Episode 02 Transcript

Hey guys! It’s Anne from Elevate English.

00:09 This podcast is for intermediate learners who want something interesting to listen to. If you want to read the transcript of this episode while I talk, follow the link in the description or go to my website, elevate-english.com

00:25 Last week, we talked about psychology, and how we can learn languages more naturally. This week, let’s talk about philosophy. Specifically, a philosophy called Stoicism. Lately I’ve been reading a lot about this philosophy, and I’ve found that it has really practical applications to my daily life. I find it useful for dealing with everyday problems, big and small. I’m by no means an expert on Stoicism, but I’m going to share with you some of the things I’ve learned about it.

00:54 Let’s start with the name of this philosophy: Stoicism. The people who practice it are called Stoics. I don’t know if you guys have heard this word in English before. It can cause some misunderstanding for English speakers, because in modern English we use this word, stoic, (lower case ‘s’) to describe a person who doesn’t show emotion. Specifically, a person that can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings. I say it’s misleading because the philosophy of Stoicism, (Stoicism with a capital ‘S’) is not about hiding your emotions or being unaffected by pain and suffering. It’s about improving yourself, perseverance, and seeking wisdom to live a great life.

01:37 Capital-S Stoicism is an ancient philosophy practiced by Stoics in Greece and Rome thousands of years ago. One of the most famous ancient Stoics was Marcus Aurelius. He was the emperor of Rome from 161 – 180 C.E. A lot of people call him the philosopher king. Other early Stoics were Seneca, Cato and Epictetus, who was a former slave. Stoicism isn’t a religion, but it did contribute some ideas to Buddhism and Christianity. It can also be found in cognitive behavioral therapy, with the idea that we can improve our mental health by changing unhelpful thoughts and beliefs. Today, Stoicism is becoming popular again through books and other media.

02:21 One of the main, and in my opinion most important, ideas is to recognize that many things in life are beyond our control. Does that sound familiar? A more modern version of this idea is called the Serenity Prayer, which is often part of programs to help people manage addictions. “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” The Stoics actually said that first. They said, to avoid unhappiness, frustration and disappointment, we need to do two things: Control things that are in our power, and work on caring less about external things that we don’t control.

03:01 Of course, like many things, feeling like this in real life is easier said than done. “Easier said than done” is a common expression in English. It’s easier to say we should accept that we can’t control much in life, but it’s very difficult to actually feel like that when something bad happens. Something a bit unique about Stoicism as a philosophy is that it really places a lot of importance on doing, on practicing Stoicism every day. It’s not just something to read about or talk about. Of course people have written many books over the years, but it wasn’t intended to be just an academic subject. The ancient Greeks meant it to be something we apply to everyday life.

03:42 Going back to the idea of control, the Stoics challenge us to think deeply about what is in fact under our complete control, and what isn’t. We can easily recognize that big external events like a pandemic, an economic recession, or a bad storm are completely external and we had no control over them. But what about things like promotions at work, our relationships, or our health? According to Stoic philosophy, these situations would fall under the category of “not completely under our control”. Let’s say I have a job interview, for example. What is under my complete control? It would be nice if getting the job was a direct result of how much experience I had or how much effort I put in to prepare for the interview. But what if the company decides last minute that it’s actually not in their budget to hire a new employee, no matter how qualified they are? Is that under my control? What about the interviewer’s first impression of me? When I really think about it, I realize I can only directly control my effort to prepare for the interview and make a good impression, such as dressing professionally and practicing with a friend beforehand. I can control my effort to arrive at the interview on time, but what if there’s a car accident, or an unexpected road closure? What if the interviewer is unfairly biased towards me?

05:01 The Stoics don’t mean I should just give up and think that I have no control over anything in life. They think that I should narrow my focus, and really concentrate on what I can control: my hard work and my internal mindset. As someone who has studied psychology, I’d also add that our internal thoughts and feelings are not always under the umbrella of complete control. We have biological reactions to situations that can cause fear and anxiety. Taking the example of the job interview, I might not be able to control the feelings of nervousness and anxiety that arise before the interview, but I can control the way I talk to myself and what thoughts I focus on. I could remind myself how much I prepared, and how other interviews I’ve had in the past went well. I could tell myself that even if this job doesn’t work out, there will be others, instead of thinking that my whole career depends on this one interview. Thinking in this Stoic way means that if I don’t get the job, I won’t be crushed by it or be overwhelmed with self-doubt and negative thoughts. I will accept that it didn’t work out, and again place my effort in what I can control: searching for another job, thinking positively. I won’t waste energy feeling sorry for myself or being angry at the circumstances. Stoics accept life’s events with grace and a calm self-assurance.

06:21 Another lesson we can learn from Stoic philosophy that might help us be happier in life is the idea of flexibility. A quote from Seneca reads, “… nothing happens to the wise person contrary to their expectations.” He means that wise people think ahead about many possible outcomes. They know what they want to happen, but they also see a future where things can go wrong. This may seem cynical or pessimistic at first, but to me it just seems practical. Wise people consider how they could react when things go wrong, they consider a plan B and C and D. Stoicism can help us learn to persevere when life throws us curve balls, as we say in English. A curve ball means an unexpected event. It’s often used with a negative connotation. A curve ball could be losing your job, or a sudden breakup. But it’s actually up to us to decide how we perceive such events. With a lot of reflection and practice, we can use Stoic principles to think about events that happen to us as learning experiences or new challenges instead of tragedies. This can help us persevere, to keep going, because it means if things don’t go our way, we will find another way. And if that way doesn’t work out, we can find another, and on and on. Stoics think the key to living a great, admirable life is overcoming obstacles, both external and internal. Some people may reach high positions or achievements due to luck or privilege, but Stoics think the truly great people are those who had to face challenges, but kept going.

07:52 What I like about this philosophy is how useful it is for everyday life. I think everyone right now can relate to trying to live with an undesirable situation outside of our control. The covid-19 pandemic has disrupted all of our lives in one way or another. The stoics would advise us to focus our energy on the things we can control, the things we can work towards or enjoy despite the restrictions. If you’re interested in applying Stoicism to your life, you could try a simple writing exercise to start. For one day, try to write down the things that are stressful for you. When you notice an anxious or stressful thought, write it down, and then at the end of the day sort your thoughts into two lists: things under your control, and things not under your control. For some, the simple act of recognizing that we can be stressed out by things we have no control over can help a little bit. It can also help us prioritize, to decide what things we should spend our valuable time worrying or thinking about, and what things we might want to let go.

08:51 If you’re interested in learning more about Stoicism, I recommend the book “The Daily Stoic” by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. One of the authors, Ryan Holiday has a podcast, also called “The Daily Podcast”. The short episodes of this podcast might also be a great way to start listening to more content designed for native English speakers.

09:11 That’s it for today! If you like my podcast and find it helpful for you, let me know by leaving me a review on iTunes or Spotify. I’d love to know what you think and how I could improve the podcast in the future. I’ll see you next time to talk about the Zero Waste Movement. Bye!