This Is What I've Been Training For... Now What?
A Lesson in Stoicism
A lot of Stoics talk about the goal, but not about how to get there.
Stoicism isn’t about suppressing emotions. Emotions must be felt, experienced, and processed so we can move forward and not be stuck in rumination and victimhood.
Awhile ago I realized I needed to write about these things. At the very least, because it might help me come to new conclusions, but also in the hopes that someone else might be struggling with the same ideas.
There is a celebrated tradition in Stoicism of people accepting what has been done to them and continuing on without complaining loudly about the injustice done to them.
They recognize it is out of their control, and they refocus themselves on what they actually can control: themselves. Their actions.
And they move forward.
I’ve been coming more in contact with situations where Stoicism is directly applicable and I’m wrestling with contradictions such as ‘Feel your feelings’ and ‘Do not just ruminate and cause yourself to suffer.’
Which is something not discussed in my Stoic reading thus far.
The ideals are held up. The desired goal is clear. But the actual process of acceptance HAS to include processing the emotions, and then choosing to move forward.
I’m learning to bridge the gap and reconcile those needs. Two things can be true. I need to feel my feelings AND I cannot allow myself to get caught in a spiral of rumination.
Maybe you are to?