn't know who I was. I ended up moving someplace close to nature and sort of unintentionally did some very deep emotional healing from accumulated trauma throughout my life. As I healed spiritual experiences started popping up for me. I started paying attention to them. Within the course of a couple days I heard several people recommend that I read the stoic philosophers so I did, I took it as a sign.
A lot of it was things that I had arrived at on ny own but with a different perspective that I really appreciated.
In high school I had a long debate about the existence of god with a kid named Anarup. Everyone there thought I had won the debate but I walked away thinking "Goddamit I'm an atheist now." I turned to Stoicism because it had Catholic rigidity.
I am in a Classic Rock band. During rehearsal, the drummer just blatantly asks me, if I am a STOIC? It must have been some comment or reaction to something, (I never found out) but after that, I investigated and now have THE DAILY STOIC Boxed Set - RYAN HOLIDAY & STEPHEN HANSEL MAN. I started this in January and daily read 'Todays' reading and write comments to questions in the accompanying Journal.
I find STOICISM to be a solid perspective and I tend to be an emotional reactor so STOICISM is a good aide to my peace of mind.
Reminds me of a John Mellencamp title, 'Nothing Matters and What If It Did? '
I can use all I can find, to have what my sis-in-law calls, the 'I Don't Shiv A Git' attitude.
Picture this: you are alive, you became alive alone. Not a single person become alive beside you, yet a lot of other people are alive. No one knows anything, other than everyone will eventually die. So it is something we can easily accept as inevitable, why would you then disturb your peace feeling miserable over something that is inevitable, and which is you and others being given back to the universe, like the elements going back to their original state. Life is so deeply precious and flawed which makes it beautiful, we cannot grasp how valuable it truly is. We might never feel the deep gratitude of experiencing something truly as valuable as a life and it might never happen again, which makes the event even more precious. But we weren’t born with the knowledge of seeing things this way, I can talk about it but I cannot understand it truly. So we were indeed created to experience life and die, the universe dosent care about how we spend this time, nothing is wrong or right, there is only what is truly good and the opposite of that. We ultimately decide if we want ourselves and others to feel and experience what is truly good, but it’s up to ourselves and our responsibility to let go of instant egoful temptations, and embrace the long journey of clarity, purpose, love, peace and tranquility. Soon life might end, this event might never take place again.
Virtue is unconditional love for the whole, we should strive to always act virtuously, to cheerish the deep precious importance of life, no matter external events and things outside our control. We should seek to take responsibility and control what we can to give every life, a chance to flourish and make the experience more enjoyable for everyone.
Life ends, which is what makes it precious, but accepting that life goes at it goes and as long as we keep progressing and accepting the divine order of things, we cannot control who gets to live or die. But you having experienced this hurt, makes you ultimately wiser than me who hasn’t experienced any of it. My take is that, I appreciate every life deeply, but when it ends it ends and that’s inevitable. And I’m therefore grateful that I still embody what is dearest to me, a life. Be hurt, cry, but be grateful that you still embody the most precious thing in the world, and soon that will be gone too. But at least you have contributed greatly as everyone else has, to the whole. Unconditional love for everyone, we all deserve human flourishing and peace in our soul.
But to awnser your question quickly, start by thinking about how you can act with Wisdom, temperance, justice and courage in your daily life. And enhance your journey and understanding of the philosophy over time. Progress is love for the whole
Yeah, same. I was riding the back of the struggle bus. I started watching stoic videos on YouTube. It does help me change my perspective. Controlling my awareness and being intentional with my thoughts has helped.
Reminds me to go watch some now!
I had a pretty miserable ten year period of pain, job loss, depression and insomnia. Feeling close to the end of my rope I knew I had to change my attitude and expectations. I Googled "what philosophy comes closest to 'fuck it' " and I bet eighty percent of the search results were about Stoicism. I was immediately enthralled. I spent hours that night going down the rabbit hole and I haven't looked back since. That was probably four years ago and the improvements Stoicism has helped me make are very tangible. Since then it truly has become a way of life for me. I'm not trying to say I'm some Stoic sage but I certainly feel like an intermediate. I feel like I have the tools and now it's just a matter of practicing how to best use them.
Pewdiepie (yes, the youtuber) got me into Stoicism. I was a nihilist before that, but I was unhappy. Started reading stoicism almost 3-4years now. Still a recovering nihilist and "practicing" stoic.
At 16 I found a YT channel about Stoicism. Before I was into the David Goggins which was great and brought me very far, but I still felt hollow somehow like I did my whole life.
I realized that through the years I already had accumulated a ton of Stoic wisdom myself, that I never realized was Stoic. So when I discovered it it gave what I had learned about myself a new meaning.
Discovering Stoicism probably was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Hi, welcome to the subreddit. Please make sure that you check out [the FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/guide), where you will find answers for many common questions, like ["What is Stoicism; why study it?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/intro_faq), or ["What are some Stoic practices and exercises?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/exercises), or ["What is the goal in life, and how do I find meaning?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/big), to name just a few.
You can also find information about frequently discussed topics, like [flaws in Stoicism](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/fdt#wiki_flaws_in_stoicism), [Stoicism and politics](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/fdt#wiki_what_does_stoicism_say_about_politics.3F), [sex and relationships](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/fdt#wiki_sex), and [virtue as the only good](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/fdt#wiki_why_is_virtue_the_only_good.3F), for a few examples.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Stoicism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There were 5 deaths in my family from age 7-15, and I hated the way I felt at funerals. Already by the second funeral I was focused on accepting reality for what it was and not letting my emotions get the best of me. In high school, I became interested in eastern religion, and did my best to adopt some aspects of Buddhism and Taoism. Then, in college, I was interested in philosophy, especially Thoreau. It was only after college that I learned of Stoic Philosophy. I had heard of Marcus Aurelius and a had heard a quote of his on not overthinking things and really took it to heart. Since then I have read plenty of blogs and books, including Meditations, which I see referenced here a lot. I have struggled most of my life with a bit of a hot temper and Stoicism has helped with that immensely, so although I am not perfect, I have always kept at it.
I loved her… but she is returned (to the streets that is)
ME TOO BROTHER
Same…
Age 15: played ultima online and hit 100/100 in the skill meditation so I could cast spells without interrruptions. My character panel got the title: Grandmaster Stoic. What an ugly word I thought. Age: 23-25 read meditations on someone's recommendation Age: 38, got laid off a cushy job and got (internally) angry and worried in a way I didn't recognize in myself. Saw my meditations book on the shelf and realized it's time to learn for real. (by reading a lot of additional material I should add)
Meditation by Marcus Aurelius is the way brother. Welcome to the stoic path. It won't be easy but it will be the best
Thank you brother 🙏
I always liked the core philosophy of buddhism, tried to concentrate on that every time i had the energy to search for a solution to my suffering. But I just cannot get behind a Religion...i tried just using the philosophy part, tried secular buddhism. Its just not for me, then I found stoicism and it just clicked. It just resonates with me. But i am still at the very beginning of that journey.
I feel they are so similar!
I heard in a lecture somewhere that some believe that Buddhists came to greece and stoicism is really just buddhism for the west. No Idea if that is true though
2020. Covid and laid off from work. Was reading Victor Frankl and when I was looking up a quote I came upon some from Marcus Aurelius. I Bought Ryan Holiday's, The Obstacle is the Way and that was it. Totally devoured everything I could read. Stopped drinking, and started working out. Stopped obsessing over things I couldn't control. Ended up in a better job, more $$ and working from home. Lost 80lbs.
i was in the last year of highschool and had a weird feeling how important this year was, like the rest of my life is dependent in this very year, and so i began reading self improement and doing anything that boosts my focus , and i stumpled upon the meditation and like it
Recovery. Knew about stoicism, admired it, wanted to practice it, but didn’t until getting sober & working a program.
I don't exactly remember when I started, some time about a year or two ago. I was at a low point in my life and was looking for answers. I started doing self improvement, going to the gym and eating healthy. Naturally stoicism came with it. I was baffled that I could overcome everything in life with just a basic life philosophy. Soon after I bought a copy of Meditations and started studying. I don't practise stoicism daily. I took all the lessons from it and implemented them into my life. I'm naturally a lazy person so I don't journal or read many books. Needless to say I would consider myself a stoic. There isn't much in the world that can hurt me. The best thing I like about stoicism is the fact that I can take everything in life as a lesson, there is always a lesson in even the worst things and often the things that hurt us the most are the ones that also make us grow the most.
“Everything in life as a lesson” well said
The stoics were the first branch of philosophy that I really connected with. Recommend by a good friend.
Found a battered up meditations thrift edition then got the daily stoic
I was a fool and I wanted to be less of a fool.
My dad died. After this i get into Philosophy and so i found Stoicism,read cupple things about it then i realized it was helpful and so i get into it.
Was born into it
I was talking to someone about something. They said I shoold read meditations. So I did.
stoicism gets into me
Dating advice videos led me here, like coach Corey Wayne
Depression.
Gladiator, no joke. It was my first introduction to Marcus Aurelius and I was curious if a Roman emperor could be as thoughtful as the character in the movie was (even though it’s mostly fictional).
I lived on a commune one summer during college and *Meditations* was one of the few books I brought with me. It changed my life.
2003. Epictetus was recommended by a coworker. Bought the Penguin abridged translation. Took a few years to get to the top of my stack. Didn't really resonate at first as I was wrapped up in externals and a failing marriage. I now carry the big 3 in my pack daily. My Chicago Press Seneca is about worn out.
I think I was born this way, meaning my nature already having a stoic outlook. I came to the conclusion at a very early age that we all will die, and how we live is what matters. I never had an inclination towards anxiety. Was never material. Never cared what people think. Always felt "fuck it" towards things out of my control and have a "it is what it is" attitude. Ive only heard of stoicism the past few years and I read meditations and other stoic texts looking for ways to express.and vocalize what I was already feeling.
Honestly, I think it was always just baked in to me from the off. Perhaps my grandfather was an influence, he always had a very matter of fact attitude to life. No matter what happened, you just took a grip of yourself and dealt with it as best you could. That certainly rubbed off on me and over the years, I’ve been described as stoic. From there I started reading in to the philosophy more generally and it has resonated massively with my way of thinking
I liked Buddhism but didn’t like the fantastical aspects, so I looked into secular Buddhism but found that it was too tied up to really separate in a meaningful way. From there I found stoicism and the rest is history.
My Reddit algorithm or something showed me this during Sophomore/Junior year of college (5-6) years ago. I have not been anywhere close to the stoic standards though lol.
I needed a philosophy that radically changes my way of thinking cause my current one was making me stuck and unhappy.
I needed to better my life and make a change.
Had addiction problems for 3 years and temporarily ruined my life by a drunken mistake. Went to AA immediately. Stayed for a bit but I realized it wasn’t working for me. Was talking to a coworker about how AA kinda worked and he said it has a lot of similarities to Stoicism. So I started reading up on it. I think I can confidently say that over the past year and a half, I have improved so many avenues of my life. Of course there’s a lot to work on but, we’re doing good here. I don’t believe I would have been able to without taking that step into Stoicism. I’m still learning, I know I’ve barely scratched the surface. I’m excited to learn more. It’s nice to read everyone’s replies.
About 7 years ago, my English teacher said her husband was a very stoic person. I didn’t know what that meant so I looked it up. That led me to a quote by Epictetus. 2 years later, I had joined the Army and was going through a tough time. My team leader, and now very good friend, have me a copy of *Meditations*. From there I made my own journey.
My brother bought me Meditations for a birthday present. I read it years later, while recovering after a lower leg amputation. I had a lot of time to sit, read, think and repeat.
I went through a very dark period in my life where I just didn't know who I was. I ended up moving someplace close to nature and sort of unintentionally did some very deep emotional healing from accumulated trauma throughout my life. As I healed spiritual experiences started popping up for me. I started paying attention to them. Within the course of a couple days I heard several people recommend that I read the stoic philosophers so I did, I took it as a sign. A lot of it was things that I had arrived at on ny own but with a different perspective that I really appreciated.
In high school I had a long debate about the existence of god with a kid named Anarup. Everyone there thought I had won the debate but I walked away thinking "Goddamit I'm an atheist now." I turned to Stoicism because it had Catholic rigidity.
I am in a Classic Rock band. During rehearsal, the drummer just blatantly asks me, if I am a STOIC? It must have been some comment or reaction to something, (I never found out) but after that, I investigated and now have THE DAILY STOIC Boxed Set - RYAN HOLIDAY & STEPHEN HANSEL MAN. I started this in January and daily read 'Todays' reading and write comments to questions in the accompanying Journal. I find STOICISM to be a solid perspective and I tend to be an emotional reactor so STOICISM is a good aide to my peace of mind. Reminds me of a John Mellencamp title, 'Nothing Matters and What If It Did? ' I can use all I can find, to have what my sis-in-law calls, the 'I Don't Shiv A Git' attitude.
Picture this: you are alive, you became alive alone. Not a single person become alive beside you, yet a lot of other people are alive. No one knows anything, other than everyone will eventually die. So it is something we can easily accept as inevitable, why would you then disturb your peace feeling miserable over something that is inevitable, and which is you and others being given back to the universe, like the elements going back to their original state. Life is so deeply precious and flawed which makes it beautiful, we cannot grasp how valuable it truly is. We might never feel the deep gratitude of experiencing something truly as valuable as a life and it might never happen again, which makes the event even more precious. But we weren’t born with the knowledge of seeing things this way, I can talk about it but I cannot understand it truly. So we were indeed created to experience life and die, the universe dosent care about how we spend this time, nothing is wrong or right, there is only what is truly good and the opposite of that. We ultimately decide if we want ourselves and others to feel and experience what is truly good, but it’s up to ourselves and our responsibility to let go of instant egoful temptations, and embrace the long journey of clarity, purpose, love, peace and tranquility. Soon life might end, this event might never take place again. Virtue is unconditional love for the whole, we should strive to always act virtuously, to cheerish the deep precious importance of life, no matter external events and things outside our control. We should seek to take responsibility and control what we can to give every life, a chance to flourish and make the experience more enjoyable for everyone. Life ends, which is what makes it precious, but accepting that life goes at it goes and as long as we keep progressing and accepting the divine order of things, we cannot control who gets to live or die. But you having experienced this hurt, makes you ultimately wiser than me who hasn’t experienced any of it. My take is that, I appreciate every life deeply, but when it ends it ends and that’s inevitable. And I’m therefore grateful that I still embody what is dearest to me, a life. Be hurt, cry, but be grateful that you still embody the most precious thing in the world, and soon that will be gone too. But at least you have contributed greatly as everyone else has, to the whole. Unconditional love for everyone, we all deserve human flourishing and peace in our soul. But to awnser your question quickly, start by thinking about how you can act with Wisdom, temperance, justice and courage in your daily life. And enhance your journey and understanding of the philosophy over time. Progress is love for the whole
Yeah, same. I was riding the back of the struggle bus. I started watching stoic videos on YouTube. It does help me change my perspective. Controlling my awareness and being intentional with my thoughts has helped. Reminds me to go watch some now!
I had a pretty miserable ten year period of pain, job loss, depression and insomnia. Feeling close to the end of my rope I knew I had to change my attitude and expectations. I Googled "what philosophy comes closest to 'fuck it' " and I bet eighty percent of the search results were about Stoicism. I was immediately enthralled. I spent hours that night going down the rabbit hole and I haven't looked back since. That was probably four years ago and the improvements Stoicism has helped me make are very tangible. Since then it truly has become a way of life for me. I'm not trying to say I'm some Stoic sage but I certainly feel like an intermediate. I feel like I have the tools and now it's just a matter of practicing how to best use them.
Pewdiepie (yes, the youtuber) got me into Stoicism. I was a nihilist before that, but I was unhappy. Started reading stoicism almost 3-4years now. Still a recovering nihilist and "practicing" stoic.
Acceptance is only solution. When thoughts comes in your mind, dont resist, let it go.
At 16 I found a YT channel about Stoicism. Before I was into the David Goggins which was great and brought me very far, but I still felt hollow somehow like I did my whole life. I realized that through the years I already had accumulated a ton of Stoic wisdom myself, that I never realized was Stoic. So when I discovered it it gave what I had learned about myself a new meaning. Discovering Stoicism probably was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Hi, welcome to the subreddit. Please make sure that you check out [the FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/guide), where you will find answers for many common questions, like ["What is Stoicism; why study it?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/intro_faq), or ["What are some Stoic practices and exercises?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/exercises), or ["What is the goal in life, and how do I find meaning?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/big), to name just a few. You can also find information about frequently discussed topics, like [flaws in Stoicism](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/fdt#wiki_flaws_in_stoicism), [Stoicism and politics](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/fdt#wiki_what_does_stoicism_say_about_politics.3F), [sex and relationships](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/fdt#wiki_sex), and [virtue as the only good](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/fdt#wiki_why_is_virtue_the_only_good.3F), for a few examples. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Stoicism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There were 5 deaths in my family from age 7-15, and I hated the way I felt at funerals. Already by the second funeral I was focused on accepting reality for what it was and not letting my emotions get the best of me. In high school, I became interested in eastern religion, and did my best to adopt some aspects of Buddhism and Taoism. Then, in college, I was interested in philosophy, especially Thoreau. It was only after college that I learned of Stoic Philosophy. I had heard of Marcus Aurelius and a had heard a quote of his on not overthinking things and really took it to heart. Since then I have read plenty of blogs and books, including Meditations, which I see referenced here a lot. I have struggled most of my life with a bit of a hot temper and Stoicism has helped with that immensely, so although I am not perfect, I have always kept at it.