Stoicism — For IT Professionals
Let’s face it; being an IT Professional is stressful. Between security threats, crashing servers, network outages, buggy code, and a thousand other things; it seems as though we are constantly bobbing and weaving, trying to react or respond to the next event that will stress us out and ruin our day. Sometimes, it seems like it would be nice to have an IT suit of armor. Some kind of protective shield to shelter us from the slings and arrows that are thrown at us every day. Something that could protect us from these external threats that can throw a curve ball in our day.
Well, the bad news is that outside of hard work and due diligence there is not much we can do to prevent these external threats and challenges from happening. No matter what we do, ultimately, servers WILL crash, security threats WILL happen, code WILL get buggy. That is the nature of information technology. But the good news is that there is something that can serve as a suit of armor that strengthens us and protects us from these outside threats. And, no, it does not require you to clank around in a suit of metal.
What I am talking about is a set of practices that can strengthen our will and make us unshakable. I am talking about a mindset that helps us better understand what we can control and what we cannot. A philosophy that can bring us peace and tranquility, even in the face of the most stressful day.
I am talking about Stoicism.
What is Stoicism?
So what exactly is Stoicism? Wikipedia provides us with a good working definition:
“Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BC. Stoicism is predominantly a philosophy of personal ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world. According to its teachings, as social beings, the path to happiness for humans is found in accepting the moment as it presents itself, by not allowing oneself to be controlled by the desire for pleasure or fear of pain, by using one’s mind to understand the world and to do one’s part in nature’s plan, and by working together and treating others fairly and justly.”
In a nutshell, Stoicism is an ancient philosophy whose practitioners, or Stoics, were focused on strengthening their will and leading virtuous and tranquil lives. They did this through a series of beliefs and practices that helped them to examine their minds to weed out non-productive, negative thoughts and culture productive, positive thinking. Though it has been centuries since Stoicism prevailed as a philosophy in ancient Greece and Rome, it lives on through the writings of the prominent Stoics: Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius.
You may be thinking: “Why would I want to bother learning a 3,000 year old philosophy?” After all, we are IT Professionals, we are technologists. We love the new, the modern, the shiny, the latest and greatest. Why bother learning a dusty old philosophy written by men with hard to pronounce names that were born before the discovery of electricity. What could a modern technologist possibly learn from an ancient philosophy?
Well, as stated above, IT is stressful and the Stoics were masters of strengthening their will and building more tranquil lives. Wouldn’t we all benefit from a little more tranquility in our hectic, stress-filled lives?
Stoic Practices to Help Strengthen Your Will and Gain Tranquility
As we stated earlier, the Stoics had several principles, practices, and tactics to help them have peace of mind and a higher quality of life. There are many, but these are the “Big 4” that I have personally found to be most useful to put into practice in my daily life.
- Dichotomy of Control — There are things we can control and things we cannot control. The better we are able to identify things that are not under our direct control, and not waste valuable time in our lives worrying about, the happier we will be. Upset that it is raining and you have tickets to the ballgame? Why? There is absolutely nothing you can do about it and any time you spend feeling bad about it is wasted. Instead, keep your focus on the things you can control: your mindset, your thoughts, your actions. The less time you spend worrying about things that are not under your control, that happier your life will be.
- Negative Visualization — The practice of Negative Visualization is taking time to reflect on how things could be WORSE than they are. Bummed out you have a cold? Well at least you don’t have the flu. Upset that the mail server has crashed? Thankfully the web server is still up and running. No matter how bad things may seem, they can always be worse and we can be thankful our present situation isn’t as bad as it could be. It sounds, well…negative. But Negative Visualization helps us realize how good we have it by taking time to briefly reflect on how much worse it could be. The intention here is not to go around all day thinking about how much worse things could be and all the horrible situations you could potentially find yourself in. That would be depressing. But the next time you find yourself feeling sorry for yourself over your current situation, take a moment to reflect on how it could be worse, and instead choose to be grateful your problem isn’t as bad as it could be.
- Accepting the Past — Human beings tend to spend a lot of time, way too much time in fact, feeling bad about what has happened in the past. Time spent in guilt, remorse, wishing things had gone differently than they did. What a waste of time! There is absolutely nothing we can do to change the past. Through this mindset the Stoics encourage us to accept the past for what it is; the inevitable and unchangeable string of events that lead us to where we are now. If anything, we should embrace our history and appreciate everything that has happened (good and bad) that has lead us to this moment. It HAD to happen the way it did, there was no other possible way for it to have happened. Embrace your past, learn your lessons, and focus your time and effort on now.
- Nothing Is Permanent — The Stoics liked to reflect on death…a lot. It is a topic that resurfaces again and again in their writings. They frequently remind us that nothing is permanent and one day we all will die. Sounds kind of depressing…right? No! Nothing helps you to set your priorities straight more quickly than realizing that someday you will die. Nothing helps you to appreciate your life greater than the specter of your own death. Nothing helps to humble you more than knowing your final destination is same as every other human being’s. Whatever “first world problem” you are stressing over today loses it’s intensity if you remind yourself that one day you will be dead. Is it really worth wasting the short, precious time you have worrying about?
Stoic Quotes and How They Apply to IT Professionals.
The Stoics are eminently quotable. Here are some Stoic quotes that are very applicable to us as IT Professionals.
“When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own – not of the same blood and birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are unnatural.” — Marcus Aurelius
As IT Professionals we face unhappy customers and bosses nearly every day. We may have employees that are not getting along or delivering their work at the quality and pace we expect. We may have co-workers who are arrogant or try to steal credit for work we have done. This is normal. This is how human beings act. The problem is when we allow ourselves to be surprised or get upset when someone is acting in an unpleasant way. “Oh my God, I can’t believe how angry my boss is because e-mail is down.” Guess what; human beings get mad, they can be arrogant, they lie. We have all acted this way as well at some point in our lives. Marcus is reminding us that we should expect this, and not allow ourselves to be taken by surprise when people act in “not so great” ways. But he also reminds us we are all the same and meant to work together.
Lesson: Don’t allow yourself to get upset or be taken by surprise when people act unpleasant. That is what humans do.
“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work – as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for – the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?’” —Marcus Aurelius
Ever get those Monday morning “blahs”? Have a big project that you are intimidated to start or is not going well and you just want to stay in your nice, warm, comfy bed and not face the cold, hard world?
Of course you do, we all do. We all want to hit the snooze button and sleep for “just 5 more minutes.” But why? What are you trying to avoid? You cannot accomplish anything great by staying in bed all day. You were born to get out there and get stuff done. This thing you are procrastinating on or trying to avoid; you are meant to do it. Go implement that new ERP system, go debug that frustrating code, go prepare that IT budget. Get out of bed and go get it done!
Lesson: Get up and get stuff done. It is what you were born to do.
“To welcome with affection what is sent by fate.” —Marcus Aurelius
Did a critical server crash on the worst possible day? Did you get passed over for a promotion? Did you get hacked? Did anything “bad” happen to you today, or recently? How did you handle it? Did you bemoan your fate or waste time wishing it hadn’t happened? Well guess what, it did happen. And no amount of wishing it didn’t happen, or feeling sorry for yourself is going to change the situation. There is another approach you can take when faced with adversity; and that is welcoming it. Realize that fate has sent this situation to you and presented you with an opportunity to reach within yourself to find the intelligence, strength, and creativity to solve it. Former Navy Seal, business adviser, and podcaster Jocko Willinkhas a wonderful philosophy for handling adversity and challenges. When things go wrong, he just says “good.” You should adopt this philosophy as well, we all should. Marcus advised us to welcome what fate has sent to us. It is much more positive, productive, and peaceful than wishing it hadn’t happened.
Lesson: Welcome the challenges that life presents you with and use them as opportunities to practice, grow, and find your strength.
‘We suffer more in imagination than in reality” — Seneca
How often have you absolutely dreaded doing something only to find out, when it’s all over, that it wasn’t really that bad. Seneca is reminding us here that the vast majority of the suffering we experience in life is in our own heads, not in reality. It is virtually never as bad as we make it out to be. Have a project you are holding off on because of how hard it will be? Delaying a tough conversation with the boss because you are afraid of how they might react. An upgrade you are putting off because you are concerned how your users will react? As the Nike slogan says “Just do it.” It is not going to be as bad as you think it will. Of course, do your due diligence. No one is recommending to jump in unprepared. But once you are prepared, act. Don’t let your fear of a negative outcome get in the way of action.
Lesson: Things very seldom turn out as bad as we fear they might. So once you are prepared, act.
“Some things are in our control and others not.” — Epictetus
This very simple quote is, to me, the heart of Stoicism. We spend so much time and energy worrying about things that we have little to no control over. The Stoics teach us that to acquire peace and tranquility in our lives, we need to be wise and know the difference between what we can control and what we cannot control. From there, spend your time and energy on the things you can control and leave the other things be. Stressed out about getting hacked? Worried about what the group thought of your presentation? Afraid you won’t get the promotion you really want? These are things you do not have control over and do not have to spend precious time of your life worrying about. Now, you can influence these things with what you DO have control over: mindset, practice, preparation, due diligence. Let’s take getting hacked for example. You cannot directly control if some hacker out there in the world decides to target your organization. However, you can control the planning and preparation to protect your organization, as much as possible, from the effect of a hacking attempt. Do not have a mindset of worrying about things you ultimately cannot control. Instead, take a proactive approach and focus on the things you do have control over.
Lesson: Do not worry about things you cannot control. Focus on the things you can control.
A Suggested Path for Your Stoic Journey
Interested in leaning more about Stoicism and how it can benefit you as an IT Professional? Below is a suggested Stoicism reading list. This is the path I followed in learning more about Stoicism. These are the books I read, in the order I read them, with some thoughts about each one.
- The Obstacle Is The Way — Ryan Holliday – This is where my Stoic journey began and the book I recommend to people interested in learning about Stoicism. It is not necessarily a book strictly on Stoicism. Instead, it introduces us to a critical Stoic principle laid down by Marcus Aurelius; that the obstacles we face in our lives are the path to achieving our goals. Our obstacles should not paralyze us; instead they should be the guide telling us what we need to face next. This book gives examples of historical figures who persevered through their obstacles. It is a great introduction to Stoic principles and will whet your appetite to learn more.
- A Guide to The Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy — William Irvine – After you have finished The Obstacle is The Way, it is time to learn more about Stoicism. I recommend William Irvine’s excellent A Guide to The Good Life. This book will introduce you formally to the Philosophy of Stoicism and its rich history. More importantly, it will teach you Stoic practices to gain the mental strength and tranquility Stoicism promises. I recommend listening to the audiobook version. The narrator does a great job and it is very easy, and entertaining, to listen to. Listen while you are on a trip, on your commute, or whenever else you make time to read.
- The Daily Stoic — Ryan Holliday – Now that you are familiar with Stoic practices and principles, reinforce them daily by reading the Daily Stoic. It has a short Stoic excerpt/lesson for each day of the year. Read it in the morning to get your day off on the right Stoic foot. I downloaded the Kindle version so I can just pop open the Kindle app on my phone for a quick, daily dose of Stoicism.
- Meditations — Marcus Aurelius – Ok, now that you have some solid knowledge about Stoicism under your belt, and you are reinforcing Stoic principles daily, it is time to dive into the writings of the stoics. I recommend starting with the writings of Marcus Aurelius, particularly this translation by Gregory Hayes. Marcus is my personal favorite Stoic and I find his writings very readable and inspirational, especially this translation. Again, the translation is important. I have thumbed through a few other translations at the bookstore and they are very dense. The Gregory Hayes translation is beautifully written and very easy to read.
- Enchiridion — Epictetus – If you enjoyed reading Marcus and you feel like moving on to the writings of another Stoic, I would recommend reading The Enchiridion by Epictetus. Enchiridion is translated to “manual” and is a compilation of Epictetus’ teachings by his student, Arrian. This is a very short book and acts a a great handbook on Stoicism. All the key Stoic principles are contained within, directly from the teachings of one of the great Stoic philosophers.
- Letters From a Stoic — Seneca – Last, but certainly not least, is Seneca. I put Seneca last because his writings are much more dense. I feel you have to be serious about learning Stoicism to read Seneca’s writings. Whereas Marcus and Epictetus’ writings are in the form of snippets, or short paragraphs, Seneca writes long essays and letters. This book is actually a collection of letters Seneca wrote to a friend, Lucillius. The sentences are long, the paragraphs longer. But I do not want to give Seneca a bad wrap. His writings are fantastic and though written roughly around 65 AD, it is incredible how applicable and relevant Seneca’s teachings are to today’s society. And, of course, they are a treasure trove of Stoic wisdom.
Cliff Notes Version: Ok, I know I just threw a lot of reading at you. If you do not have the time or inclination to read that many books, just Google “Stoicism”. There is a ton of content out there. Read a couple blog posts or articles to see if Stoicism resonates with you. If so, you can follow my suggested pathway, or follow your own Stoic path.
Conclusion
So there you have it, a little bit of a background on Stoicism, some Stoic practices to help you gain a little tranquility in your life, and a pathway to learn even more about Stoicism. As an IT Professional, your job can be very stressful. A Stoic approach to your day can help smooth out the edges and make your days easier, and maybe even more joyful.
