How the Stoics Helped Me Navigate the Pandemic
I have found Stoic ideas helpful for dealing with the pandemic’s challenges. I’d like to share my experience in the hope that others find it useful. Stoic ideas, originally from ancient Greece and Rome, have found renewed energy today. Most importantly, Stoics accept that external events are out of their control, and they give primary importance to what they can control: their aims and desires. In what follows, I’ll expand on the Stoics’ views and provide an account of how I applied them to my benefit during the pandemic. If you don’t know much about the Stoics and if you’re looking for ways to improve your ability to face adversity, you’re in the right place.
Stoics accept that they lack control over external events. This view developed during a time of much greater uncertainty in people’s lives. Today, technical prowess has so reduced uncertainty that it seems to be fading away. However, as the pandemic vividly illustrates, our control is more tenuous and limited than we might want. The world is full of inconvenient phenomena. Pandemics are as inevitable as the rising and setting of the sun. So are rude, selfish people who seem to make it all worse. Stoics accept all of this without being troubled by it. With this in mind when the pandemic arrived, I found it relatively easy to recognize the new circumstances quickly and simply move on. I don’t prefer this outcome, but I am open to the notion of unexpected occurrences I cannot control.
The Stoics give importance only to what they can control. None of us control the COVID caseload, others’ selfish behavior, or the duration of the disruption. We do control our attitude towards these events and our actions in response to them. The focus on the controllable has helped me reframe the idea of returning to normal. While I’ve seen many others anxious to return to pre-pandemic life, my fundamental challenge has not changed. It remains to navigate, in the right way, what the world throws at me. Many of the circumstances are novel and unfamiliar. Many of my external goals have changed due to a lack of time to pursue them. However, my most significant aim remains to act with good character; and on this, I struggle just as much as before.
Stoics believe in growing from adversity (although it’s not really “adversity” if one is indifferent to the outcome). Any situation provides an opportunity for improvement, particularly in terms of character. To be clear, I know that whatever small inconveniences I’ve faced during the pandemic pale in comparison to what many others have faced. Nonetheless, others in comfortable positions similar to mine are still struggling. In contrast, a focus on finding growth opportunities has led me to avoid belly aching and be grateful for my good fortune. I’ve used my extra time at home to improve my family relationships. Professionally, being forced into online teaching has allowed me to improve my courses in ways that will outlast the online experience. The Stoics take this valuable practice further by visualizing adversity and preparing themselves for a wide range of eventualities.
The Stoic practice of visualizing adversity facilitates foresight and preparation. The Stoics practice visualization of possible adverse situations, performing mental rehearsals of what they might do in each case, again, particularly in terms of character. Early in the stay-at-home days, when many people were expecting to be back to normal in as little as two weeks, I imagined the implications of a much longer disruption, considering practical challenges as well as ways in which I needed to adjust my mindset and actions. As a result, I felt well-adjusted when the need for social distancing grew into months instead of weeks. I later considered disaster scenarios such as a wildfire occurring during a pandemic. When a wildfire indeed threatened us, I was mentally ready to evacuate even before the evacuation warning was issued. These mental scenarios (of events ultimately outside of my control) did not involve anxiety; they were just factual acknowledgments useful for navigating uncertain events in my environment.
So far, this sketch of Stoic ideas shows one way of living effectively in an uncertain world. We have seen that the Stoics (a) accept lack of control over external events, (b) focus on the controllable, (c) learn and grow from adversity, and (d) visualize possible future adversity to promote foresight and preparation. However, if the story stopped here, Stoic thought would be focused on the individual. Such a focus would likely promote a self-absorbed withdrawal from external affairs, which would represent a significant problem for those concerned with the state of the world and society. Thankfully, Stoics move beyond this focus. Their advice is just as much oriented outward as inward.
Stoics believe in human kinship. They hold as a fundamental aspect of humanity that we have a responsibility towards each other. Fittingly, many Stoics led active public lives. In this context, Stoics understand the practical importance of external goals. Although outcomes are ultimately beyond our control, some outcomes are still preferable, and these should be pursued with untroubled acceptance if they don’t come to fruition. During the pandemic, this mindset has given me a different frame of mind towards stay-at-home orders. They aren’t inconvenient (much less an affront to a fundamental right) but entirely consistent with my responsibility towards others. Instead of being bothered, I am grateful that it is easy to isolate myself and thereby reduce the chance of community transmission. In my public life, I have found renewed purpose in finding new ways to help my students succeed under challenging circumstances.
These Stoic views are also helpful in other adverse situations. Epictetus, a Roman Stoic, developed many of his ideas when he was a slave. Admiral James Stockdale used them when tortured as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. These are both severe situations that I hope neither you nor I need to contend with. However, it’s entirely possible that we will experience other serious disruptions in the future. Over my lifetime, I expect to see changes in the social fabric and the severity of natural disasters (both precipitated by climate change). The U.S. hardly seems to be a bastion of political stability that will withstand these changes well. What is outside of our control? What is within our control? What can we foresee? How can we prepare? How can we do so in a way that is beneficial beyond our local circles and ourselves? Stoicism promotes a mindset to accept and act on the answers to these questions.
