In the eyes of some, the people I’m about to introduce don’t belong in a discussion about modern Stoicism. None of them are self-proclaimed Stoics. But they do display extreme commitment to the four Stoic virtues: courage, temperance, wisdom, and justice. 

Yeonmi Park is a North Korean defector who displayed incredible courage in her escape to Seoul and her subsequent opposition campaign against the oppressive North Korean regime, despite the grave danger involved in taking such a stand. 

Josh Dubin is a New York lawyer who has dedicated much of his career working for The Innocence Project, which serves justice by giving wrongly convicted people their lives back, many of whom spent decades rotting in prison for having done nothing. 

Master Shi Heng Yi of the Shaolin Buddhist tradition is a living embodiment of temperance—striking balance between hard and soft through a blend of rigorous martial arts training and wisdom practices of compassion and meditation. 

For modern wisdom, we can turn to William MacAskill, Associate Professor at the University of Oxford. His work focuses on the fundamentals of effective altruism. He’s also a co-founder of the Centre for Effective Altruism and author of the book Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Help Others, Do Work that Matters, and Make Smarter Choices about Giving Back, which we’ll discuss in further detail later. His work has encouraged countless altruistic actions, but not just any altruistic actions. His work on defining and popularizing effective altruism makes sure charitable efforts are as efficient and effective as possible, saving the most lives per dollar spent. 

This post contains affiliate links, which help us keep the blog afloat. Click here for more information.

What is modern Stoicism?

These modern Stoics show us that you don’t have to have lived in ancient Greece or imperial Rome to be a Stoic. You can be a little girl who grew up literally not knowing what freedom was. You can come from humble beginnings and become one of America’s most effective criminal justice reformers. You can, through practices as accessible as meditation and physical training, cultivate balance between strength and stillness. You can use your cognitive talents to figure out how best to save people’s lives.

These people don’t have magic powers, and I’m sure the Stoicism purists out there are scoffing that I’d write about the likes of a Shaolin master in an article about modern Stoicism, but I did so to demonstrate the following point: modern Stoicism is accessible and practical. It fits within our contemporary context. Live in a country with a systematically broken criminal justice system? You can do something about it. Live under an oppressive regime in which the words for ‘freedom’ and ‘justice’ have literally been eradicated? You can escape it and spread the word against it from the other side. Have a body and mind? You can train them to be strong and calm. Have intellectual talents and the privilege of having been born in a first-world country? You can use these advantages to do outsized good in this world. 

So what is modern Stoicism? It’s Stoicism for anyone who wants to bring clarity, structure, and purpose to the mission of being the best possible version of themselves in the 21st century. Let’s discuss some core characteristics of modern Stoicism in its most accessible and practical form. 

Related article: How To Practice Stoicism: An Introduction & 12 Stoic Practices

Modern Stoicism is not the study of history

I’ve already alluded to the Stoicism purists. They are the ones online commenting scornfully at people’s lack of true understanding of Stoicism—accusing people of subscribing to ‘broicism’. Sure, Stoicism and Hellenistic philosophy in general are deep, deep subjects on which one could write a doctoral thesis. Stoicism has metaphysics. Stoicism has theology. But none of that matters to the average person trying to do better in this life. So please, don’t recoil from Stoicism when you hear debates over the axiology of pleasure and pain and why the Epicureans were wrong. Stoicism can and should be a set of simple guiding principles based on which you can live your life. Take what resonates with you. Leave the rest. For me personally, I find the Dichotomy of Control and the concept of Premeditatio malorum to be particularly helpful foundations of Stoicism. They’re useful as I go throughout my day.

Modern Stoics know their core principles 

The Stoics were influenced by Socrates, and if the teachings of Socrates could be summed up in two words, they would be ‘Know yourself.’ Today, we don’t give ourselves enough time to think. A modern Stoic takes time to sit down and figure out what’s truly important to them. I argue that the ultimate aim of Stoicism has always been to make the world a better place. But that’s not my ultimate priority. For me, the health, happiness, and peace of my immediate family is my number one priority. My second priority is making the world a better place. I know this. I start each day reminding myself of this. Health, happiness, and peace are my core values. I look for ways I can affect them for the good, starting with myself and family and then circling outward to anyone and everyone. What’s your top priority? A modern Stoic knows.

How to practice modern Stoicism

I said we would discuss the book Doing Good Better (paid link) by our modern Stoic, William MacAskill. Here we go. The book is a comprehensive guide to effective altruism, which is the practice of directing charitable effort and money to the charitable projects that will be most effective at solving the world’s biggest problems. Effective altruism does not take words like ‘most’ or ‘biggest’ lightly. Instead, it uses modern economics and quantitative data to define them precisely. 

In the book, MacAskill writes about how ordinary people should be wise about seemingly mundane decisions, because in almost everything we do there is a way to ‘do good better’. The book is abounding with counter-intuitive wisdom. For example, a young person about to graduate and who wants to do real good in this world would be wise to work for a nonprofit or NGO, right? Well, it depends. What’s the incremental good that person would do by joining a nonprofit at that time? The author explains that it depends on the economic conditions surrounding the problem that nonprofit works on and the supply and demand of that job title. 

It also depends on the unique skills and economic circumstances of the young student. There’s a whole section of the book dedicated to a concept of effective altruism called ‘earning to give,’ which states that in many cases for people living in highly developed countries, the most good they can possibly do in this world is not work for an NGO, but instead become highly specialized, get a high-paying job, and donate significant portions of their income to the most effective charities. 

This book should be on the shelf of any aspiring modern Stoic. Stoicism is about doing good in this world. From our career choices to what we buy at the supermarket, we all have the capacity and, in Stoicism, the obligation, to make the world a better place. Often, we just don’t know how to do this. This book gives you many, non-obvious ways you can make a positive impact in the 21st century. 

Related video: Live Book Club: Doing Good Better by William MacAskill

Modern Stoicism and mental fortitude 

Now, I’m really going to piss off the Stoicism purists by saying modern Stoics should take cold showers (really, it was the Cynics who popularized deliberate cold and heat exposure). But we should. There’s an abundance of scientific evidence, albeit without perfect consensus, that deliberate cold exposure has physical health benefits. It can reduce inflammation. It creates thermogenesis in the body, which promotes weight loss. It creates a lasting increase in dopamine. But that’s not necessarily why we should do it. 

Studies also suggest that deliberate cold exposure increases one’s stress tolerance. Getting into an icy bath or a cold shower is stressful, and it should not be done without the advice and guidance of a medical professional, but there’s nothing like cold water for inducing a stress response under controlled conditions. It’s an opportunity to practice remaining calm and resilient under stress. This builds a stress-control skill that translates to real-world conditions. Think of it as a stress inoculation.

The same is true for rigorous exercise. People don’t realize it because all we hear is that exercise is so good for you, and of course it is, but exercise is a stress event for the body. If you were to measure the vitals of someone after doing twenty burpees and showed them to a doctor who didn’t know the context, the doctor would tell you this person is likely about to die. But we don’t die. We adapt. We get stronger. Like deliberate cold exposure, exercise is an accessible, zero-cost way to train the mind and body to handle stress. The more we do it under controlled conditions, the better equipped we’ll be when life throws us a curveball. 

Modern Stoicism and modern CBT 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a leading modern approach to psychotherapy. Its founder, Aaron Beck, openly referenced Stoicism and other ancient Greek philosophies as sources of insight informing his development of CBT. In ancient Greece and in the offices of psychiatrists today, we’re taught techniques such as ‘decatastrophizing’, which is the practice of explaining external events in plain, concise language.

Instead of ‘I lost my job because of xyz and now this and that is going to happen,’ say instead, ‘I lost my job. Now I need to find another one.’ Modern Stoics and/or those consulting with a psychiatrist don’t play into fabricated fears and doubts by asking, ‘What if…?’—’what if this happens?’, ‘what if this person doesn’t love me?’, ‘what if I make a mistake?’ Instead they ask, ‘So what…?’—’if an imagined negative outcome really does occur, how will I handle it?’, ‘what strengths or talents do I possess that I can use to overcome it?’, ‘will I be OK?’. The answer to that last question is almost always yes. 

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (paid link)

Related article: How To Speak Like A Stoic

I bring up modern CBT not only to give more credibility to Stoic wisdom, but to make another point about modern Stoicism, which is that modern Stoics are self-reflective. They use journals to assess the day’s events. They meditate. They carve out distraction-free time. But they also do not hesitate to see a psychiatrist, which is arguably the most effective form of self-inquiry. Whether it’s to address a specific problem or simply part of a mental health regimen (not unlike a physical health regimen), modern Stoics seek professional guidance. They also seek teachers and mentors, because a truly wise person knows that no amount of reading and self-discipline can break down the blinders that we ourselves put up. True self-discovery cannot happen in a vacuum. 

The pitfalls of memes

There are a lot of great content creators out there within the Stoicism niche. I myself post content on social media about Stoicism on The Mindful Stoic’s social accounts. However, I fear that some young people may fall into the trap of following a bunch of Stoicism content creators and subsequently feeling as though they are practicing Stoicism. I’m not saying young people shouldn’t follow Stoicism on social media. There is value in the quotes and memes, but they’re not enough. To be a Stoic is to think, speak, and act like a Stoic. To be a Stoic is to regularly disrupt one’s comfort zone in the name of greater good. 

Final thoughts

In essence, modern Stoicism is not much different compared to ancient Stoicism. The ancient Stoics, like us, had to balance jobs, families, and politics with their desire to live principled lives. What’s different is the context in which we live. The ancients didn’t have to contend with thousands of sophisticated marketing ads being shoved down their throats each week. They weren’t ‘connected’ 24/7. As I mentioned earlier, I feel modern Stoics should choose the Stoic principles, practices, and virtues that most resonate with them, at least when first starting out. But perhaps the one Stoic concept that is lacking in modern society and is most indispensable for any aspiring Stoic is the reverence of character. The ancient Stoics believed that one’s character was the only thing that can be truly good or bad. So if nothing else, modern Stoics cannot compromise on character. Therefore, they must treat the ingredients of character—thoughts, speech, and actions—as no small matters.

Spread the word and share the love 🙏

If you enjoyed this article, consider sharing it with your friends and followers on social media. Your support means the world to us. 💖 Click on the social share icons below and let others discover the insights, tips, and inspiration you found here. Together, we can create a community of like-minded individuals who practice mindfulness and Stoicism.

👉 Remember, a simple click can make a big difference!