We live in a world where we all have became part of an unstoppable wheel of motion. Sometimes, when I see how people are pursuing their lives, I assume we ressemble to the famous metaphor of mice community I've seen long ago on Youtube. I usually feel myself over-consumed by what the outer world dictates us to be the right thing to do. I'm no longer in total control of my desires, my beliefs. Since they're all influenced, in a way or another, by external perceptions.
When I take some moments of reflection and overview of my life, I realize that society has somehow rooted certain perceptions inside of me, without me being aware of it. Even if I priorly know they are wrong.
I always wanted to write this article, but I wasn't quite capable of discerning what was it all about. To some point, we realize that we are running further away from what we truly want to do or believe in. For I was caught up in a vicious loop of beliefs that, in order to be happy, which is everything we strive for really, I have to follow an already paved pathway. I need to earn more money, purchase more things, impress more people. It is indeed a vision that the marketing system has instructed us to foster. Because this is how we keep the economic and finance system running upward. We have lost our very sense of living in order to please economic standards, we've never been content with what we already have or possess. At the end, the light we have been seeking to see is just not there!
This is how the idea of stoicism was brought to light. Many authors are rushing to write about it. It is the main idea behind some books like "Flow" and "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***".
Stoicism is the perception behind which we should completely feel okay with not being okay, and sometimes accept things as they truly are. In this regard, M. Manson has mentioned in his book that we cannot live without suffering. Indeed, it's only a matter of choice. It's up to us to decide what we would exquisitely suffer for.
Stoicism provides invaluable teachings about self-control and fortitude as means of overcoming destructive emotions. Stoicism practitioners don't take things for granted and seek satisfaction with what they already have. The practice makes us realize that we are fortunate enough for only having our current possessions. You begin to hold what you already have in higher value and feel gratitude for what you already are or have.
As you start to bring this concept into your daily life, you find yourself much more in control of your emotions. Taking myself for instance, keeping these beliefs in mind helped to lessen levels of stress I would normally experience in my every day life. On the flip side, the vision we adopt on the outer world begins to change likewise. We no longer put our focus on what others would value, or what we might be praised for. It is a priceless feeling of self-satisfaction that I wish for everyone to experience. Because real happiness lies underneath!
Inspired from the animated short-movie "Happiness", by Steve Cutts