Face adversity like a pro using Stoic philosphy

Whether you're king or Queen or a Rebel, everyone once in their lifetime faces tragedy.
Then your principles, beliefs and discipline decides how you gonna rise up.

We have enough content on internet, that served as uplifting , motivating and inspiring but very less dealing with the real issues like depression or how to deal with the losses in life
There is one particular philosophy,Stoicism, whose teaching and principles are dedicated to endure and embrace the hard times and make ourselves better.

Well, to have a balanced life one must need to appreciate the good things in life and accept and acknowledge the bad events too . Most people tend to escape that suffering part, consciously or unconsciously. As a result leading to addiction to cover that or cultivating any habits to ease the suffering.

• Don't let the word "philosophy" make an impression on you about it being old and having endless debates
  In fact its the quiet opposite of all the stereotype philosophies .
  It does not dwell on inquiring and finding the meaning of life etc. It just deals only with the things which you can control

• Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy, which was started by Zeno around 300 B.C. It deals with overcoming the destructive emotions by using knowledge and logic
  Its all about seeing the reality as it is
  Stoicism teaches you to respond to the situations, with the awareness and discipline rather than getting swayed with the moods or emotions.

• Most notable stoic philosophers where Seneca the younger, Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus

• It's for anyone who are willing to change to the perspective using will and logic to
  Stoicism is the most practical and simplest yet profound philosophy to practice, making it more effective and influential till date.

Just for fun, definition from the urban dictionary , which is funny yet accurate

For the resource of Stoicism, i would highly suggest you to read first these 3 books

• Meditations-Marcus Aurelius
• Shortness of life - Seneca
• Letters from stoic - Seneca
  From these, you can imbibe the ideas, comprehend it and know for yourself what teaching or methods is good for you to apply in your life. To practice anything in your life, you need to have constant recitation of it, so that idea in your mind becomes the state of your mind.

As Stoicism is a way of life, here are some Stoic exercises to get you started right way

Things happens to us. External events are unavoidable. No matter what you do, some things are not always in your favour and for that you cannot do anything about it. Accept it.
The only thing you can do is , how you choose to respond it.
Thoughts are the only things which you can control, be aware not react to the situation impulsively

Being mindful about thoughts can help you bring clarity in the perception, as thoughts in your mind becomes the way to perceive the reality

True isnit it ? When something bad happens to you, which happens only once, but it keeps repeating often in our minds leading to victim state of mind. Being aware of these kind of thoughts is the first step to overcome those

If you closely observe the discontent of many, the main reason probably will be the desire and craving for more. Human beings are insatiable.

One works so much hard to get the things, one after getting it.Remains content and satisfied for a while but after it , the same cycle starts again but with the desire for more.

For example : if a person is feeling discontent even after having a good job, spouse and house. Then the negative visualization technique for that person would be imagining himself as getting terminated from the job, spouse leaving etc.

Practicing these will make you give more value to the things which you have already and not take for granted. Even if something worse had happened then you would be psychologically mentally and emotionally you would been prepared and easy to overcome the grief.

Even the modern psychologist are using these similar method , termed as PRE MORTEM.
Which deals with the day to day tasks. Which is better to perform when one is overwhelming
with expectation before any submission of the task.

One of the best examples given by Epictetus describing the practice (Enchiridion IV):

It is not intented to make you dwell on the negative thoughts, if it is done properly, then it will make you immune to the sudden shock and grief
Positive visualization may get what you want but negative visualization surely will make you appreciate what you have.

The aim of this exercise is to make you go out of your comfort zone periodically, The more you are into the comfort zone, the more you will be dependent on it. And a little change in your life will cause a great disturbance in you, like not using internet for a day.
So why not small voluntarily have discomforts every now and then so that we can be immune to the such situations and also it will benefit in many ways.
Now voluntary discomforts can be practiced in many ways, Having cold showers, walking without shoes, Not using internet for a day, sleeping on the floor, not using the A.C in your office etc
Remember Tyler Durden? He said " Things you own, ends up owning you"
Voluntary discomfort brings out the individual in you, who is content to any difficult situations. And life is better with minimalistic approach and less consumerism bullshit.

It's better to be thankful in the morning for the things in your life, but it will be more wise
to approach the day with the reality or premeditate stoically. World in reality is not filled ]with all kind-Hearted people, you may meet some rude or unkind. So be prepared for it. So when you meet any unfavor situation, your peace wont be disturbed. As Seneca would say "reckon everything and expect everything"

You can practice it, by keeping the following passages from Seneca, in your mind.

For some these ideas may seem absurd, for some really helpful but one thing is sure that they are effective in real life.
The existence of these till date, proves itself the effectiveness of it.
I hope there are Stoics in steemit, would love to meet them and know about their journey.
Thank you for reading! may you all find the Bliss in your Suffering.

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Image resources: first image i used the poster of DD, coz i find that character to be very Stoic, second and third image is from the same artist Asa Rodger