Taking Action...!
/So I was thinking the other day about the criticism that one hears occasionally about Stoicism, Mindfulness and the ‘slower living movement’. That is, that they each seem to have a limited interest in promoting purpose, direction and action. Some see them as lacking the intent and action to react purposefully to events with the aim of influencing or pursuing change. For want of another term, they lack agency. There is a sense that each of them are about just going with the flow and passively accepting whatever eventuates. In the case of Stoicism, concepts such as Amor Fati, if misapplied, can influence this belief - they are perhaps open to being interpreted or perceived as rather passive or lethargic.
But the truth of the matter is that each of them are embodied by strong principles of purpose, intentional action and striving to make positive changes to improve wellbeing. Stoicism may promote non-attachment to the emotions tied with the desire for a particular outcome, but it is incorrect to infer that it is therefore a passive philosophy that dismisses personal agency, goals and actions.
There is a clear concept of intentional action that can be seen in two respects:
the intentional application of the principles to improve your wellbeing and happiness - this requires high levels of self-awareness, discipline and repeated actions (often until they become habits). This practice requires intent and action - you won’t live mindfully, applying Stoic philosophy or slower living practices without having a clear vision of the person you want to be, how you want to live, a plan for how you will pursue this vision and the intentional action that builds traction towards your vision/goal.
the intentional application of principles to address particularly challenging events that may come out of the blue and surprise/shock you; those that were not anticipated but also perhaps not unexpected in the circumstances; those that were unlikely but were anticipated just the same. This requires intentional actions to address your thinking, your emotions and your reactions to such events/circumstances in an attempt to maintain a positive sense of wellbeing and happiness.
In considering this I turned my mind to how I tend to respond to challenging events or situations and how I use Stoicism/Mindfulness to influence change while also regulating my emotional response and wellbeing. I can break it down into 7 individual actions or principles that allow me direct my thinking, energy and emotions in a positive manner:
1. Prepare. We can all prepare in advance, fate willing! Meaning, the timing and presentation of events and circumstances may be out of our control but we can make preparations for them - be it physical, financial, emotional etc.
This reminds us that we should prepare ourselves for events and circumstances so we are in the best position possible to respond positively and to the best or our ability - irrespective of the nature of the event. It is also tied to the principle that while we should always set goals and drive towards a particular outcome, we should always recognise that we do not control the outcome and shouldn’t anticipate or desire success. There are many examples of this:
So the archer trains to a high level of precision and physical and mental acuity with the intent to hit a target - but must be aware that once the arrow is shot whether it hits the target is beyond her control. She intends to hit the target but doesn’t desire it as she has no control. She must be ready for the unexpected - the gust of wind, the target moving…
People living in vulnerable and remote areas prone to bushfire prepare properties and themselves for the possibility of a bushfire appearing. Their preparations go to the physical response to the fire and the emotional elements of potentially having to abandon everything and leave and to lose everything.
“No man is crushed by fortune unless he is first deceived by prosperity”
“The person who has anticipated the coming of troubles takes away their power when they arrive”
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”
2. Focus on what I can Control. Ultimately we need to recognise what we can control and cannot control (the Dichotomy of Control - which I’ve written about on other blog posts). We can seek to apply our physical, mental and emotional capacity and capability to a situation with the intent to influence and outcome - but we must recognise that all we can control is our thinking, our intentional actions to give effect to our thinking and will and our emotional response.
External events are beyond our control - but again we can prepare for the unexpected. We therefore possess the capacity to remain calm when something unwanted, unexpected and uncontrollable occurs. This in turn provides us with the capacity for clear thinking and focus on the most appropriate actions to take in the circumstances - without any sense of certainty that you will succeed.
“There is only now way to happiness and that is too cease working about things which are beyond the power of our will”
“It does not matter what you bear, but how you bear it”
“Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself”
“Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will, then your life will flow”
3. Examine First Impressions: I always seek to apply the practice of examining my initial impressions of an event. This allows you to identify the subconscious / emotional reaction (e.g. fight or flight) and ask whether this is a correct impression of the event and beneficial reactions. This takes no more than a few seconds to recognise the initial / immediate response and confirm its truth or falsity…this provides the means to respond to a significant event with a positive inclination rather than one held by an initial emotion - which is more often than not unwelcome and unhelpful in the circumstances.
I’ve done this in the work environment so many times that it is almost automatic to catch the initial reaction, pause, breathe, identify the virtue of the initial impression and calmly determine the right course of virtuous action in the circumstances.
A person rushes into your office with terrible news that the project you’ve been working on has suffered a significant failure putting the team back months with increased costs, lost managerial confidence and concern about their jobs.
The immediate internal response is one of sheer horror, alarm and perhaps heartbreak.
Catching this emotion before it has an opportunity to take root provides a few seconds of reason to consider whether that response is likely to be beneficial or influence a better outcome.
In such circumstances, my immediate reaction (internally) is replaced by a reasoned reaction that seeks to understand how staff are coping (they’ve put so much into the project); understand the facts and who we need to inform and how quickly; bringing together a plan for how we will move forward and speaking to staff to calm any jangling nerves or emotions.
This delayed and considered response has a twofold impact:
it not only presents as resilient and calm to the staff - building confidence that together we can get through this, but
also promotes personal resilience within me.
If I’d given into the baser emotional instincts - we would have a large team all feeling the horror, sadness and alarm. We would likely be immobile, with the heightened collective emotional response stalling a reasoned plan of action.
“People are not disturbed by things but by the views they take of them”
“We suffer not from the events in our lives but from our judgement about them”
“Difficulties strengthen the mind as labour does the body”
4. Identify the Opportunity. I’ve always had a sense that within every challenge, disaster or diversion there is an opportunity. It is something I have practiced throughout my career with the result that those around me viewed me as incredibly calm in high stress situations, presenting a resilient and even optimistic character.
Events that are initially viewed as a negative can lead you to thinking deeply and finding an alternative solution or direction which will be beneficial. So the thinking may be along the lines of “OK so that was not the outcome we were seeking, what are our other options, what else could we do in this situation to drive towards another positive outcome”.
I’ve experienced events that we would regard as a very strong deviation from the intended course of action or outcome, but which produced marvellous outcomes that would not have been possible otherwise, including the building of immensely strong stakeholder and team relationships that served us well for years to come.
Every disastrous or unwelcome event - even where it is not recoverable or doesn’t provide a positive alternative direction - at least provide an opportunity to practice principles of mindfulness, Stoicism and Emotional Intelligence, for instance:
For others: to understand the impact on others - having a level of empathy to offer appropriate emotional support and demonstrate a calm, clear headed approach to respond to the event.
For yourself: an opportunity to practice such principles as the Dichotomy of Control, Amor Fati, emotional regulation and to apply the Stoic Virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance and justice as appropriate in the circumstances.
Importantly such events provide an opportunity to demonstrate Stoic virtue - the courage to face adversity, the wisdom to recognise that you have no control over what has occurred but can turn to reason to establish a new plan of action, the temperance that delivers a calm reaction, and justice to do the right thing in the circumstances.
“No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself”
“Your happiness depends on three things all of which are within your power: your will, your ideas concerning the events in which your are involved nd the use you make of your ideas”
5. Purposeful and Confident Action: This represents a confidence to commit to the right purposeful actions for the right reasons. It doesn’t offer a confidence that you will be successful and achieve an intended outcome, only that you have the confidence to act with virtue in an effort to influence positive change or outcomes.
This confidence is reflected in an intense level of trust that you will do the right things - which may require the application of virtues such as temperance, courage, wisdom and justice. The actions you take will be reasoned and purposeful but not tied to desire for a particular outcome. It recognises that you can deal with any outcome.
It is often our lack of confidence in the outcomes that holds us back from committing to action…we become apathetic due to the perceived difficulty, our perceptions of our own capabilities and doubts about the possibility of success. We may see the outcome as remote or highly unlikely. There are so many ways that our perceptions may undermine the confidence to simply act - with virtue towards a particular goal but without attachment to whether we succeed or not.
“Do not imagine that is something is hard for you to achieve, it is therefore impossible for any man; but rather consider anything that is humanly possible and appropriate to be within your own reach too”
I think this quote really does encapsulate the strong sense that a person seeking to embody Stoic philosophy and practice should seek to act with purpose and intent knowing that even things that may seem remote or near impossible can be within reach. This sentiment is anything but apathetic and certainly promotes a sense of agency in what you do.
6. Recognise Impermanence of Things and Events: The next step is usually to frame the event in the context of time and the universe (hmmm big words!!). It is to recognise that, in almost all circumstances, the thing you are initially moved by emotionally, will not be remembered by anyone, yourself included. We overestimate the significance of individual events and place them on high as if they are there to be seen by all and felt by you forever. It is plainly not the case. Almost every event is recoverable or traversable. And most will not define you, who you are or how others see you.
I had a boss once who spoke to a junior officer who was besides themselves with fear of the impact on their career of a pretty significant failure. My boss sat the trembling person down and asked three questions:
did anyone die?
is any financial cost to the organisation likely be high or catastrophic
will the CEO likely lose their job because of broader ramifications.
The answer was ‘no’ to every question. The response was, inevitably, “then all is recoverable, mistakes happen, we learn from them, we will recover from this and you will be a stronger person for it, now lets set out a plan of action”.
That event is forgotten, it was a lesson and that is all. So many events are just like this - in the immensity of the universe, time and our brief period here - they are not noteworthy or worth losing sleep over.
The related point is, of course, that nothing is permanent - feelings, events and successes. That officer may well have recounted a great personal success instead of failure - but the same principles would apply. By all means recognise it, but frame it to understand that in the overarching time, the universe and your time as a living being - it may not be as significant as you initially view it. Success is transitory in nature, as is everything. Nothing is permanent, everything is subject to change - whether change occurs in a hundred years, two years, two months, two minutes or two seconds. But this does not mean you quit, stop seeking to influence positive outcomes and successes - but place them in context - they are never the ‘be all and end all of everything’. I guess this whole aspect goes to the application of temperance both in success and failure.
In the construction of the universe and our time the event may have little meaning beyond this moment - place it in this frame of reference and it may not appear so grave or fixed in its impact.
“Think of the whole of existence, of which your are the tiniest part; think of the whole of time in which you have been assigned a brief and fleeting moment; think of destiny - what fraction of that are you?”
Equally though, the event may be one that is exceptionally grave, with an impact that will stretch far and wide today and tomorrow both personally and for others in your family or the community.
Even if this is so, we must recognise that so long as we have acted virtuously we should remain indifferent emotionally if we are also unable to control it. We should acknowledge that no matter how significant, the event and its impact is impermanent and subject to change.
The final element of this rather complex proposition is that we also need to recognise that we ourselves are subject to change. Ultimately, if we find ourselves struggling to influence or change the outcome or to control our thinking and reaction - then we are compelled to focus on how we can change ourselves. The alternative is to suffer beyond what is reasonable.
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves”
So ultimately, my proposition is that Stoicism and Mindfulness etc have an action orientation that can be seen in so many aspects of the practice - they reflect intentional and purposeful action to apply the knowledge and practices to your benefit and the benefit of those around you, while acknowledging you do not control the outcome.
