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Stoic Joy

  • Writer: Deric Hollings
    Deric Hollings
  • 1 day ago
  • 6 min read

 

Within my blog, because I generally focus on healthy and unhealthy negative emotions, I don’t spend much time discussing positive emotional states such as happiness and joy. For context, the American Psychological Association (APA) thusly defines happiness:

 

[A]n emotion of joy, gladness, satisfaction, and well-being.

 

I view happiness as a state of being rather than representing the six core emotions experienced by humans, which include joy, fear, anger, sorrow, disgust, and surprise. Consequently, the APA thusly defines joy—an actual emotion, and not merely a conditional state of being:

 

[A] feeling of extreme gladness, delight, or exultation of the spirit arising from a sense of well-being or satisfaction. The feeling of joy may take two forms: passive and active.

 

Passive joy involves tranquility and a feeling of contentment with things as they are. Active joy involves a desire to share one’s feelings with others. It is associated with more engagement of the environment than is passive joy.

 

The distinction between passive and active joy may be related to the intensity of the emotion, with active joy representing the more intense form. Both forms of joy are associated with an increase in energy and feelings of confidence and self-esteem.

 

Within my blog, I often advocate contentment with things are they are (i.e., passive joy) more so than yearning to share a positive emotional state with others (i.e., active joy). When further contemplating this matter, I now turn toward a book that I’ve been steadily reading.

 

As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

 

My approach to REBT stresses the importance of unconditional acceptance regarding joy from a Stoic perspective. For clarity, authors of The Daily Stoic quote ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca who expressed this principle when stating (page 233):

 

Trust me, real joy is a serious thing. Do you think someone can, in the charming expression, blithely dismiss death with an easy disposition? Or swing open the door to poverty, keep pleasures in check, or meditate on the endurance of suffering?

 

The one who is comfortable with turning these thoughts over is truly full of joy, but hardly cheerful [full of good spirits]. It’s exactly such a joy that I would wish for you to possess, for it will never run dry once you’ve laid claim to its source.

 

For those who’ve had contact with me in both personal and professional capacities, people likely know that I’m not a cheerful person. Of course, this isn’t to suggest that I don’t sometimes experience cheer (lightness of mind and feeling). After all, I’m human, so I’ve known cheer.

 

Still, rather than living in a manner whereby I usually have a smile on my face while advocating active joy, I tend toward passive joy (i.e., Stoic joy). Some people confuse this with negative emotion. Regarding this misperception, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 233):

 

We throw around the word “joy” casually. “I’m overjoyed at the news.” “She’s a joy to be around.” “It’s a joyous occasion.” But none of those examples really touches on true joy. They are closer to “cheer” than anything else. Cheerfulness is surface level.

 

Joy, to Seneca, is a deep state of being. It is what we feel inside us and has little to do with smiles or laughing. So when people say that the Stoics are dour or depressive, they’re really missing the point. Who cares if someone is bubbly when times are good? What kind of accomplishment is that?

 

But can you be fully content with your life, can you bravely face what life has in store from one day to the next, can you bounce back from every kind of adversity without losing a step, can you be a source of strength and inspiration to others around you? That’s Stoic joy—the joy that comes from purpose, excellence, and duty. It’s a serious thing—far more serious than a smile or a chipper voice.

 

Can you be cast to the proverbial streets, with mud splashed in your face, and still experience passive joy? I can. I can do this with or without a smile on my face. This is what Stoic joy represents. If you’d like to know more about how to achieve it, then I’m here to assist.

 

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

 

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

 

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

 

 

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW


Photo credit, Designed by Freepik, fair use

 

References:

 

APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2018, April 19). Happiness. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/happiness

APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2018, April 19). Joy. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/joy

Daily Stoic. (n.d.). Translating the Stoics: An interview with “The Daily Stoic” co-author Stephen Hanselman. Retrieved from https://dailystoic.com/stephen-hanselman-interview/

Holiday, R. and Hanselman, S. (2016). The daily stoic: 366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living. Penguin Random House LLC. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-daily-stoic-366-meditations-on-wisdom-perseverance-and-the-art-of-living-d61378067.html

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