Mental Resilience Through Stoic Wisdom
Stoicism is a life philosophy that builds virtuous resilience. Understanding Stoic principles allows one to train the skill that is resilience.
Today, I'm excited to share something different. Instead of my usual insights, we have a powerful guest post from Kyle Shepard, a man whose life embodies the very essence of resilience and Stoic principles. As a military Resilience Instructor and father of three, Kyle doesn't just teach mental toughness – he lives it. He's a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, former world record holder for burpees, and has spent over a decade teaching warriors how to stay strong under pressure.
But what truly sets Kyle apart isn't his impressive credentials. It's how he's transformed personal struggles into wisdom, combining Stoic principles with real-world experience.
I'm excited to share his insights with you. Here's Kyle's perspective on building unshakeable resilience through Stoic wisdom.
Kyle runs his own newsletter focusing on Mental Resilience. If you're interested you can subscribe to his newsletter Resilient Mental State here.
Stoicism Teaches Resilience
Resilience is the ability to function with and recover from stress.
The Stoics have understood the value of hardship since its founder Zeno lost all of his belongings in a shipwreck around 300 BCE.
“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labour does the body.”
-Seneca
There is opportunity in every setback.
I’ve been teaching stress management and resilience in the military for over ten years. In that time, I’ve become a husband, father, leader, published writer, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt/coach, fitness instructor, burpee world record holder, and have overcome countless challenges in all of those domains and more.
Anyone’s ability to show up and effectively execute regardless of circumstance is in large part thanks to one word: resilience.
Nothing sustainably good in life comes easy.
Relationships are hard.
Parenting is hard.
Work is hard.
Improving is hard.
Accomplishing goals is hard.
Challenges are gateways to fulfillment.
Comfort is the worst addiction.
-Marcus Aurelius
The term resilience has only been used in relation to humans for fifty years. Derived from the Latin word resilire, meaning bounce back or recoil, resilience has historically described material quality.
Resilience is now more of an all-encompassing term to include mental, physical, and spiritual adaptations that allow one to persevere regardless of circumstance.
Stoics have been teaching principles for human resilience for over 2,300 years. They just didn’t use that exact word.
At its core, Stoicism is a practical life philosophy that builds resilience.
Virtuous Resilience
The ability to withstand adversity is an admiral trait.
Many of history’s most infamous monsters, however, have been extremely resilient.
Stoic philosophy provides a foundation for resilience through four cardinal virtues to ensure its application is for the individual and collective good.
Virtuous resilience.
If, at some point in your life, you should come across anything better than justice, prudence, self-control, courage—than a mind satisfied that it has succeeded in enabling you to act rationally, and satisfied to accept what’s beyond its control—if you find anything better than that, embrace it without reservations—it must be an extraordinary thing indeed—and enjoy it to the full.
But if nothing presents itself that’s superior to the spirit that lives within—the one that has subordinated individual desires to itself, that discriminates among impressions, that has broken free of physical temptations, and subordinated itself to the gods, and looks out for human beings’ welfare—if you find that there’s nothing more important or valuable than that, then don’t make room for anything but it.
-Marcus Aurelius
Four virtues of Stoicism:
Courage
Wisdom/Prudence
Discipline/Temperance/Self-Control
Justice
Courage is required to face adversity.
Wisdom is needed to apply the most beneficial actions.
Discipline is essential for developing skills while managing detrimental urges.
Justice provides a moral framework to ensure the other virtues are appropriately aimed.
Virtue in Action
Virtue can only be demonstrated through agency.
Courage is revealed through acts of bravery.
Wisdom is knowledge applied.
Discipline is expressed with consistent, productive behaviors.
Justice is exemplified by moments of integrity.
Resilience Training
How then are these virtues developed?
The same way any skill is established: training.
That’s why the philosophers warn us not to be satisfied with mere learning, but to add practice and then training. For as time passes we forget what we learned and end up doing the opposite and hold opinions the opposite of what we should.
-Epictetus
One needs to intentionally work on a developing skill until it becomes habit. Subconscious proficiency in any skill requires long-term focus and effort.
To improve, we must create environments that test our capabilities. Force slight discomfort and apply a beneficial skill that promotes resilience.
Courage is not possible without fear.
Wisdom cannot be gained without a problem.
Discipline requires tasks that delay gratification.
Justice needs a dilemma.
Prepared challenges provide the opportunity for growth.
We first must be familiar with the stress response and effective strategies to manage it before we proactively cause it.
This is why I always teach stress management concepts prior to introducing the concept of intentional stress.
Once we have a foundational understanding of stress, especially relating to the plasticity of our physiologic system regardless of cause, we can begin to challenge ourselves with deliberate discomfort.
“We will train both soul and body when we accustom ourselves to cold, heat, thirst, hunger, scarcity of food, hardness of bed, abstaining from pleasures and enduring pains.”
-Musonius Rufus
Notable Stoic philosopher and teacher to Epictetus, Gaius Musonius Rufus understood the power of intentional stress to build resilience. This wisdom must have influenced Epictetus when his slave owner deliberately broke his leg. In the famous story, Epictetus does not fight back. He simply tells his master that he’s about to break his leg and after it happens, he says, “There, did I not tell you that it would break?” Epictetus accepted the situation for what it was and overcame what must have been excruciating pain while maintaining rational control. We know Marcus Aurelius was influenced by Epictetus’s practice of Stoicism from his many references in Meditations and other accounts. I imagine it was Epictetus who inspired this quote:
“Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.” -Marcus Aurelius
Mental, physical, and spiritual resilience is developed through experience.
The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control.
-Epictetus
Summary
That majority of life is outside of our control.
Adversity of varying degrees is inevitable.
Life will always be standing by to disrupt our homeostasis.
Balance is unsustainable.
Our control boils down to two primary areas: perspectives and actions.
Perceptually, we control how we view a given situation.
Behaviorally, our actions result from our decided perspectives.
Virtuous resilience training promotes ideal perspectives and subsequent actions regardless of circumstance.
With time, our conscious efforts become habitual.
Habits eventually become instincts.
Become instinctually resilient.
Pursue self-created adversity to practice resilient mental states in response to stress.
Embody the principles of Stoicism by intentionally training virtuous resilience.
"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way."
-Marcus Aurelius
If you enjoyed this article, check out https://www.resilientmentalstate.com where you will find reflections, stories, and challenges all aimed at training the skill that is resilience.
 | A guest post by
|
Enjoyed every word of it! 🔋
Boom Kyle. Top man.