Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that originated in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. It is a philosophy of personal ethics and a methodology for seeking practical wisdom in life. The Stoics believed that the practice of virtue is enough to achieve eudaimonia, which is a well-lived, flourishing life. They identified the path to achieving it with a life spent practicing certain virtues in everyday life such as courage or temperance and living in accordance with nature.

Stoicism has just a few central teachings. It sets out to remind us of how unpredictable the world can be, how brief our moment of life is, how to be steadfast, and strong, and in control of ourselves, and finally, that the source of our dissatisfaction lies in our impulsive dependency on our reflexive senses rather than logic. The philosophy asserts that virtue, such as wisdom, is happiness and judgment should be based on behavior, rather than words. The four cardinal virtues of Stoicism are wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.

Stoicism was deliberately created to be understandable, actionable, and useful. Practicing Stoicism doesn’t require learning an entirely new philosophical lexicon or meditating for hours a day. Instead, it offers an immediate, useful, and practical way to find tranquility and improve one’s strengths of character. Stoicism is having a renaissance with entrepreneurs, athletes, and politicians. It influenced Christianity, as well as a number of major philosophical figures throughout the ages.