Tyler Zhang

On Stoicism

February 29, 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC_rTIoBR2I&t=745s

---

If given the chance and opportunity to have or do anything you wanted, what would you choose? Would you let your mind wander and pursue a life of unbridled hedonism? Commit any vice you see fit just because you can? Donate your time and money to service and solving world issues? Or maybe even change all your grades to 100 for the upcoming report card.

Now let’s bring it back to reality.

We ultimately don’t have control of many things. And although it’s nice to think about nice things and wish for events to happen the right way, they often don’t. Because of our hope for the best outcome, we often end up suffering more in our imagination than we do in reality because of it. You ultimately do not have control. Now if you know me, you’ll know I am talking about the philosophy of stoicism. The fundamental principles have been vastly influential in my life, and it’s guided me through tough times and easy times. Today, I’m going to tell you about 3 principles I follow and the most important. That’s it, just 3 ideas, no fancy story.

The first one is on people.

Dealing with people is part of our daily lives and until AI takes all our jobs, we really can’t escape it. That said, there are all kinds of people. The immoral, evil, wicked, and outright bad included. This is inevitable. There will always be bad people in this world and asking for them to not exist is like asking Ms. Kiefte to raise your grade in Calculus, it’s just not happening, and there is nothing you can do. Not to say Ms. Kiefte is evil, but bad people exist and you will have to encounter them. But let’s be optimistic. Most people don’t want to do the wrong thing. In fact, when they do, it’s likely because of their ignorance that deprives them of comprehension. Now, we can try and teach these people but, that’s rarely ever the option.

So, if we can’t get rid of bad people, and we can’t help them, you will just have to put up with them. But let’s not forget we have our own faults too. You might be the bad person in another conversation because of your ignorance and you might not know it. Take for example, the thief who steals to feed his family. To the storeowner, they are the bad person, but they don’t know the thief’s true motive. And although determining whether they are truly in the right or in the wrong would be an awesome conversation between Dr. Panev and Mr. Karcz, we can agree that the storeowner just might not see the thief’s perspective.

Often, you won’t know that you are in the wrong, and you won’t know that you don’t know. So, the best thing to do when dealing with bad people is to suspend your dogma, your opinion, and your perception, because we are all made for each other. It’s the natural order of things. In fact, we won’t know what is good without knowing what is bad, so are bad people really bad after all?

The second principle focuses on the future. Just as how you are bound to see bad people, bad days are bound to happen as well. Unfortune will strike your way, friends come and go, and you will see long lines in the dining hall. Its inevitable, and the adversity we encounter is only part of the human experience. We simply can’t control it. You can only control what you can control. So don’t go around wishing for things to happen that are out of your control, that’s a fool’s errand. That was specially directed to grade 12s who are stressing over university admissions.

However, what you can control is how you react and if you are ready to meet tough days in the future. You can change your expectations, premeditate the misfortune, or my favorite, just accept it. It is what it is. What can I do? So when the bad days do come don’t be surprised, don’t feel bad for yourself, and most importantly, don’t complain. Rather, act, endure, face them with confidence and remember, you can only control what you can control. You are the sole person who can control your emotions.

See these days as an opportunity rather than a burden. An opportunity for you to grow, persist, and feel fortunate you can do so. In fact, coming out of the experience, you might realize the bad thing may not have been bad at all, but rather beneficial and good for your personal growth. However, when you do meet the unendurable and uncrossable barrier, do not disgrace yourself. This leads into my final principle: Death.

“Memento Mori”

A Latin phrase that translates to: “Remember, you must die”.

Now this value is my favorite, not because of its result, but rather how it can serve as a constant reminder of what is certain. See, in life it seems like most things are changing, and in fact that is the constant. Change. Your going to learning new things, you make new friends, or explore new places on the earth; change is constant and inevitable. But it’s what we experience that differs for everyone. We aren’t all interested in the same things, have the same friends, or seen the same places. But we all have a common, looming end. Death.

You can’t escape death. You can run, but it will catch up with you eventually and you will have to meet your fate. Death is certain. So, if we know its coming, we shouldn’t take our time fearing it or trying to discover the meaning of it. It will come soon enough. Just as nature has assigned unique people to fill the Earth, nature has assigned us all to die. Death is a duty.

So, while you are here, be aware of your mortality. Again no one is immune, not Napolean, not Caeser, not even the Queen, and definitely, not you. Spend your days not acting as though you have another, but rather, act as if you are a dying man, of which you are. Be reminded that mortality is by your side and your time is only temporary. Because soon you will have forgotten all things and all things will have forgotten you.

Before I conclude I must also say that stoicism extends much farther beyond what I talked about today, and I merely shared my principles of it.

So what’s the whole meaning of what I just said? Am I telling you to go about your days void of emotion, to be constantly reminded of death, negativity, and your lack of ability to bring change? Or am I telling you to go about your days happy, embrace your certain death, and accept adversity because you can’t control much, so why be upset at something you can’t change? In all honesty, I’ve told you nothing you probably don’t already know. I’ve merely pointed out the obvious. You know there’s bad people in the world, but you likely don’t wake up in the morning thinking you will see them. Why would you? They’re bad people.

You know the future is coming and that you can’t control most of it. In fact you only ever acted within the limits of your abilities, but I’m sure we’ve all hoped some things to be changed, despite it being out of our reach. You know death is certain. But you don’t go through your days thinking that just because you are alive you’re already half way there. It’s an uncomfortable thought for sure, but death coming whether you like it or not.

These truths are so often covered by our ignorance and expectations; our hopes that things could be different or that you have more control than you actually do.

You can’t truly control the people encountering you, the future ahead of you, or the death awaiting you; remember, you can only control what you can control. So we shouldn’t forget these truths and or ignore them, we should embrace them. We must not fear them for the only thing truly worth fearing is letting yourself down by not achieving your full potential, because that is your duty as a human being. Do not let your ignorance, get in the way of that.

Thank you.