For centuries, people all over the world have benefited from the ancient wisdom of Socrates. One of the greatest Greek thinkers of all time, Socrates lived a principled life in Athens from 469 B.C. C. until 399 a. C. Although he died almost 2,500 years ago, we can still learn a lot from him about how to reduce stress in our lives today. .
Four of Socrates’ main guiding principles, which have been widely recognized as the way he led his life, are particularly relevant to stress relief today. These four principles are:
• Know yourself
• Conventional Wisdom Challenge
• Think by yourself
• Tell the truth
Much of our current stress comes from not doing these four things.
know yourself
When we don’t truly understand ourselves, as human beings, we can fall prey to fanciful ideas that have little connection to reality. When we don’t understand the true sources of our emotions, for example, we can suffer prolonged emotional upheavals that aren’t really necessary. When we don’t understand the limitations of dualistic thinking, when we overestimate the correctness of some of our most deeply held beliefs, or when we mistakenly assume that the world works in a simplistic way of cause and effect, we can end up believing falsehoods that undermine our happiness, our health, and our lives. our general well-being.
conventional wisdom challenge
When we fail to challenge certain widely accepted but false beliefs (conventional wisdom), we can end up experiencing stress as a consequence. For example, failing to challenge the widely held assumption that stress is an unavoidable part of modern life is particularly costly. Furthermore, failure to recognize that there are considerable drawbacks to managing stress prevents us from seeking and finding even better coping strategies.
Think by yourself
Then there’s the challenge of thinking for ourselves, which is much easier said than done. Sure, we are all very capable of thinking for ourselves, but what can we say about the quality of our thinking? If the quality of our thinking is really as good as we assume? If not, this can create a lot of unnecessary stress in our lives. Clear thinking and sound reasoning are becoming less prevalent in our society today, and our stress levels may be increasing as a consequence.
Tell the truth
And finally, we come to the matter of telling the truth. All you have to do is note the level of political discourse in our country today, and you’ll get a good read on how well we’re doing in this department. Suffice it to say that Socrates would be horrified.
And if you believe that a lack of honesty and integrity in the political arena is not negatively affecting everyone else, including your own ability to recognize and tell the truth, then maybe you don’t know yourself very well, maybe you’re not willing to challenge conventional wisdom, and perhaps your thinking is not as clear as it could be.
There is more
This is just a sample of what we can learn from Socrates about how to reduce stress in our modern lives. In future articles, I’ll explore more of his enduring wisdom, including additional ways it can help us reduce our stress.
Copyright (c) 2011 M Corman, MD, FLP