Four Stoic Tenets You Can Apply Beyond 2020
By: Danny Schleien
Tags: Covid 19, Stoicism, Mental Health, Mindset, Lessons

Learn To Embrace What Happens To You With Amor Fati

“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 well.” — Epictetus

The English translation of amor fati is simple: love fate.

The great German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche considered amor fati the ultimate formula for human greatness. As he described: “That one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backwards, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it….but love it.”

Author Robert Greene likewise suggests we “accept the fact that all events occur for a reason, and that it is within your capacity to see this reason as positive.”

In October, I found myself on YouTube one night, looking for something to watch. I scrolled toward the bottom of the homepage, uninterested in what YouTube’s freaky algorithms had cooked up for me. I found a row of three notifications from channels I had subscribed to. One was Traveling with Kristin, from Kristin Wilson. She had posted a video about Costa Rica’s imminent reopening to all travelers with practically no exceptions — no COVID test required, no quarantine, nothing. I immediately went down a rabbit hole of digital nomad content. 2020 had opened my eyes to that lifestyle, but I had never made definitive plans to ditch America and live around the world.

Now, I’m going to Costa Rica next month and have a few other digital nomad destinations in mind for 2021. I’ve never been as excited for the onset of a new year as I am for 2021 (and if you’re an aspiring digital nomad like me, Kristin just recorded a podcast episode explaining why she thinks 2021 will be the best year ever to become a digital nomad.).

Would I be making plans to head to Costa Rica in January if I hadn’t stumbled on that YouTube post back in October? What if I had simply clicked on one of the recommended posts instead of scrolling down the homepage? I don’t know. But I’m embracing how the stars aligned for me.

The corollary to amor fati is to avoid worrying about what you can’t control. The concept of fate connotes a lack of control of various factors that will affect your life. You couldn’t ask for a better example than a global pandemic; given how globalized human civilization has become, COVID-19 may be the most defining shared experience in human history.

Other worldwide events will throw a wrench in our lives. Cyberwarfare lurks behind every digital closed door. Climate change could destabilize life beyond repair. Artificial intelligence could unleash hell with no bounds. Nuclear war could happen 30 minutes from now.

And smaller events will adversely affect you at an individual level. A vengeful boss could deny you a raise or cut you loose. An investment you own — a stock, a car, a house — could lose value overnight. A hacker could compromise your digital presence or steal some hard-earned money. A significant other could dump you in an instant or leave you hanging at the altar. A parent, sibling, or child could die tomorrow.

You can’t control any of those things. But you can embrace the certainty that uncertain, unpredictable things will happen and will affect you. Hopefully, they won’t be as bad as COVID. Even if they are, you can pat yourself on the back knowing you’ve been there, done that.