The Stoic’s Response to Corona

“What do I control here?” is the question you need right now

Photo by Mario Gogh on Unsplash

At its core, Stoicism is about one thing and one thing alone: separating what you control from what you don’t. There are other good habits to practice, beneficial attitudes to pick up, and many concepts to study, but, at the end of the day, they all follow from this one commitment.

Imagine looking at everything in life through this filter. Your thoughts, your emotions, the events that transpire. It all comes down to a single question:

What do I control here?

Before reacting, initiating, even thinking or processing your feelings, make an effort to dissect what’s in your grasp from what isn’t — and detach from the latter. You’ll be calmer, act more rationally, and won’t abandon hope at the first sign of difficulty.

Generally, this’ll allow you to enjoy the good times while they last without forgetting that they’ll pass. Meanwhile, negative events, thoughts, and feelings won’t disturb your inner peace. They’ll still be there, like flies whizzing around an ox in the sun — they just won’t bother you as much.

In light of the current coronavirus situation, a calm mind is more important than ever. Let’s discern what specifically we control and don’t control…