“First practice not letting people who you are — keep your philosophy to yourself for a bit. In just the manner that fruit is produced — the seed buried for a season, hidden, growing gradually so it may come to full maturity. But if the grain sprouts before the stalk is fully developed, it will never ripen… That is the kind of plant you are, displaying fruit too soon, and the winter will kill you.”
EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.8.35b-37
Stoicism takes time to develop. It takes practice and consistency for the roots to grow and become strong. So you’ll need to have a little patience, young grasshopper. That’s the wisdom in today’s entry of The Daily Stoic.
There’s no need to start speaking loudly of your newfound philosophy right away. Wait until your understanding has grown stronger. Stoicism isn’t for show anyway, it’s a foundation for every moment of your life.
The goal is not to impress others, but to grow and change yourself, even if no one else notices at all. You do it for yourself. And to that end, you need to shelter and protect your first green shoots of stoic philosophy until it’s strong and resilient.
The last thing you need to do is crow about it, or broadcast it. Who cares if anyone else knows, at all?
I’m reminded of the Reddit thread I found where the original poster asked for opinions on the cool & complex symbol for stoicism they had created. The first commenter was spot on when they asked: “Why would a stoic need a symbol?” Then they followed up with further explanation, saying “Stoicism shows through action, not words or symbols. A symbol glorifies privilege.”
Exactly right. We demonstrate our change through our actions, not by talking about it. And change takes time, so have patience.
