While writing my debut novel (The Madness of the Faithful – released on 28th July), I came to learn about the Stoics and their philosophy. I won’t explain why in the context of the book (feel free to pre-order!) but what I came to realize was that their way of thinking, the lessons it brings, and the values it embodies very much aligned with my own perspective on life. I guess I realized I was a Stoic as well!
Originating in the Mediterranean over two thousand years ago, several thinkers contributed to Stoic philosophy, shaping valuable lessons that are still very relevant today. Stoicism is designed to make us happier, more resilient to the challenges of life, more virtuous, and wiser. The four key tenets of Stoicism are wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation. I wanted to consider some key lessons from Stoicism in the context of writing and how – if applied appropriately – we can use them to have a healthier and more balanced approach to our craft. Here are five things the Stoics have taught me about writing.
1. Don’t worry about things you can’t control.
“There is only one way to happiness, and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” – Epictetus
Writers are often ambitious. They want the moon and the stars, but the reality is you cannot control whether you find the right agent, get a publishing deal, or sell lots of books. You can certainly influence things and push them in the right direction, but ultimately, many measures of success are beyond your control. Willing or wishing for them won’t help you or make you feel better. They’ll likely just push you to set your expectations too high and feel bad about the process if you don’t achieve as anticipated. So that brings me to…
2. Focus on what you can control
“Some things are within our power, while others are not. Within our power are opinion, motivation, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is of our own doing.” – Epictetus
What you can control is how often you write, how you go about practising your craft, and how you manage feedback. How you react to negative comments on your writing is fairly critical and often is the key to success for a lot of famous writers; does it stop you in your tracks, or do you take it on the chin and learn from it? The best you can do as a writer trying to maximize your chances of success is to focus your energies on the parts of the process you can control.
3. Think about your own mortality once in a while
“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.” – Marcus Aurelius
The point here is to not put a downer on things constantly by anticipating death, but recognize the value in each and every waking moment of life. Crucially, are you writing because you enjoy it? Or, because you’re chasing glory? This is an important question as it links back to the idea of what you can and what you cannot control. Most writers I engage with (particularly on Twitter) really enjoy it and get a great deal out of the process – whether it’s stimulation or escapism, the process itself is exciting and fun, and once they start, they never look back. That is the part we should focus on and get as much out of as we can. If you knew death was coming imminently, would you look back on things with regret or pride at how you’d spent your days? Would you feel that you gave it your all and made the most of each moment?
4. Want less
“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” – Epictetus
The interesting thing about chasing wealth, glory, or success, is that for those who do achieve it, it often doesn’t make them feel fulfilled. The same empty void follows them wherever they go. I would challenge any writer who pushes hard on the art to achieve these things (and sure, they sound great) but I suspect they won’t be a means to an end. If you do achieve glory for your writing – and that is a big if (much of this is out of your control) – will you achieve happiness? Maybe, temporarily, but the yearning will likely remain. The Stoic view would be to focus on the writing instead. If success follows, then great, but don’t focus on that as the ultimate destination. Realistically, only a tiny proportion of writers will reach that level of success, anyway. Whatever the outcome, dwelling on it won’t make you happier.
5. Keep your life simple
“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself.” – Marcus Aurelius
This is obviously a broad message that goes far beyond writing. I would argue that people who write – whether for a living or as a hobby – are already very much on the right track with this one. Writing is a simple affair at the end of it – one person, their words, and some means of capturing those words. If we focus on these three components (with the aim of making the output as good as it can be), then you’re maximizing your chances of letting your writing grow wings and take flight. If nothing else, you will get so much more out of it. Ultimately, the message here is if you can achieve happiness with the barest of necessities – all the rest of it is a bonus.
I hope this has been an interesting read. I recommend digging further into Stoicism for anyone seeking some direction about the big questions in life. It provides some refreshingly simple guidance on what you really need to feel fulfilled. Much of it is already out there – its philosophy has already influenced much of modern living. From my perspective, it helped me to focus less on the stuff that didn’t matter and more on the areas of my life that did. And ultimately, I believe I’m happier for it.
