The Achilles Heel Of Stoicism. The Truth About Ultimate Human Potential

Stoicism seems all the rage these days.

It is touted and discussed at length in various facets of the modern culture.

There are stories of Cato The Younger, who many consider to be the “perfect stoic.”

Cato, as it is said, would wear a tunic of an unpopular color in order to purposely invite ridicule upon himself. He did this in order to develop a tolerance for such ridicule and embarrassment, so that he may train himself to not be ashamed of superficial things.

It must first be stated that any man who experiments upon himself in such ways has exemplary qualities. For rare is the human who spends his time on this earth devoted to truly worthy pursuits.

However, while this may make one more effective, more able to withstand difficult times, more robust in his dealings with others, and more suited for success, it does not allow one to reach his Ultimate Potential as a human being.

I will explain.

Let us take Silicon Valley as a case study, for it is the perfect confluence of Great possibility and Great misunderstanding.

I realize that stoicism is popular in arenas and areas outside of Silicon Valley, but let us it as a case study due to its unique position in the world ecosystem.

There is a fundamental tenet in place that informs all those who follow philosophies such as stoicism and other things.

And that is that if something is to be known or attained, it must be arrived at via a “technique,” a “method,” a “hack,” a “how-to,” a “life operating system.”

It is a belief based upon “rules.”

Which is gravely ironic, as Silicon Valley is built upon the idea of having no rules. It is humanity’s beacon call against all things traditional, societal, authoritarian, and didactic.

Silicon Valley is the home of the rebel. But this home of the rebel denies its very roots when it succumbs to methods, techniques, hacks, and philosophies.

In effect, Silicon Valley hasn’t distanced itself from rules. It has simply replaced them with fancier ones from the ancient Greeks, the Buddhists, and the Hindus.

Stoicism, like all techniques and methods and hacks and philosophies, is based upon practicing something, training oneself to do something, and conditioning oneself to be a certain way.

It is aimed at “improvement,” and “conditioning,” and “betterment,” and “striving.”

What is wrong with this?

There is nothing at all wrong with this. But perhaps it will be more instructive to answer this question with an example.

Imagine an eagle that manages to remain suspended three feet in the air for three seconds, before it drops back to the ground.

If you ask this eagle, how it feels about this, the eagle would say, “I haven’t achieved anything yet.”

To which you might reply, “I find this to be a great feat. You defied gravity for three feet and three seconds. You should be proud of yourself.”

To which the eagle would reply, “What on earth are you talking about? I haven’t even registered the three feet and three seconds. To me they aren’t worthy of comment. Do you not understand? I am an eagle. I’m made to fly!”

If we extrapolate this to human beings, the problem is that human beings are eagles who have never been told they can fly. And, since a man has little hope but to become his environment, a human being who does anything at all is instantly leaps and bounds above the rest.

But this does not make him great. This does not imply that he has reached anything close to his potential. It is just that those around him are so content with being chained to the ground, that flight is nothing they have ever considered.

It must be understood that this discourse is not about becoming “better.”

It is about realizing one’s Ultimate Potential as a human being.

The one who practices stoicism is trying to “get better” at things.

He is trying to “improve.”

He is trying to become “more of this, and less of that.”

This is fine. But it isn’t the Ultimate.

It isn’t Flying.

The one who follows stoicism or any rule or philosophy or method or hack or technique is like the man who runs around the world chasing down every cloud so that he can wrap a blanket around it in order to stop the rain.

It is an endless chase. For how many things can a man condition or fix?

Understand this: There simply isn’t enough time in a human being’s life to “technique” or “condition” or “hack” or “practice” his way out of every significant human frailty.

One might say that stoicism has made him “better at uncomfortable situations.”

That is fine. But so what?

He might say that he is “‘less reactive than he was before.”

That is fine. But so what?

A follower of stoicism might become angry or disenchanted by such statements. And he might, out of a fit of anger, say something along the lines of, “Then do you think that finding Peace, Freedom, or Equanimity is equally useless?”

To which I would reply that Peace, Freedom, and Equanimity are among the nectars of human existence.

But there is a difference. And this difference as great as the divide between heaven and earth.

If a man attempts to arrive at Peace, Freedom, and Equanimity by way of “technique,” it will never become his way of life. It will never become his default.

Never.

Whenever you see this man, he will always be chasing it, losing it, finding it for a moment, then losing it again.

One cannot “technique” his way to the glories of life.

No matter how ardent a follower one may be . . .

No matter how disciplined he may be . . .

No matter how perfectly to the letter he follows a dogma, a philosophy, a prescription, or technique . . .

He will never in his life permanently attain the thing which he is seeking.

Stoicism may make one “more equanimous.”

But Never will it give him Equanimity.

Stoicism may make one “better at making decisions.”

But Never will it give him Permanent Clarity.

There are, no doubt, those who will read this and wonder if such things are even possible.

To which I will respond, “A thing is only possible if a question is seriously asked.”

Thus, the Achilles heel of stoicism is that it keeps one bound to a method. And in being subservient to a method, one places a ceiling upon oneself.

A ceiling that was never meant to exist.

Then, what is the path to Ultimate Human Potential?

The man who truly craves to know the nature of ultimate human potential will necessarily be the man who is interested in The Truth.

And what he must first understand is that where there are rules, there cannot be truth.

Where there are methods, techniques, hacks, and how-to’s, there can only be limitations.

Buying into such things is to buy into another’s problems.

Understand this: The thing that a human being is a legend at, is precisely the thing that he knows not how he does it.

The one who seeks the partial and the limited asks, “What method or technique can I employ in order to get better at something?”

The one who seeks the ultimate asks, “What are the things that if I understood them, would propel me to the ultimate realm without me having to lift a finger?”

The limited man who follows techniques, tips, and tricks will likely not be able to bring himself to ask such a question.

Why?

Because he is inextricably tied to the belief that it is Effort that makes a man what he is.

While the man who seeks the ultimate is either convinced of, or is willing to seriously entertain, the fact that it is Understanding that makes a man what he is.

Naturally, the limited man will retort, “I can understand all I want, but if I don’t take action, nothing will happen.”

Is he correct?

Yes and no.

The man who Understands will take action, but his action will be a mere formality. For once one Sees the strings behind the stage, and the way that things truly are, the action is done before it is done.

But the limited man of technique and prescription will rely wholly upon his effort and strength. And because effort and strength are as limited as his outlook, he will only be able to progress at an inch per year. Which many do in fact preach and subscribe to.

Thus, I would say to Cato The Younger, “Cato, I find in you an exceptional man. For you are willing to experiment with your own frailties in order to more easily move through life. But rather than an experiment of will and intellect, would it not serve you greater to employ an experiment of Mind? Rather than beat away your tendencies toward shame in the face of public embarrassment by hammer and club, why not examine the source from which this shame arises? Rather than make yourself stronger in order to withstand it, why not explore the well from which it arises? For in standing witness to its genesis, its mathematics, its gestation, and its birth, it will no longer have power over you.”

Namaste.

 

Related Reading: Wisdom Begets Stoicism. Stoicism Does Not Beget Wisdom (A Private Discourse)