Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BC. It is a philosophy of personal ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world. According to its teachings, as social beings, the path to eudaimonia (happiness) is found in accepting the moment as it presents itself, by not allowing oneself to be controlled by the desire for pleasure or by the fear of pain, by using one's mind to understand the world and to do one's part in nature's plan, and by working together and treating others fairly and justly.

What is Stoicism?

The Stoics are especially known for teaching that "virtue is the only good" for human beings, and those external things - such as health, wealth, and pleasure - are not good or bad in themselves, but have value as "material for virtue to act upon". The Stoics also held that certain destructive emotions resulted from errors of judgment, and they believed people should aim to maintain a will that is "in accordance with nature". Because of this, the Stoics thought the best indication of an individual's philosophy was not what a person said but how a person behaved.

Virtue

<ul><li>Wisdom - the ability to define what is good, what is not good, and what is indifferent.</li><li>Courage - the opposing force of cowardice. Courage is not the elimination or fear, desire or anxiety, it is acting in the right way despite our fear, desire and anxieties.</li><li>Justice - our duty to our fellow man, and to our society. It’s the morality behind how we act, specifically in relation to our community and the people within it.</li><li>Temperance - relates to self restraint, self discipline and self control. It is our ability to choose long term well-being over short term satisfaction.</li></ul>

The four Stoic virtues

<h3>In his book, "A Guide to the Good Life", W. Irvine claims that the cause of sadness in people is a lack of moderation. We get bored of the item we wished and worked so hard for shortly after obtaining it. We rapidly start looking for the next "big" thing instead of being content with what we already have (hedonic adaptation). This was proven in a study where people's level of happiness was calculated (lottery winners vs people who suffered a tragic accident). Results showed that the happiness levels returned to normal (to the level before the incident) after a few months.</h3>

Exercises - pt 1.1

As mentioned in the previous idea, Stoics recommend wishing for what we already have. But how could we do this? They propose that we imagine losing something valuable (a job or an expensive item). This is the only way we could be content with what we have. By imagining this, not only will we be better prepared in the eventuality that the event actually happens and we lose that thing, but we'll also start appreciating what we have more, realizing that it could be taken from us at any moment. As Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher, once said, we should never forget that everything is temporary.

Exercises - pt 1.2

"Some things are in our control and others not." - Epictetus In today's world, it's easy to start comparing ourselves to others or care extensively about their opinions. The Stoics recommend focusing on yourself and on what you can do. Let's look at an example of the commonly-known dichotomy of control. Imagine you're playing a tennis match. Your goal should be to play as best as you can instead of winning the match. If your goal is to win but you lose, you'll be upset. Also, seeing that you're losing could make you play worse during the game.

Exercises - pt 2.1

Continuing on the previous idea, having this new mindset will not make you play better or worse, but will reduce the emotional baggage that can come with losing the match. This exercise is incredibly useful as it can be applied in a lot of different situations. It's raining and I have to bring an umbrella? Not my problem, I don't control that. My friend doesn't like my new shirt? That's not in my control. “Just keep in mind: the more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.”

Exercises - pt 2.2

The view from above exercise is designed to make us more aware of how small we really are and how little importance most things have. In other words, to give us a sense of the bigger picture.  It’s quite simple, you use your imagination to try and relate yourself to the whole world and beyond. This not only makes you realize how stupid some things that preoccupy your mind are, but it can also shed some light on the most important things in your life. A human life represents a tiny fraction of the whole span of the universe and this exercise can help us realise just that.

Exercises - pt 3

Contemplating the perfect person is another type of exercise that we as humans could use to achieve virtue and become better people. Writing down a list of qualities an ideal person has helps us have a clearer view of it, while keeping us on track with what's important for us.

Exercises - pt 4

A bedtime reflection / journaling is a good example of what we can do at the end of a day. Mentally replay your entire day and then ask yourself the following questions:<ul><li>Did I behave according to my principles?</li><li>Did I treat the people with whom I interacted with in a friendly and considerate manner?</li><li>What vices have I fought?</li></ul>A good tip here is to be brutally honest with yourself. It's just you and your mind, there's is no reason to hide anything or lie to yourself.

Exercises - pt 5

Although Stoicism was founded more than 2000 years ago, there is no doubt that its core principles and ideas can help people of all kinds that are in different stages of their lives, especially in this day and age where social media usage and depression/anxiety levels are seeing all time highs.

Conclusion

philosophy

Philosophy

Why Stoicism matters

No skill is more valuable and harder to come by than the ability to critically think through problems that you haven’t encountered before. Good thinking makes the future easier, while poor thinking makes it harder. Good thinking means better decisions. Better decisions allow for more free time, less stress, and more opportunity. Poor thinking, on the other hand, leads to decisions that consume time, reduce options, and increase our stress.

Thinking

High multitasking can be called "mental filing". Multitasking, in short, is not only not thinking, it impairs your ability to think. Thinking means concentrating on one thing long enough to develop an idea about it. Not learning other people’s ideas, or memorizing a body of information, however much those may sometimes be useful. Developing your own ideas. In short, thinking for yourself. You simply cannot do that in bursts of 20 seconds at a time, constantly interrupted by Facebook messages or Twitter tweets, or fiddling with your iPod, or watching something on YouTube.

Develop An Own Thinking Process

“It’s only by concentrating, sticking to the question, being patient, letting all the parts of my mind come into play, that I arrive at an original idea. By giving my brain a chance to make associations, draw connections, take me by surprise”

The best way to improve the ability to think is to spend time for thinking. The problem is we want thinking to be easy and it’s often not. Easy thinking carries a high cost.Easy thinking means taking a few minutes here and there, getting the gist of a problem, and making a decision. Hard thinking is understanding the problem, understanding the variables and the nuances, thinking through the second and third-order effects, and often understanding that a little pain now will make the future a lot easier.

Improving Thinking

No skill is more valuable than the ability to think. But how can we learn to think better? How can we avoid thinking poorly. Let's explore.

How to Think: The Skill You've Never Been Taught

Everybody feels good when their ego receives a confidence boost. The real problem appears when you stop feeling good about yourself if the confidence boost is not received.  Another issue is that, in order to receive the boost, your ego needs an enemy - a situation or a problem to feel bigger or better than. This stops you from enjoying your life and accepting things as they are. Apart from being conditioned by the need for recurrent boosts, it often happens that this enemy is someone that you might need in the future, but cannot count on him anymore because you already chose the ego.

A big ego needs constant confirmation & maintenance

Let me share an example: You just changed your job and are part of a new team. After a few days, you do something that looks like a good approach based on your previous experience, but an older colleague reproaches you for being wrong. How would you respond? If you have a big ego, it would be hard not to respond back, because a big ego is already used to constant bumps of confidence and this seems like the perfect situation to take one, right?&nbsp; Let's examine the consequences now. How do you think you are going to be favored on the long therm? I have the answer: by not favoring the ego!

A big ego likes momentary pleasures

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

Why your ego draws you back

The Zen awakened nature is:<ol><li>One(everything is connected) </li><li>Infinite/ Boindless</li><li>Empty</li></ol>Once this reality is not only understood, but experienced, the amount if stuff we need to become happy decreases. This observation is something other philosophical schools have reached as well but Zen focuses on the lived experience.

Being Happy With Less

<ul><li>Feels more like a marvelous loss. </li><li>Feels like being awakened from a dream, like escaping the matrix</li><li>Feels like the mind and body falls away. </li></ul>It's a state of discovering and appreciating the connectedness, the infinite and timeless existence. Awakening is not the end, but rather the begining. The beginning of the journey.

How Awakening Feels

mindfulness

Mindfulness

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Meditation

Everyday Zen

"God does not play dice with the Universe"

Einstein's quote is as simple as it is profound. Dice are our social symbol of true randomness. The only reason why it looks so unpredictable is our inability to take into account all the variables of the action of throwing the dice. If we could accurately analyze the initial conditions like velocity or orientation and the impact surface, we could estimate with perfect accuracy the state in which it would stop. This principle applies to everything around us. If you let me extrapolate to mathematical equations -> by the time you get to know all the variables, the equation is almost solved.

Why reality is utterly rational and predictable

You have probably came across situations where you said you should "flip a coin" or "roll the dice" in order to move forward.This is a method of giving up conscious control for something "unpredictable." Imagine that you had your eyes so sharp that you could guess where and how the dice or coin would fall. It would be the equivalent of releasing a ball on the floor, an action where you can easily estimate de result.  Awareness that nothing is random makes us responsible for our actions and helps in avoiding the unhealthy habit of blaming external factors.

You create the consequences

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Science & Nature

We tend to categorize some behaviors or thoughts as moral or immoral. Principles &amp; ethics are deeply rooted into immorality. The mechanism by which we come to develop what we consider as principles or ethical behavior is the following: The brain creates a reward mechanism pro behaviors categorized by society / culture as moral, so that it automatically ends up developing principles.&nbsp;Principles are a pragmatic way of self-defense against the possibility of going beyond cultural norms and consequently being criticized by those around us.

Ethical behavior is an illusion

~Everyone has a mature and immature side, we have to keep equal balance between them to live a good life. Mature side lets u make decisions whilst immature side lets u enjoy life~﻿

"The book that has helped millions of people understand the dynamics of relationships We all play games. In the workplace, in the bedroom, even when we are not aware of it. Every personal encounter is a mental contest, an opportunity to assert our will. Eric Berne's classic Games People Playis the most accessible and insightful book ever written about the psychology of relationships and the patterns of behaviour that reveal our hidden feelings and emotions. Wise and witty, it shows the underlying motivations behind our relationships and explores the roles that we try, and are forced, to play. Games People Playgives you the keys to unlock the minds of others - and yourself. You'll become more honest, more effective and a true team player."

books

Books

The bestselling Games People Play is the book that has helped millions of people understand the dynamics of relationships, by psychiatrist Eric Berne. We all play games. In every encounter with other people we are doing so. The nature of these games depends both on the situation and on who we meet. Eric Berne's classic Games People Play is the most accessible and insightful book ever written about the games we play: those patterns of behaviour that reveal hidden feelings and emotions. Wise and witty, it shows the underlying motivations behind our relationships and explores the roles that we try to play - and are forced to play. Games People Play gives you the keys to unlock the psychology of others - and yourself. You'll become more honest, more effective, and a true team player. 'A brilliant, amusing, and clear catalogue of the psychological theatricals that human beings play over and over again' Kurt Vonnegut Eric Berne was a prominent psychiatrist and bestselling author. After inventing his groundbreaking Transactional Analysis, he continued to develop and apply this new methodology leading him to publish Games People Play. This became a runaway success and Berne leaves a remarkable legacy of over 30 other books and articles, as well as the founding of the International Transactional Analysis Association. Dr Berne's other works include Principles of Group Treatment, A Layman's Guide to Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis', and What Do You Say After You Say Hello? He died in 1970.

Eric Berne was a Canadian-born psychiatrist who created the theory of transactional analysis as a way of explaining human behavior. Berne's theory of transactional analysis was based on the ideas of Freud and Carl Jung but was distinctly different.

Eric Berne

Games People Play

1. Connecting: Try and connect with someone that you haven’t connected for long! 2. Being Active: Try and have a daily regime that includes mental and physical workouts and see the magic unfold! 3. Noticing: Try and subscribing to articles or newsletters that keep you curious! 4. Learning: Try and learn a new skill and you are more likely to find motivation to face your daily grind! 5. Giving: Try to help someone or join a cause that you believe in and you will soon discover meaning in your life once again!

Indicators of Human Well-being!

We all have moments in life when we don't feel right. Our fundamental needs are met, survival is all but guaranteed and yet we don't just feel well. There is still a sense of unease, a sense of something lacking in life. Secretly, we spend a lot of time trying to figure out what is…

health

Health

Indicators of Human Well-Being

Symbolic thinking is what allows humans to talk about past events, as well as to hypothesize about what may happen in the future. In other words, it allows you to get out of a current situation in order to evoke another reality , be it past or future.This type of thinking allows you to go beyond what your senses are capturing in the present moment through memories and hypotheses.

Introduction

One could define symbolic thinking as the ability to think about the present situation. In other words, it’s a type of thinking that allows you to visualize the reality of a given environment , according to personal experiences.

What's symbolic thought? 

Symbolic thinking is part of preoperative thinking. This is a broader concept that would go through three stages during its development.<ul><li>Symbolic thinking.</li><li>Egocentrism (the child can’t dissociate from their own point of view).</li><li>Pre-conceptual prelogical thinking.</li></ul>

Piaget’s preoperative thinking

Series of manifestations occur in the development of the child that makes this process possible during the stage of formation and consolidation of symbolic thinking. These are:<ul><li>Deferred imitation.</li><li>Symbolic play.</li><li>A verbal evocation of non-present events.</li><li>Drawings.</li></ul>Symbolic thought becomes latent and gradually consolidates through all of these manifestations.

Manifestation 

This is one of the main manifestations of symbolic thought, as it’s based on symbolization. What does this mean? It means the verbal keys you describe reality with aren’t what they point to but rather their translation into abstract terms.In other words, people use language to represent reality through symbols, words in this case, and the same occurs with symbolic thought.

Language

According to Piaget, symbolic play appears around the age of two, which is when the child has a sense of the permanent object. That is, they understand that an object still exists even if it isn’t in their field of vision. The reality is humans never stop playing, and doing so almost always involves learning.

The symbolic game 

You shape what you want to evoke through symbols . Thus, drawing is the ability to use signifiers to refer to meanings due to symbolic thinking.In a certain way, both drawing and painting allow humans to represent something from outside but also the ideas inside their minds. As you can see, this is what symbolization is all about.

Drawing and painting

“Evil doesn’t actually exist. It’s just an abstract concept we use to describe shitty behavior. It’s an idea, a concept, a thought, not a thing.”

What's symbolic thought? How does it manifest? It's what allows humans to talk about the past and hypothesize about the future.

Description and Characteristics of Symbolic Thought

<ul><li>"Soldier Mindset" or "motivated reasoning." It's this phenomenon in which our unconscious motivations, our desires, and fears, shape the way we interpret information. Some information, some ideas, feel like our allies. We want to wind and defend them. Other information or ideas are the enemies.</li><li>"Scout Mindset." It's the drive not to make one idea win or another lose, but just to see what's really there as honestly and accurately as you can, even if it's not convenient or pleasant. </li></ul>

Soldier Mindset vs Scout Mindset

The answer is emotional. The soldier mindset is rooted in emotions like defensiveness or tribalism, the scout mindset is, too. It's just rooted in different emotions. For example, scouts are curious. They're more likely to say they feel pleasure when they learn new information. They're more likely to feel intrigued when they encounter something that contradicts their expectations. Scouts have different values. They're more likely to say they think it's virtuous to test your own beliefs, and they're less likely to say that someone who changes his mind seems weak.

Why are some people able to cut through their own motivations and just try to see the facts as objectively as they can?

We need to learn how to feel proud instead of ashamed when we notice we might have been wrong about something. We need to learn how to feel intrigued instead of defensive when we encounter some information that contradicts our beliefs.So the question I want to leave you with is: Do you yearn to defend your own beliefs? Or do you yearn to see the world as clearly as you possibly can?

To improve our judgment we need to change the way we feel.

TED Talk Subtitles and Transcript: Perspective is everything, especially when it comes to examining your beliefs. Are you a soldier, prone to defending your viewpoint at all costs -- or a scout, spurred by curiosity? Julia Galef examines the motivations behind these two mindsets and how they shape the way we interpret information, interweaved with a compelling history lesson from 19th-century France. When your steadfast opinions are tested, Galef asks: "What do you most yearn for? Do you yearn to defend your own beliefs or do you yearn to see the world as clearly as you possibly can?"

communication

Communication

Why do you think you're right? It's all about which mindset you're in.

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