I Am Not A Stoic

I have a passing interest in stoic philosophy and some desire to adopt it, but an experience this afternoon and evening has shown me that I still have a lot to learn. The stoics believe (among other things) in focusing on that which is within our control and not worrying about that which is not. This afternoon, I failed to do the latter. I worried. There was a perceived problem that I could do nothing about, at least not at the moment, but I still worried about it.

And, as it turned out, I needn't've worried. The perceived problem resolved itself, and I learned that I had worried for nothing. Yet, even if action was required on my part, and I needed to do something to solve to problem, worrying about it still wouldn't've helped. Sure, I'd've needed to act, and I'd've needed to have had sufficient motivation to act, but any amount of worry beyond that would have been a waste of emotional energy.

This afternoon and evening, I worried about a problem more than I needed to, and my day was worse off for it. I should instead have been more pragmatic, explored what options I had for what I could and/or needed to do, and made a plan from there. I should have focused on that which I could control, rather than worrying about that which I couldn't.

While I remain a student of philosophy, including stoic philosophy, my poor emotional control continues to prove that I am not a stoic, at least not yet. But I'm not going to worry about that. Instead, I'm going to work on it, to try to retain the wisdom I gained this evening, and to try to control my emotions the next time I'm tempted to worry.