7 Stoic mantras that will drastically improve your life

Whether you are dealing with hardships in your life or trying to improve it.

Stoicism is a philosophy for all ages. It’s filled with wisdom that will teach you resilience and strengthen your character.

Thanks to the YouTube algorithm for recommending me videos about stoicism philosophy. I’ll not call myself a stoic, but I do practice some of the most important mantras.

These mantras improved my life in an imaginable way. It made me take control over my life by choosing my response and altering my perceptions in times of crisis.

However, there’s a misconception about stoicism that most people live with.

Stoicism is not toxic positivity where a person ignores his/her feeling. In stoicism, you detach your judgment from your emotions by processing and controlling them.

I believe stoic mantras are one of the best philosophy mantras that if you start practicing, you will never regret.

Stoic mantras that will drastically improve your life

1. Dichotomy of Control

Being reactive and complaining about life’s adversities solves nothing. Before reacting to situations, ask yourself: what can I control?

There are things that you can’t control; spending time worrying, arguing, and complaining about them is a waste of time.

Most people tend to react to things they can’t control and become depressed and anxious about them. Your primary focus should be on things that you can control.

The dichotomy of control is divided into two: things in your control and things out of your control.

Things out of your control are:

• The past
• The future
• The algorithm
• Other people’s behavior/belief
• Other people’s opinion of you
• The media

These are the things you should welcome as they are. Being worried about the future doesn’t change it. Spending time worrying is worthless. You should accept them as they are.

Things in your control are:

• Your self-talk
• Your words
• Your self-care
• Your boundaries
• What you consume
• Your attitude
• Your response
• Who you follow on social media

These are the things you should focus your energy and time on because you have the power to change them.

2. Cardinal virtues

Stoic value virtues and act virtuously. There are four stoic virtues to live according to:

These are the four virtues stoics live by. To acquire wisdom, I recommend reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

If you don’t love reading, here are YouTube channels that talk about stoicism:

• Aperture
• Einzelgänger
• Daily Stoic

There are other channels, but these channels are enough to teach you the basic wisdom of stoicism philosophy.

3. Momento Mori “Remember you will die”

Stoics always keep death in their minds; they don’t fear it because it’s inevitable.

This is not meant to overwhelm you or make you think a lot about your future. This mantra is meant to change your perception and make you realize you have a limited time.

You should respect this fact and make the best out of it. Spend your time doing the right things and being around important people.

Care for your family, show them that you care, and enjoy your days. Death is natural and you certainly don’t know when you will die.

Laugh, love, go to the beach, get in shape, explore your potential, face your fears, and embrace your fate.

It’s when you accept these truths that you start living the best of your life.

4. Amor Fati “Love of fate”

Stoics accept their fate and focus on what they can control to make the best out of it.

But fate is not magically inspired by a being or anyone else; it’s predestined by us.

Some values and qualities are given to you, which make up your personality and character.

These qualities and values shape your actions, which make up your destiny. You should accept them and focus on making the best out of them.

If you love teaching and gaining knowledge, you should accept and love your fate.

If you value inventions and creating things, your fate is predestined by you. You should accept and love it even though others don’t.

5. Perception

Stoics understand how perception guides their lives. What you think determines the quality of your life.

It depends on how you perceive it. You are in control of your perception.

Before Marcus Aurelius‘ time, both Seneca and Epictetus wrote vast things on the power of perception.

Our perceptions influence all that we experience; your boss might fire you today; your car might not start, or your girlfriend might be cheating on you.

You always have a choice to make when you are facing a tough situation.

• You can be depressed, cry, and complain about your situation all day, which will solve nothing.
• you can train your perception to not let what’s out of your control influence you.

It’s a form of self-discipline that gives you control over your life (dichotomy of control), instead of anyone or any situation.

It’s important to separate your perception from your emotions to make the best decision.

6. Turn the cheek

We always fall into situations where imitation is the easiest choice. When someone despises you, the easiest thing to do is to despise them back. But ask yourself; what will this accomplish?

This is the mantra that I don’t practice in most situations. I despise some people in certain situations.

But I don’t imitate people in all situations; some aren’t worth my time and energy.

Example: when someone insults you, what will you gain after insulting them? The best way to respond is to ignore them.

7. View obstacles as an opportunity

Ancient Stoics were the realest. They accepted and understood that life is full of challenges, and instead of fearing them; they embraced them.

A strong character is built on struggles, which develops resilience and leads to success.

You can perceive every obstacle you face as a setback or view it as a tool that will strengthen your character.

Conclusion

Adopting stoicism as your way of living will improve your quality of life and grow your character.

Here are the 7 stoic mantras that will drastically improve your life:

• Dichotomy of Control
• Cardinal virtues
• Momento Mori “Remember you will die”
• Amor Fati “Love of fate”
• Perception
• Turn the cheek
• View obstacles as an opportunity