Name: STOICISM for STUDENTS
Uploaded: 2020-06-08T04:41:54.000Z
Duration: 12 min 29 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

In this day and age, we're often seeking the quick fix.

Adverbs of manner

How to instantly improve your grades, how to get a 6 pack in 6 weeks, or how to never

The specific tactics are important - what techniques do you use to study, how do you

optimize for restful sleep, how can you increase efficiency to make time for other areas outside

These are all topics I've covered in previous videos.

But in order to get the most out of any technique, the proper mindset and foundational principles

In recent years, the philosophy of Stoicism has experienced a resurgence in popularity,

furthered by Ryan Holiday and Tim Ferriss, amongst others.

When I first came across Stoicism a few years ago, it really resonated, as the principles

were similar to the ones I used to overcome some of my own challenging obstacles.

And I fully believe that embracing some Stoic fundamentals would radically benefit just

about every student - whether premed, med student, or something else entirely.

Stoicism was started in the third century B.C. in Athens.

Although it's over 2,000 years old, it's remarkably applicable to our modern lives.

According to its teachings, we should accept the moment as it presents itself, and act

and think in a way that does not allow oneself to be controlled by the desire for pleasure

Let's visit an ancient Chinese proverb to illustrate one of these foundational principles.

Once upon a time there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away.

The neighbors came and said, “We are so sorry to hear your horse has run away.

The farmer replied, “Who knows what is good or bad?”

The next day the horse came back bringing seven wild horses with it.

Everyone now said, “Oh, isn't that lucky.

The farmer again said, “Who knows what is good or bad?”

The following day his son was taming one of the horses.

While riding it, he was thrown off and broke his leg.

The neighbors then said, “What terrible luck,” and again the farmer responded, “Who

The next day the army comes through their village and is conscripting able-bodied young

men to go and fight in war, but the son is spared because of his broken leg.

The happenings in life are deeply interconnected with immense complexity, and it's impossible

to know whether anything that happens is good or bad, because you never know what will be

the consequence of the misfortune; or, you never know what will be the consequences of

Now think to yourself, how many times have you cast judgement on an event or person in

Don't worry, we all have, it's human nature.

But as Shakespeare said, “Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

We will all face struggles and obstacles in

our life, regardless of whether we're rich or poor, black or white.

No one gets through life without experiencing suffering.

But that isn't necessarily because of the events that happen within your life, but rather

your perception, understanding, and beliefs around those events.

In his widely acclaimed book, The Obstacle is the Way,

author Ryan Holiday lays out the foundational principles with bountiful examples of Stoic

I highly recommend reading the entire book – you can find a link down in the description

Here's how you can apply stoic philosophy to your own life as a student.

I didn't get an A because the teacher is unfair.

I'm out of shape because I have bad genetics.

The problem is two-fold: 1) First, we fail to take responsibility for

Fault isn't the same as responsibility, but one leaves you as a victim to life, and

the other empowers you to do something about it.

It's not your fault someone ran a red light and t-boned you, but it's your responsibility

2) Second, we assign judgement on the events in our life as good or bad, as if we had a

crystal ball and knew that the outcome is going to be worse.

In reality, we have no idea what the long term implications are.

As some of you know, I have Crohn's disease, which is a form of inflammatory bowel disease.

Up until I was 18 years old, I was perfectly healthy.

And then, s*** hit the fan, no pun intended.

I had a terrible flare, lost 30 pounds in a week, was hospitalized, and diagnosed with

a life changing autoimmune disease a few months into my college career.

And just as I was beginning to get on my feet and gain some of that weight back, two months

later my family life imploded, parents divorced, and I moved into a one bedroom apartment with

This was, to this day, by far the most challenging time of my life.

Now I'm not perfect, and I had my moments of anger and doubt.

In fact, I went through all 5 Kübler Ross stages of grief.

But what I realized is that I had the power to control my perception of events.

I could focus on the negative side effects of all the medications I was on, or how it

was totally unfair for my family to implode at the same time I was getting a grip on my

Instead, I focused on the positive: The struggles opened up vulnerabilities

By handling the disease, including multiple trips to the hospital on a regular basis,

I became the most efficient person I know.

The timing of this event reinvigorated my passion to pursue medicine, and I had a drive

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STOICISM for STUDENTS

perception

incredibly

mindset

situation