Few years ago, I did a talk in front of a group of Muslim professionals and I explained as best I could, “The Psychological Switch”.
A lot of people were interested. A lot of people were fascinated. Some people had their minds blown and a few people were a little confused.
At the end of the talk, a young Muslim professional lady comes over to me and says, “Oh, I get what you’re saying. It sounds like you’re a Stoic… you’re teaching Stoicism.”
It’s not surprising someone would think that because Stoicism is all the rage these days. A lot of the big personal development gurus and authors are writing books about how Stoicism transformed their lives. And it’s a reasonably good philosophy on how to live a good life.
Certainly the Stoics pay some amount of attention to the role that thought plays in our experience and what we can and cannot control. And a lot of people find this very helpful.
However, I said to the young lady, “I guarantee you what I’m sharing with you is distinct and different and way more beneficial and better for you than Stoicism. “
Why?
In a way, because the Stoics didn’t take it far enough.
For example, they often point out that thought plays a big role in determining how you feel about circumstances.
Is that similar to what I say?
Yes. But I take it much, much further.
The Psychological Switch states that it is an absolute unchangeable fact that you cannot experience or feel anything other than thought.
It’s not that circumstances don’t completely determine your feelings. It’s that circumstances have 0% effect over your feelings.
It’s not that thought plays some big role in your feelings. It’s that thought is 100% responsible for anything and everything you ever feel.
This is a self evident truth. It is based on pure logic.
Granted, it tends to take a little while for people to reflect deeply enough to come to the realisation that this is an absolute truth. However, truth is truth, whether it is recognised or not.
At first, almost everyone including the young lady who asked the question has some objections. They may pick extreme circumstances, they may pick common beliefs that almost everyone has about what causes feelings (including many psychologists).
Ultimately, through deep enough reflection and logic and insight, anyone who is willing to go into it deeply enough will discover that the only cause of feeling is thought. Nothing else. Ever.
If you want something that’s way better for you than Stoicism and causes way more transformation than reading the meditations of Marcus Aurelius (and may actually help you gain a lot more benefit from reading them)….
…Then it’s time you have a session with a Certified Switch Coach who can listen to what you’ve got going on in life and give you insights, feedback and a personalised plan to deepen your understanding of life, transform your mindset and achieve your goals.
You know what Epictetus would do:
