How to Become a Stoic

How to become invincible:

What is stoicism? Reaping the upsides of life, and creating a framework in which anything which attempts to damage you actually benefits and strengthens you.

For example, let us assume that real life was an RPG or a video game, Diablo II analogy to real life. Imagine as if your character was a Paladin, and whenever an enemy attacked you, your hit points, and your skills would actually increase. This is my notion of stoicism.

Why stoicism?

To me, stoicism is the best philosophical framework to deal with the maladies of life. For myself personally, studying stoicism, and reading the letters of Seneca helped me tremendously become more confident, and epic.

However, we must know and acknowledge that stoicism is not the end goal. Stoicism is simply a path, a technique and a means toward something greater.

What is the end goal?

To me, life experimentation, human physiology, philosophy, entrepreneurship, innovation, art creativity photography, digital things, the Internet, etc.

For example, stoicism will greatly help you in street photography. Why? I believe the 99% of street photography is simply conquering fear and hesitation. If you could apply a stoic mindset to street photography, you will thrive.

Stoicism and entrepreneurship

Another application is towards entrepreneurship and innovation. I believe the 99% of entrepreneurship and innovation is conquering the fear of risk and failure. If we could stoic strategies to become more risk loving, we are wise.

What is the end goal of stoicism?

It seems that Seneca and the Stoic philosophers were obsessed with virtue for the sake of virtue. What is virtue? For men, it means to become the apex manliness.

However, this is where I feel that stoicism falls short. To seek virtue for the sake of virtue seems to be inconsequential. Once again, stoicism should be seen as a means toward a certain desired end, not the end itself.

So how do I become a stoic?

Simply put, if you’re interested in building your mind and body to become unconquerable, you are already a stoic. To borrow the words of Anna, you have always already been a stoic.

What should I do with my invincibility?

Imagine like having a bulletproof vest for your chest, and also your mind and your soul.

My simple thought is channel and harness your stoic power to go even harder on your publications on philosophy, whether it be email newsletter, blog, vlog, etc.

Anger?

I thought; better to be angry than sad. Why? Anger is an affirmative, stimulating emotion, whereas sadness is a depressive one. Even like Eminem said —

I hate to admit this, but I think I’m actually happier when I’m angrier.

If you get angry, or you’re angry, assuming you have high testosterone, low body fat percentage, and high muscle mass, anger is actually one of our most wise tools. Why? When we get angry, we perceive an injustice, which teaches us between right and wrong.

For example, I think it is actually very very wise to become aggressive and combative when necessary.

For example, in modern day life, we are taught that it is bad to be “defensive”. However, to be defensive, and to focus on defense might be one of the most intelligent strategies.

For example in football, American football, I think it is true that defense wins games. Or, when it comes to the US military, there is a reason why they call it the department of defense, not the department of offense. Even their website URL is Defense.gov.

Even the notion of “avenger”, comes from the notion of being a defender. To defend yourself, your family, your nation could be one of the greatest things one can do. For example, if we think about the spartan 300, their goal wasn’t to just go out and conquer every other nation. Their simple goal was to defend Sparta from king Xerxes and his Slave army. Sparta just wanted to be left alone.

Should you defend yourself?

It depends. For example, imagine like you were the dragon from the Lord of the rings, and there is this annoying poodle which keeps barking at you. In situations like that, maybe it is best to just ignore the poodle, or, you might not even hear it.

Therefore a simple stoic strategy:

Become more deaf to others.

For example, if somebody says something that super annoying, or triggers you, maybe the best strategy is just pretend like you didn’t hear it. And if they ask you whether you heard them, just lie and say you didn’t hear them. And just walk away.

What should I do if I’m just sad?

My thought is a lot of sadness is physiological. For example, let us assume that you sleep 8 to 12 hours a night, spend a lot of time outdoors in the direct sun, go to the gym every day, chat with your buddies, make new friends, lift heavy weights, hype yourself up, and eat lots of meat, How can one be sad?

Another thought: I have never met a depressed person who walks 30,000 steps a day.

Theory:

Depression as a physiological phenomenon which originates in the body, not the mind.

Mental depression is simply an offshoot of bodily physical depression.

Because let us consider, people who are clinically depressed literally cannot get out of bed. Therefore, this is a physiological phenomenon.

Stoic exercises

We all know that in order to become stronger, one must lift heavier weights, and exercise regularly. I say daily is best.

Some stoic exercises:

  1. The next time you get really angry, whether it be your wife, your partner, etc., wait at least 24-48 hours before responding. I I learned this concept from Plato, who said that he would wait at least 24 hours before beating his slave.
  2. What would a demigod do? This could be a good line of thinking when it comes to life situations.
  3. The next time you get really really angry, just walk to the local gym, and proceed to lift very very heavy weights. Don’t go home until you’ve calm down.
  4. Seek to empathize with other people, which means understand their mind and situation, and don’t hate or resent them for it. Give them the cold shoulder. However you’re not giving them the cold shoulder out of punishment, rather, just to protect your own zen stoic calm.
  5. Whenever you hear bad news, or something bad happens to you think yourself, how can this benefit me 10 years from now? Is this misfortune, actually may be one of the most fortunate things which has happened to me in my life? For example, me getting laid off and made redundant from my first job out of college, actually was the stimulus which helped me pursue my passion full-time for a living.

Which stoic philosophers should I read?

I say: Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Epicurus, Diogenes the Cynic, Heraclitus, Democritus, etc.

Stoicism by KIM

Now what?

If you have any mental melodies, or things you want to discuss, have a chat with Zen of Eric Why App? Facebook messenger chat bot.

For anybody who criticizes Facebook, I still think that Facebook is a net positive for society, as it has allowed me to build this.

WHY APP?


Conquer it all

EK:

  1. Conquer Boston
  2. Conquer Innovation in Berkeley
  3. Conquer Zen in Hadong South Korea

Stoic Equipment

  1. Weight lifting chalk, both the powder form which comes in a ball, as well as the liquid chalk. Just buy whatever is cheap and convenient on Amazon.
  2. License to Train Lululemon shorts // Metal Vent Lululemon T-shirt: Think of your clothing as armor. Also, this will allow you to lift weights and go heavy anytime anywhere.
  3. Vibram 5 finger shoes — EL X model
  4. No car
  5. No home
  6. iPhone SE: You don’t get afraid of it scratching, or someone stealing it. Use and abuse it.
  7. iPad Pro (smaller one)
  8. RICOH GR IIIX x ERIC KIM WRIST STRAP MARK II
  9. HENRI SHOULDER STRAP
  10. HENRI WRIST STRAP PRO

Moar in EK SHOP


Stoic sayings

  1. “Perhaps one day we will look back at this misfortune event, and look at it with delight and laughter.” – Odysseus in the odyssey, after half his men got eaten by the Cyclops
  2. “I am so grateful for all the wonderful conversations we’ve had in our life“. (Epicurus talking to one of his best friends, near the end of his life.)
  3. “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.” – Nietzsche

More philosophy >


“Ars longa, vita brevis.” – Seneca

ERIC


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EK STOIC THOUGHTS


STOICISM 101

Become invincible:

  1. How to Ignore
    Pretend like you didn’t hear them
  2. Bad Stoic Strategies
  3. The Stoic Way of Dealing With Unpleasant or Miserable People
  4. HOW TO BECOME A STOIC
  5. Stoicism Stunts Our Power?
  6. Stoicism is Mental Resistance Training
  7. STOIC STRATEGIES.
  8. How to Become Fearless
  9. Extreme Stoicism
  10. Ethics are Aesthetic
  11. Indifference to Pain or Suffering
  12. When is Stoicism Good? When is Stoicism Bad?
  13. Why Others Criticize or Insult You
  14. True Difficulty
  15. What if Covid Never Goes Away?
  16. SUPER STOIC
  17. Anti-Hedonism
  18. HOW TO CONQUER FEAR
  19. ANTI FEAR
  20. It is the Duty of the Strong to Help the Weak
  21. The Goal is to Become Stronger
  22. HYPER STOICISM
  23. HYPER HERO
  24. TRANSFORM EVERY DOWNSIDE INTO AN UPSIDE
  25. STOICISM x Child’s Mind
  26. The Art of Manly Virtue
  27. Resistance Makes Us Stronger!
  28. DON’T LIVE IN FEAR
  29. Emotions are Good
  30. Conquer Your Anger
  31. BLACK EAGLE
  32. DIFFICULTY AWAKENS YOUR INNER-GENIUS.
  33. STOICISM IS ARMOR FOR THE MIND
  34. The Spartan-Stoic Lifestyle
  35. How I Conquered Fear
  36. HOW TO CURE FEAR.
  37. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.
  38. The Upside of Poverty
  39. How I Became Me
  40. THE WILL TO POWER, OR THE WILL TO FEAR?
  41. ATTACK REALITY
  42. Living *THROUGH* History
  43. How to Fear Less
  44. Fear is the Ultimate Contagious Disease
  45. STOICISM FOR DUMMIES
  46. Don’t Be Scared!
  47. WHAT CAN YOU CONTROL, WHAT CAN YOU NOT CONTROL?
  48. HOW YOU CAN CONQUER FEAR
  49. YOU’RE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE.
  50. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
  51. WHY AREN’T THINGS WORSE?
  52. My Philosophy on Masculinity
  53. A Riskier Life is a Better Life #philosophy #stoicism
  54. How to Creatively Flourish in Life
  55. Introduction to Stoicism
  56. How to Become Stronger
  57. How to Conquer Depression With Photography
  58. What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
  59. How to Respect Yourself
  60. How to Believe in Yourself
  61. How to Steer Fear
  62. How to Conquer Pessimism
  63. How to Conquer Anxiety
  64. How to Overcome Your Fear of People
  65. How to Be Optimistic
  66. Why I Don’t Take My Anger Seriously
  67. HOW TO BECOME MORE POWERFUL
  68. POSITIVITY.
  69. HOW TO BECOME SUPERHUMAN
  70. How to Give a Fuck Less
  71. ALL IN.
  72. Why I Cut My Dad Out of My Life.
  73. Your iPhone Only Has 5% Battery Left.
  74. How not to give a FUCK about your REPUTATION
  75. WHAT IS A HUMAN?
  76. HAPPINESS.
  77. The Regret Minimization Framework in Photography and Life
  78. How to Be a HERO
  79. Conquer Your Fears by Making Fear Your Slave
  80. Rule Circumstances; Don’t Let Your Circumstances Rule You
  81. How to Love Yourself
  82. How to Turn Shit into Gold
  83. Your Parents Fuck You Up
  84. Immortality
  85. What Kills You Makes You Stronger
  86. How to Be Patient
  87. How to Conquer Anger
  88. How to Bounce Back in Life
  89. How to Overcome Resistance
  90. Nothing Unlimited is Good; Nothing Good is Unlimited
  91. You Have No Limits
  92. Can 1’s and 0’s Hurt You?
  93. The Envious Moment is Flying Now
  94. Tomorrow We’ll Sail the Wide Seas Again
  95. How to Forgive Others
  96. Focus on Your Actions, Not the Results
  97. Everything Will Be Alright
  98. How to Be a Stoic Street Photographer
  99. How to Be a Spartan Photographer
  100. How to Overcome Your Fears in Life
  101. How to Stop Worrying in Life
  102. How to Use Photography as Self-Therapy
  103. How to Free Your Soul From Disturbance
  104. 3 Stoic Techniques that Can Help You Gain Tranquility
  105. Can People Weaker than You Hurt You?
  106. Does a Doctor Get Angry at a Crazy Patient?
  107. Own Nothing

The Stoic Masters

Marcus Aurelius statue
Marcus Aurelius

Learn from the master stoics:

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