On the surface, there are not many phrases designed to be less appealing. “Stoic philosophy” is like a double whammy of negative for most people, representing emotionlessness on the one hand and abstract or academic thinking on the other. Who wants to be the former? Who has time for the latter?

This is rather tragic considering, you know, not just the actual writings of the Stoics but their actual lives…which were a direct contradiction of this stereotype. Of the few stories about Marcus Aurelius that survive, three involve him crying. In addition to the heartfelt letters he wrote to his friend, Seneca’s favorite genre to write was what was known as the Consolatio—no one can pick up these essays on grief (one to his mother no less) and think that he was emotionless. Cato clearly loved his son and daughter and was noted for weeping over the loss of his beloved brother (and his passionate objection to tyrants and bullies his whole life).

The Stoics were far from emotionless. They were people who loved, who grieved, who cried, who were scared, who sacrificed, who cared about their neighbors, who raised children, who bled and died for change, who strove, who lived. They built businesses. They made works of art. They ran for office. They tended farms. Nor were they pedantic or impractical. Many of the Stoics were too busy doing to even bother writing their philosophy, and the philosophical writings we do have from the Stoics are accessible to readers at every level. In fact, today’s academic philosophers tend not to like Stoicism for this very reason–it’s not abstract and theoretical enough!

For almost a decade now, our mission at Daily Stoic has been fighting against these centuries old misperceptions about Stoicism. We’re trying to restore this vibrant, action-oriented, and paradigm-shifting way of living to its rightful place as a tool in the pursuit of self-mastery, perseverance, and wisdom: something one uses to live well, to do good.

Which is why we created Stoicism 101: Ancient Philosophy For Your Actual Life. An introduction and a deep dive into everything Stoicism, all delivered in 14 days. Click on the link above to sign up.