The majority of people spend their time pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain. They rejoice when good things happen to them, but at the same time they grow miserable when tragedy strikes. Starting from early childhood society encourages this behaviour in the population to the point where everybody just assumes that's the correct way to live. And it's always been this way.

Human beings have always wanted health, wealth and happiness, whereas we've always done everything possible to avoid disease, poverty and isolation. This seems reasonable, however, from the stoic point of view, this approach is faulty because it makes your happiness dependent on things you cannot control. Stoics want to be self-sufficient, un-touchable by the twists and turns of fate. So even if you lost your job or lost your savings, even if your spouse left you or you got sick. Stoics choose to never hand over their peace of mind to anyone or anything, regardless of external circumstances.

A human mind has this amazing power to control its own peace and contentment. So if you're miserable, Stoics would advise you to stop blaming external factors for your emotional state. The problem isn't your co-workers, your government, or your illness. The problem is how you react to them.

The stoic ideal is to remain peaceful even in the worst situations. Notice how Stoics take full responsibility for their emotional reactions. This is the stoic method. Whenever you notice that you've handed over your peace of mind to other people or anything outside your control, you correct the error and take back the power. You do this thousands of times until the stoic approach becomes second nature.

To take a concrete example: If you enter any workplace in the modern world, such as an office, a warehouse, or a factory, you will hear employees complaining bitterly. Not only do they complain about their working conditions, but they also gossip about coworkers and create a toxic work environment. Stoics See this behaviour as a vice. They see it as a weakness to dwell on negativity or blame other people for your problems.

After all, human beings come equipped with a mind that can generate peace. To waste this faculty when it's available. It's not only irrational, but it borders on self-sabotage. So in the workplace, you won't find Stoics sitting in groups creating interpersonal drama. Stoics value inner peace too much to allow other people to disturb it. They make a conscious choice, a commitment to maintain the thinking patterns that produce tranquillity.

As a result, they accept their reality and don't want to change anything that's outside of their control. Instead, they choose to react in an emotionally mature way. Accepting the truth about their abilities and coming to peace with their circumstances. Therefore, distrust your thinking patterns and watch them like you'd watch an enemy that's lying in ambush. Whenever you spot disturbing thoughts, correct them as soon as possible and take back control of your own mind.