"It's all good!"

My wife and I recently moved into an older home that we absolutely love.  However, as with any major life transition, not everything has worked out perfectly.  We've uncovered a few problems (the latest involving our cable and internet, which can't seem to work consistently), and we've probably spent more money on some things that we weren't necessarily expecting to have to purchase.  We've both learned to shrug off everything, look at each other, and say, "It's all good!"

As I thought about this more, I came to the realization (very quickly) that this is exactly what Stoic philosophy is all about (see one of my older posts, "To be a Stoic in today's world - part 1")!  Contrary to popular belief, Stoicism is not at all about being emotionless.  Rather, Stoicism is about the pursuit of self-mastery, perseverance, and wisdom.  The name of this branch of philosophy actually comes from the Greek Stoa Poikile, meaning Painted Porch, a place located on the north side of the Ancient Agora of Athens where these philosophers gathered and taught their students.  The founder of Stoicism was the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Citium (not to be confused with Zeno of Elea who is most famous for Zeno's Paradoxes), but other famous Stoic philosophers included Seneca the Younger, Musonius Rufus, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus.  

One of my favorite Stoic lessons can be summarized with a famous quote from Epictetus.  He said, "To make the best of what is in our power, and take the rest as it occurs."  What is in our power?  Again, according to Epictetus, "Some things are in our control and others not.  Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions.  Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions."  

In other words, you should only worry about what you can control, not about what you can't control.  The things that are not under your control will happen regardless of how you react.  I am reminded of the famous Serenity Prayer written by Reinhold Nebuhr in the early 1930's (and now most famous for being used by Alcoholics Anonymous and similar organizations):

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

I am not saying that there are not challenges or problems that you will face in your daily professional and personal life.  It's not exactly like Disney's song from The Lion King, Hakuna matata, a Swahili phrase meaning "no worries" or "no problems."  But it's similar.  The important point to remember is that we will encounter challenges and problems throughout our lives.  The key is that we accept that there are some problems we just can't control.  Once we accept that these are things that are beyond our control, why worry about them so much?

Those of us working in health care have been through a lot these past couple of years.  It goes without saying that there is still a lot of turmoil going on in our world - both the one in which we live every day (health care) as well as the one outside it.  Stoic philosophy - particularly the concept that we should worry about things that are under our own locus of control and not everything else - has helped me get through these last two years.   Perhaps we could all use a little Stoicism in our lives.