Epictetus - 5 Ways To Overcome Your Fears

Epictetus is one of the greatest Stoic philosophers of all time, and his journey to becoming a master in Stoicism is exceptional.

Born in 50 AD, Epictetus was born into slavery and was serving a wealthy master, Epaphroditus, who served as a secretary to Nero, the Roman emperor at that time.

Epictetus had the unusual privilege of being given the right to study philosophy by his master, a right he took maximum advantage of.

Epictetus devoured Stoicism quickly, and what stuck with him was how practical Stoicism is and how it can truly help people alleviate their pain.

According to the Stoics, everything around us operates through a web of cause and effect, resulting in the rational structure of the universe which they called Logos.

And while we may not have control over the events that affect us, we do have control over how we approach things.

This was something Epictetus had the chance to study under one of the most influential Stoic philosophers, Musonius Rufus.

From there, Epictetus dug deep into it, and when given his freedom, he pushed his learning until he became a teacher himself.

Epictetus left us two main books, his most famous book, Discourses, and the Handbook, two books that served as a north star for many Stoics who came after him, especially the great Marcus Aurelius.

Fear, according to Epictetus, is at the root of all our pain.

Although there are rational fears, most of the ones that make us anxious are irrational, and thus one has to clarify one's fears and get rid of the ones that don't make any sense.

Most of our fears, according to the Stoics, come from a deep attachment to external things, and that's something that's not coherent with Stoicism.

A Stoic should be detached from anything that doesn't fall under their control,

which is why in today's video we are going to share five life teachings from Epictetus on how to overcome fear.

1. Make sense of fear. Epictetus says,

Epictetus says: "Philosophy's main task is to respond to the soul's cry, to make sense of and thereby free ourselves from the hold of our griefs and fears".

When Epictetus became a teacher himself, he emphasized rationalizing our fears, meaning that if we analyze each one of our fears,

we will see that there is no real basis to many of them, and the only reason we have them is that there is a bigger fear, the fear of social disgrace.

What he means by this is that when we fear losing our jobs, for example, it's not just because we will become jobless that we are afraid,

but because of how the people around us will see that, potentially labeling us as failures.

He also teaches us that many of our fears that we think are related to necessities are in fact just desires.

Like the businessman who thinks he can't live without a driver, and the families that think they can't live without a nanny,

and so he directs us to discern between what's really a necessity and what is not.

And for those that are not, we shouldn't fear them nor get attached to them emotionally.

Epictetus urges us to look deeply into our fear as a first step to getting rid of irrational ones.

Nowadays, the world is in no shortage of irrational fears.

Our world is marked by excessive possessions and consumerism, and this desire to accumulate as many possessions as possible ends up developing so many fears and anxieties in us,

one could be forgiven for thinking that every single thing we desire is essential to our very existence.

For example, the fear of not owning a car.

This particular fear would create unbearable anxiety in many people, many of whom will feel that a car is vital and their survival depends on it.

Although a car makes life much easier, at the end of the day it is just one transportation vehicle and there are many out there that we can utilize without having the need to possess them, like public transport or a taxi.

Of course, some fears are rational, but those rarely change throughout history.

For example, the fear of not having access to clean water, food to eat or being in a dangerous or fatal situation, these are all fears that even our great ancestors had.

Therefore, we should reconsider what we fear today and filter the fears that are rational from the ones we only think are rational but aren't so in reality.

One of the ways Epictetus urges people to overcome fears is by studying philosophy.

In Epictetus' case, philosophy is what made him reach such a high awareness of our fears and how to deal with them.

Philosophy is a remedy to see life as it truly is, it empowers our minds.

We become more prepared to discern between the things that deserve our thinking and things we should let go of.

We become more aware of our fears and whether they are rational or irrational.

One can also seek to make sense of one's fears by experimenting with those fears, like those who climb mountains specifically because they fear heights.

Just make sure you analyze them well and see them for what they truly are from an objective lens.

Always remember, if fear was an ocean, then you are a human being who can get out of the ocean, not a fish who swims endlessly in it.

2. Embrace life trials.

According to Epictetus:" We must be afraid of neither poverty nor exile nor imprisonment, of fear itself only should we fear”.

Epictetus' teachings urge people to focus only on what's in their control and not give any external events any emotional attachment,

for we have no power over those events and they happen regardless of what we want or don't want.

The principle of only focusing on what you can control is a cornerstone of Stoic philosophy and this dichotomy of control is particularly true for fears.

Most of the things that we fear today are completely out of our control.

In Epictetus' case, the Emperor Domitian was irritated by the Stoics and thus he exiled Epictetus and many other philosophers from Rome.

However, since the ban decision was out of his control, he accepted it, went to another city and proceeded with his teachings, perhaps with more belief in them.

Life is full of surprises, so much so that that's a common expression today.

But the problem with surprises is that they can be bad as well as good and we can't prepare for them otherwise they wouldn't be surprises.

So what can we do?

Should we live in fear, in a constant state of anxiety?

That cannot be the answer.

We should empower ourselves to embrace or at least accept the things we wished hadn't happened.

If we can do that, it can trigger greatness within us.

In Stoic philosophy, we call this Amor Fati, which means love of fate.

Amor Fati means accepting one's life entirely, with its good and bad, fortunate and unfortunate events, and embracing it all.

For example, let's say you've been working on a project that you think has a lot of potential, but once you get your project out there, it doesn't get the reception you were hoping for.

Although you tried so hard to overcome the difficulties, you came to the conclusion that sadly, that idea isn't the right one.

You've put blood, sweat and tears into this, you've reached out to people to invest in you, but you didn't get the returns you expected.

Although it's been a great learning experience and you're happy with many aspects of your projects, the final reception is not something you have control over.

You did everything you could and it didn't work.

So why would you consider yourself a failure?

Many great entrepreneurs failed more than they succeeded, and they kept going.

Because that's the human spirit.

That is love of fate.

When dealing with unfortunate events that don't fall under our control, one should either meet it with indifference, or use it to one's own advantage and act accordingly,

and only then can we find ourselves reaching greatness.

3. Believe in your ability to do wonders.

Epictetus teaches us that "Uremarkable lives are marked by the fear of not looking capable when trying something new".

Being born into slavery, the chance that Epictetus would be remembered as one of the greatest philosophers of all time was vanishingly slim.

It was his master who gave him the chance to study philosophy.

But who would have thought that Epictetus would become one of the masters of that very philosophy?

Sure, Epictetus' motivation wasn't to be the greatest, but he definitely believed in his ability to deliver value and pursue knowledge,

even if he was just a slave among sons of wealth and families of knowledge.

Epictetus went against the odds, and with all the unparalleled hardships he faced,

he became the greatest Stoic teacher in the Roman Empire, giving us an example to always believe in ourselves.

If life had an unspoken synonym, it would be trials, and a wonderfully simple but accurate representation of this would be in the classic video game Super Mario Bros.

The scrappy plumber does his absolute best to defy the odds and save the princess, having to overcome many trials to reach his goal.

But no matter how hard the game gets, he keeps going at it fearlessly, or literally dies trying.

Although we may not face the same fatal challenges as poor Mario, we certainly face many problems that take a lot from us and thus create this illusion that reaching our final destiny is nearly impossible,

and so we fear to take difficult steps, be it in your professional life after a failure or in moving on after a breakup because you don't want to lose what you think is left of you and fear what you see in front of you.

However, with our limited time on earth, shouldn't we make something out of it?

Indeed, we will all face tough challenges many times throughout our lives, but isn't that just part of the bittersweet beauty of what makes life, life?

Imagine yourself starting a podcast for example, and you bring on many diverse speakers, you try with different formats, different topics,

you do everything well, from the marketing side to the production, but no matter what you try, it just refuses to take off.

But one day, with one guest you didn't even realize was special, it blows up and your podcast starts trending, reaching the top of the charts in your country.

Who would have thought?

But was it a surprise for you?

Not exactly, it was pure dedication and unshakable belief.

Although the previous episodes didn't get the right initial reception and were judged as failures,

you believed in what you had to offer and eventually your efforts were rewarded.

Therefore, we should dare to take risks and to fail, dare to overcome the hardships that life might throw at you.

Always remember, greatness is only unlocked when we get tested, if not, our greatness would always be in question.

4. Don't fear other people's judgment.

In the words of Epictetus: "If you are tempted to look for outside approval, realize that you have compromised your own integrity, if you need a witness be your own".

Epictetus' era was one where there was a group of people called the Sophists, who go way back in time to ancient Greece, but maintained their presence throughout the ages.

The Sophists were those intellectuals who knew how to go about things, debate and were masters of rhetoric.

But a Sophist was also one who searched for approval and if he gets into a debate, it is not to seek new knowledge, but to show people how well-spoken and learned he is.

The difference between a Sophist and a Stoic intellectual is that a Sophist does it for the other to applaud him and a Stoic does it for his own self, not worrying about others.

And that is exactly what Epictetus wants from us.

Being driven by others' approval only compromises us as human beings.

As a matter of fact, when you are this obsessed, you will fear exploring new things and new horizons to grow as a person, for the sole reason that it might hurt your reputation.

In our lifetime, whatever direction we are going to take, we will find those who will build us up and those who will tear us down.

However, there is one way that might help us avoid this and that is by remaining static, not taking any direction, staying in place, never moving forward.

But what good really comes from this?

In this situation, what is the difference between us and a mere rock?

Yes, we will continue to exist, but it is the journey that makes us special as human beings.

It is what makes us grow and flourish intellectually and even physically.

Other people's criticism or opinions about us aren't in our control and since they are not in our control, one shouldn't place too much importance on them.

Instead, what is in your control is acceptance.

We should accept that with every action we take, we will be judged, maybe even laughed at and that's okay.

If that's the price one has to pay to reach one's goals, you shouldn't fear taking actions that aren't coherent with what others do and instead explore the things that you want,

the knowledge that gets you going and the horizons that you want to travel beyond.

5. Get rid of the fear of death.

In our final quote from Epictetus for this video, he says: "I cannot escape death, but at least I can escape the fear of it".

Epictetus was not only a slave at first, but also debilitatingly unwell and thus he had to learn to accept death and embrace it as if it was lurking around every corner,

because while we may ignore it, death lurks nearby for all of us on a daily basis.

However for Epictetus, all those who try to escape death by not thinking about it are only fueling the fear of it.

If you really want to get rid of any fear, you should look at it as if it's standing right in front of you and face it head on.

This is just as true for fear of death as fear of anything else.

For Epictetus, everything happens in our mind and if we could only direct it to see things differently, it would be free from many concerns.

According to Epictetus, the key to getting rid of the fear of death is changing our perception of it.

It is very common to see people changing the topic whenever death is brought up in a discussion.

However Epictetus urges us to change our perception and start thinking about death frequently, even on a daily basis.

Entertaining this idea of death in our mind turns it into a normal event and thus it alleviates the pressure related to its uncertainty factor.

And it's fair to say that this uncertainty is what makes us anxious.

But it's essential to discuss death as you would any other topic and not only reserve it for moments of grief and sadness.

How we talk about it has consequences on how we perceive it.

For example, Stoics perceive death as a reminder that our life is short and we should make the most out of it, living every single moment as if it is the last.

There is a particular concept that talks about this, known as memento mori, which means remember that you have to die.

And for the Stoics, the best thing you could do to enjoy your life is to remember death.

Every morning when you wake up, ask yourself, if today was my last day, what would I be doing?

This daily visualization about your death can impact your actions significantly.

You will start to look forward to maximizing and making every single hour, minute and second count.

And that's the power of remembering death.

That's the wisdom behind memento mori.

It's the freedom from fear of death that lets us explore our intellectual potential and thrive.

And this freedom starts with just a mere change of perception.

Fearing death will only prevent us from living, sleeping and becoming who we could become.

Fearing death will only stop us from thriving, growing and enjoying the journey of life.