A day or two ago, I was given an assignment to write a bit about stoic philosophy, and I realized that I was basically being assigned to write a blog post. Well, waste not, want not. Now that the assignment has been graded and I can't be docked for self-plagiarism, I can share with you what I wrote.
I’m not terribly good at dealing with pain and misfortune. Just the other night, I was struggling with some computer software that I need to use for a Business class, and it was frustrating. Or rather, I was frustrated by it. Or perhaps, I allowed myself to become frustrated. Marcus Aurelius wouldn’t have. He, and other stoics like him, would have remained calm and kept the situation in perspective. Sure, I need the software to work so I can record my presentation, and I need to record my presentation so I can submit it for a grade, but beyond that, this software issue won’t ultimately matter. My grade in this one Business class won’t drastically affect my GPA, and my exact GPA won’t strongly affect the rest of my life, let alone whatever comes afterward. Had I not written about it, the memory of this experience would have been lost within in a year or two, or a decade at most. There was no need for me to become as frustrated as I was at those inconvenient software bugs. It would have been far wiser for me to adopt a more stoic philosophy.
Marcus Aurelius wrote that it is unwise to allow ourselves to be frustrated by others. Naturally, he was talking about other people, but the principle still applies in the case of computer programs, other life circumstances, or anything else. According to The Daily Stoic, “[Marcus] believed that people do bad things out of ignorance of what is good and evil, and that we should forgive them for their errors, even when they harm us.” This is especially true of unthinking things, such as computer programs, which are not only ignorant of morality, but also of the harm they cause and of everything else. When dealing with harmful others, we should retain our composure and morality, and not waste time or energy wishing that circumstances were different. Rather, The Daily Stoic tells us that “Marcus reminded himself to not be upset by the misdeeds of others and to correct them if possible, but if they were stubborn and would not change, to accept it.” Fortunately for me, I was able to “correct” the computer program, or rather correct my usage of it, and I have reached a point where I can accept the situation for what it is.
I would like to adopt a more stoic philosophy, especially when dealing with pain and misfortune, because my current strategy of getting frustrated isn’t terribly helpful. I suppose one could argue that negative emotions, like frustration and anger, can be motivating. In this case, my frustration caused me to want to “beat” the computer program and force it to submit to my will (that, or throw my computer against the wall). However, negative emotions are not the only possible motivations to effect a positive change, in fact, such emotions can do more harm than good. Such emotions are unpleasant and detract from net human happiness just by existing, and they can prompt destructive and counterproductive actions (like throwing computers). Naturally, I don’t want to just accept unfortunate circumstances, especially when they can be changed, but I shouldn’t allow myself to become riled up by them, either. Thankfully, stoicism only requires acceptance of such circumstances when correction is impossible or impractical. Marcus Aurelius tried to correct others, when possible, and he accepted their bad behavior only when he couldn’t change it. Stoicism does not require passivity. Were I more of a stoic, I would still be able to try to solve my problems, but I would be more able to keep a level head while doing it, even while faced with potentially frustrating failure.
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