To practice or not to practice Stoicism — the art of silence

In a world that has become much safer to express your emotions and much more accepting of differing views and opinions, a huge portion of the population are still practitioners of stoicism or the art of silence. Stoicism, in a nutshell, revolves around not showing feelings and just enduring life in silence.

Does it help? Let's see…

Improves your ability to make decisions

The very foundation of stoicism is built on keeping your emotions in check. Emotions can play a vital part in your ability to make decisions so taking them out of the equation completely will drastically improve your ability to make them.

By distancing themselves from impulses and biases, individuals who practice stoicism can make thoughtful and reasonable choices. This can be huge in a professional setting and can help you excel at work.

Enables constant growth

Stoicism relies heavily on self-control and discipline which means you are far less likely to get distracted by the temptations of life and stay focused on your goals. It fosters a real sense of purpose and direction which in return helps nurture a sense of commitment within yourself making it easier to achieve personal growth and success.

Much like all philosophies, stoicism too has its sets of flaws and while it may help you succeed in many aspects of life, it can equally cause detriment.

Suppresses your emotions

Prolonged suppression of emotions can cause detachment. Be it from society or loved ones, stoicism poses a major threat to your ability to feel genuine emotion, which will eventually deprive you of all forms of meaningful experiences. Over time, you lose your ability to react to even the good things in life.

Has the potential to cause misunderstanding

Due to its focus on being/staying indifferent, stoicism can give rise to misunderstandings. It has the potential to paint you as a cold and apathetic individual and might cause others to view you in an unflattering light and discourage them from approaching you or trying to form connections with you. Stoic individuals often find it hard to navigate their emotions over time and move away from their sense of empathy further fueling this.

The goal should be to approach Stoicism with a balanced perspective. It has a lot of beneficial attributes which will most definitely come in handy but we must consider the cons as well so that we know where to draw the line. Both genders can indeed practice the art of silence without losing touch with their humane side to create the perfect balance and excel in all aspects of life.