How to Stop Worrying as a Stoic? | Stoicism’s View on Worrying

Our lives are full of things we can get worried about. Sometimes, our brain tends to overthink matters which causes us to worry. The good news is there are Stoic strategies we can use in our daily living to help us cope with it. So, how do we stop worrying as a Stoic?

There are many ways to stop worrying as a Stoic, like the concept of thinking and preparing for the worst-case scenario. Furthermore, Stoicism teaches about the importance of solving our worries and making us resilient by accepting reality if our worries aren’t inside our control.

Overthinking can be a big problem as we tend always to let emotion decide our actions. But, gladly, Stoicism can help, and it has helped me deal with worrying. So, I wrote some Stoic tips to help us worry less in this blog post.

How to Stop Worrying 
as a Stoic?

1. Identify If It’s In Your Control

To do the Stoic way of handling worries, we first need to identify the root cause of the problem. After that, we have to determine if the root cause of our worries is inside or outside our control. That way, we can use the right strategy to handle the situation.

Not all worries are the same. The Stoics know that we should always figure out the cause of our concerns to deal with them correctly.

If the cause of our worries is inside our control, then we can do something to solve it. However, if the reason is outside our control, then Stoicism offers techniques to help us be resilient against them.

So, the Stoics believe that we can either solve the problem or not mind the situation to stop worrying.

Using the wrong approach can be catastrophic.

If we try to solve the things we can’t control, the results will be frustrating, further questioning our abilities.

If, on the other hand, we don’t solve the things we can control, our worries can linger on our heads as long as we don’t solve them.

Thus, as a Stoic, identifying if the cause of our worries is inside or outside our control is the most crucial step to help us remove worrying.

2. Accept Fate and Reality

Accepting fate or reality is a Stoic principle that helps us be resilient to the cause of our worries. If something is not under our control, we should learn to accept that life is unpredictable, and there will be times where we have no control over things.

If we look at everything in the eyes of the Stoic, everything around us can be classified into two, which are the things we can and can’t control. This principle is called the dichotomy of control.

I am repeating this because there are things we can’t control or have no power over.

Frequently, those that aren’t in our control are what cause us to worry.

The Stoics believe that we should live according to nature. They imply this by giving a quote about a dog pulling a cart.

“When a dog is tied to a cart, if it wants to follow, it is pulled and follows, making its spontaneous act coincide with necessity. But if the dog does not follow, it will be compelled in any case. So it is with men too: even if they don’t want to, they will be compelled to follow what is destined.”

Zeno of Citium

The explanation is if we try to stress over the things we can’t control and try to control them, our efforts will be for nothing.

That’s why the Stoics believe in fate or destiny. But, sometimes, life throws things we can’t control, and we have no choice but to accept them.

The excellent news is that Stoicism offers numerous ways to cope with the things we can’t control.

Don’t worry because I will talk about them in the upcoming sections of this blog post.

But my point here is we have to start accepting our fate and destiny, especially if we can’t change it.

3. Work on Yourself

Problems are the reason why we worry. Without problems, there’s nothing we need to worry about. The good news is some of our problems are solvable and in our control. Stoicism helps us focus on these things, so we achieve results when taking matters into our hands.

Not everything about Stoicism is accepting fate or destiny.

That’s why we always need to assess things.

If the cause of our worries is inside our control, then we don’t need to overthink or not mind it at all. Instead, we can solve the issue with our power.

For example, if you’re worried about your physique, how about taking care of your diet and doing some exercise?

If you’re worried about your exams, why not study before the exams?

Sometimes, there are things we can do to solve our problems. We just need to have a good view of the ones inside or outside our control.

Instead of overthinking and letting the problem sit in our minds, try to solve the problem.

4. Focus on the Things you Can Control

As I’ve explained multiple times, focusing on what we can control is crucial if we want to deal with our worries.

In this section, I will expand the idea and give more insights into what we can and can’t control.

We can’t control the past. But, since the past is already done, we have no choice but to accept it.

The only thing we can do with the past is to learn from our mistakes.

Thus, worrying about our past mistakes is not being Stoic.

Instead, the Stoics focus on the present because our current thinking and actions are inside our control.

We can react to the present, including responding to our worries.

But be careful since not everything in the present is inside our control. For example, controlling other people isn’t in our control.

We can’t force people to think or do the way we want.

Furthermore, we can’t force someone to love us back. That’s why when Stoics love, they love and do not expect anything in return.

If you’re interested in knowing about Stoicism and love, you may check this blog post: Stoicism and Love.

Regarding the future, the Stoics believe that the future is unpredictable. Thus, we should not expect things from the future other than improving our chances of success.

This means we should focus on what we can do in the present for a better future. But, unfortunately, there is no way we can directly change the future.

The only thing we can do is to d our best in the present to increase the likelihood of success in the future.

When worrying, try to assess whether you are worrying in the past, present, or future.

After that, check what you can control. Remember that there are aspects in the past, present, and future you can control. Analyzing the situation is key to handling overthinking and worries.

5. Meditate on the Worst-Case Scenario

One thing that gives Stoics courage when they’re worried is thinking of the worst-case scenario. When meditating on the worst-case scenario, we can assess how bad things can be and help us prepare in case it happens. The Stoics call this concept “premeditatio malorum.”

While it may sound weird to think of the worst-case scenario, it helps to get us prepared and to check if we’re willing to take the risk.

For example, when I had my first lecture, I was so worried, and my brain went to an overdrive of what-ifs.

However, when I tried finding the worst-case scenario, the worst-case scenario is I might not get the job.

The truth is, I am not scared of not getting the job. There are lots of jobs I can apply for if I fail. That gave me the courage to try teaching.

The good news is, I was accepted and became a lecturer for three years.

Thinking of the worst-case scenario helps prepare us since we already know the worst that can happen. Sometimes, the cause of our worries is uncertainty. Meditating on the worst possible scenario removes this uncertainty.

However, note that we shouldn’t look at the worst-case scenario emotionally.

Since our brain loves to overthink, there are times where it can give a worst-case scenario that won’t happen.

That’s why a logical perspective is always necessary when meditating on the worst possible scenario.

I will explain that in the later sections.

6. Understand that It’s Only in Our Heads

We have to understand that many of our worries are only inside our heads.

This happens when we also look toward to future. The truth is, we can’t double the speed of time like how we do when watching videos.

Always do your best and let the past take care of itself.

If we worry about losing our jobs, we should learn new skills or do our job better next time.

If you’re worried your spouse doesn’t love you anymore, then check what you can do to show your love but don’t expect to be loved back.

What I mean is that the only thing we control is our present action and thinking.

Worrying about things that aren’t happening yet causes unnecessary stress, overthinking, and worries.

Once we begin to distance ourselves from this negative thinking, we can lessen our worries.

7. Be Rational in Your Thoughts

Our brains tend to overreact to things that cause us to worry.

Sometimes, things seem too big of a problem, but the truth is, when we look at it from a logical perspective, it isn’t that bad.

When I began teaching, I was so worried that I might teach the wrong things to my student, or maybe I have a more intelligent student than me.

Too many situations came to my head which made me so worried.

However, when I started my class, it wasn’t that bad. I just gave the lesson, and most of my worries aren’t true at all.

While Stoicism teaches of looking at the worst-case scenario, we should understand that they are talking about looking at it from a logical perspective, not an emotional one.

Distancing ourselves from emotion when meditating on the worst-case scenario can help us see it logically.

8. Write your Worries Down

Another way to help us reduce our worries is to write things down.

Sometimes, the only thing that can ease our worries is to share our thoughts with other people. However, the problem is the Stoics know that we shouldn’t expect other people to listen to our worries.

For one, they have their own set of problems. The other is some might find that irritating.

That’s why the Stoics write their worries and thoughts in a Journal.

Almost all popular Stoics have a journal. Writing their worries helps them cope, especially with the things they can’t control.

If you don’t know how to write a journal, I have a guide on how I do journaling. You can find it here: How to Journal with examples and a video guide.

As you can see, the Stoics have numerous ways of coping with overthinking, stress, and worries.

Because life is full of things to worry about, Stoicism is a good philosophy to incorporate into our lives.

What’s Next? How about an article about the Stoic’s way of dealing with Anxiety? You can find my blog post about that here: Can Stoicism Reduce Anxiety?

Only the things I love.

ongjason.com is reader-supported. When you buy through links on the site, I earn an affiliate commission.

If you’re following me, you’ll know that I believe it is essential to have some tools, whether it’s for personal development or lifestyle in general.

So, here are the things I love.

YouTube

If you want to learn things for free, I recommend watching my YouTube Channel. Click the Button Below to go straight into my Channel. 🙂

Okay, let me first explain my Channel.

I believe that I really can’t explain everything too well on my blog. That’s why I created a YouTube Channel so I can easily explain a lot of things. Plus, I believe that Video Sharing is the future.

Recommended Books

The next thing is books. Books are, for me, one of the cheapest ways to get invaluable information. We can learn personal development, finance, career, relationships, and many more from books.

Here, I will be listing my favorite books in different categories.

  1. For Beginners7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey – Personal development has a lot of concepts and ideas to learn. Thus it can be really hard for beginners to know where to start. Thus, I recommend this book since all the basic concepts of personal development are here(except finance, check what I recommended for that)
  2. ProductivityThe One Thing by Gary Keller – This book teaches us the power of focusing on one thing which is the ultimate source of productivity. The concepts taught are what I am using to constantly publish YouTube videos while maintaining this website.
  3. Busy?Make Time by Jack Knapp – This book teaches us how to make time for the things we love. The concept is really simple but I think that makes it a book worth reading.
  4. HealthLifespan by Dr.Sinclair – This Book teaches about the latest scientific research on lifespan. In his book, he has shared numerous things he is doing to slow down his aging process. This can be as easy as eating less which he recommends.
  5. FinanceThe Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason – Perhaps one of the first books I’ve read about Finance, this book for me is the best if we are talking about learning basic finance such as basic saving and investing. The concepts are very simple but effective.

Audiobooks

Take this advice as a grain of salt.

I don’t recommend buying Audiobooks one by one. I mean, audiobooks can be quickly finished by listening while working out or doing some mindless tasks.

So here is to save you some money. Just go for a monthly subscription to Audible. I believe that you will save a lot of money with that plus, they usually give freebies to anyone starting.

My Audiobook Recommendation will always be the same as my book recommendations, but I personally like The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins. I like how she is so casual while reading her book.

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