Ataraxia: How Stoics Achieve Equanimity
Let’s paint a picture. Imagine drops of water landing on a lotus leaf and sliding down and off. The drop doesn’t linger. It makes its impact and then flows with gravity until it is gone. The lotus leaf is aware of the drop—it feels it—but it does not reject, retain, or struggle. It is undisturbed. This is a picture of the Stoic concept of ataraxia.
Just like the lotus leaf, we all have the capacity to let negative reactions and excessive desire roll off our backs.
In this article, we’ll provide a definition of ataraxia as it relates to Stoicism and share practices for achieving ataraxia by breaking it down to its core components: composure, steadiness, ego, and quietude.
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What is ataraxia?
Ataraxia in Stoicism and other Hellenistic philosophies such as Epicureanism is a state of composure characterized by lack of distress and outward displays of strong emotion, especially in difficult situations. Essentially, ataraxia is equanimity.
Achieving ataraxia was never the primary objective of Stoicism. That coveted pinnacle is to live in accordance with nature through developing strong moral character. Ataraxia was seen as a by-product of one’s pursuit of moral character.
Imperturbability is another word that’s closely related to ataraxia. More simply, ataraxia is a state of non-reaction. It is not a denial of feelings. We feel what the world throws at us, both the good and the bad, but we don’t react or at least don’t overreact. Ataraxia is commonly associated with calm, but calm is just how ataraxia appears to the observer. With ataraxia, we let go of troubles, sadness, or anger quickly and calmly. So ataraxia means that we feel the ups and downs of life, we can get upset, we can have plans and preferences, but we let go of charged emotions or intense cravings in a timely manner.
How Stoics achieve ataraxia
In his book, Stillness Is The Key, Ryan Holiday speaks of what it means to achieve ataraxia:
“To be steady while the world spins around you. To act without frenzy. To hear only what needs to be heard. To possess quietude—exterior and interior—on command.”
If we were to break this definition of ataraxia down to its most fundamental components, we’d be left with a useful framework for achieving ataraxia in our own lives. These components are composure, steadiness, ego, and quietude.
Composure as a component of ataraxia
To be composed amid chaos is to be grounded. Think of a pebble tossed into a raging river. Engulfed in the force of rushing water, it sinks effortlessly to its destination where it will remain still as the water flows overhead.
To build the habit of composed behavior in stressful situations, the first practical step is to stop. The next time you find yourself being swept along by emotions or events, simply pause. All it takes to drastically change your response is five seconds during which you do nothing but breathe.
Then, after you’ve mastered the ability to pause, which ultimately reminds you of your intention to handle the situation with composure and provides a more relaxed physiological response, you can begin to leverage other practices of Stoicism to help you navigate the complexity. You can practice negative visualization to anticipate and mitigate risk. You can use The Dichotomy of Control to identify what is within and what is outside of your control. Find guidance by recalling the Four Stoic Virtues.
The first step to practice is the pause.
Steadiness as a component of ataraxia
It’s not sexy advice, but to practice steadiness and to ultimately cultivate ataraxia is to slow down. Doing anything even just five percent slower makes your actions more deliberate and precise. Start practicing this with simple things like preparing a meal. Once your default state is a little bit slower, you’ll speak with more purpose in meetings, your writing will be clearer, and you’ll be more caring with those you love.
Another aspect of steadiness is consistency. Whether it’s your desire to achieve ataraxia or your Stoicism practice in general, you will falter at times. You will have lazy and undisciplined moments. You will make mistakes. The key is to reset yourself on the path as quickly as possible. Keep the intervals between lapses in discipline as short as possible, and show up for yourself every day.
Ego as a component of ataraxia
I read a lot about Buddhism, and in no small part because I’m motivated to learn more about the concept of non-self. There are even science-based arguments that suggest that our concept of self is often unreliable, false, and largely repetitive.
Non-self is very difficult to grasp and it takes a lot of practice. But, we can take some steps towards healthier levels of attachment to the concept of ‘me’.
First, we need to acknowledge that our sense of self is composed of beliefs. These beliefs are fluid and constantly changing. So, when someone insults or criticizes me, I shouldn’t feel that it’s an attack on the entirety of my being. At most, it’s just someone’s belief that opposes a belief I hold about myself. When someone calls you lazy, don’t feel injured at the level of your whole self. It’s nothing more than a challenge to your belief about your work-ethic.
Another aspect of imperturbability of the ego is believing that you are whole. There is nothing anyone could add to your existence that would make it better or worse. There is nothing anyone could subtract from your existence that would make it better or worse. Be at peace with yourself. Love yourself. Don’t rely on external conditions to be happy.
Quietude as a component of ataraxia
The most practical way to develop ataraxia is to focus on your thoughts and your speech.
There’s a lot of debate on the validity of certain claims about how neuro linguistic programming can positively affect mood and behavior. Basically, some say that the more positive your self-talk is, the better you’ll feel and behave.
Intuitively, I can see how this could be true. Also, I can’t see a downside to attempting to foster positive thoughts in place of negative ones. Be confident in your self-talk. Don’t beat yourself up over mistakes. Try to observe how repetitive your negative self-talk is. The mind likes to play the hits. In a way, this means that negative self-talk—all that doubting, self-limiting, and worrying internal banter—is quite boring and meaningless. Try to plant the seeds of positivity with your thoughts.
With our speech, we can embrace frugality and purpose. It’s OK to be the quietest person in the room. Saying less leaves more room for listening. You can learn so much more from listening than by speaking. In heated interpersonal matters, practice the pause we spoke about earlier. Take a moment to recall your intention. Is your ultimate goal in this situation to make a point? Or is your goal to maintain a healthy relationship? If it’s someone you care about, I suspect it’s the latter, so maybe don’t make that point—don’t be right. Instead, let your speech reflect empathy and promote reconciliation.
Final thoughts
When we hear a concept with a Greek name like ataraxia, it can seem a bit foreign and irrelevant. But, when we define the concept and break it down into smaller, actionable components, it becomes easier to grasp. Ataraxia is equanimity, imperturbability, and being unshakable. Resilience is part of it, too, because Stoics are not robots. We have emotions, desires, and preferences, but we strive to harmonize our speech and actions with our values. This means pausing to think. Then, when we do act or speak, we use forethought and deliberation. Finally, we are not so easily hurt by the words of others because we are not inflexibly attached to the notion of self.
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