What Would the Stoic Sage Do: Public Transport

You’re sat on a bus sweating in the baking summer heat. Tains are cancelled because of a drivers strike. The tram is so full you have to force your way on otherwise you’ll be late for work. Instead of remaining calm and looking for the best in people, it’s easy to let external situations like these disturb your tranquillity. When this happens you need to look inwards and ask yourself: What Would the Stoic Sage Do?

Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash

Plan alive time

If you know in advance that you’re going to be dealing with public transport, whether that’s a one off trip or part of a regular commute, figure out how you can turn this into Alive Time, a principle promoted by Ryan Holiday. The idea behind Alive or Dead Time is simple — try to use every moment intentionally. Rather than spending the 25 minute bus ride to work scrolling through instagram, why not carry a cheap paperback, download an audiobook or listen to a podcast? It doesn’t have to be the most productive time, you don’t have to sit on the train reading textbooks. Why not pick up some fiction that you’ve been meaning to read for months or listen to that D&D podcast your friend recommended. If the bus is running late, use a notebook to jot down ideas for that DIY project you’ve been meaning to start, or practise your drawing skills by doodling. Alive time doesn’t need to be productive, but the Stoic Sage would take every opportunity to live intentionally.

What could go wrong

The Stoic Sage would use a similar approach when planning their journey; they would take some time to contemplate everything that could go wrong. The aim of this exercise, Premeditatio Malorum (Premeditation of Evil), is not to add additional worry or anxiety. Instead the goal is to prepare yourself in advance, so when bad things do happen you will be able to accept it more easily. Seneca said:

“Nothing happens to the wise man against his expectation”

This makes it the job of the Stoic Sage to expect things will go wrong. This is especially true with public transport. Before you set off, think about the fact the train could be late, the bus might be full and you’ll probably have to stand. Or be like Marcus and tell yourself that you will probably meet people who are:

“meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly.”

Think about the hustle and bustle on public transport — a drunk guy yelling obscenities, people playing music through their phones and babies screaming at an unbearable pitch. Rather than worrying about these possibilities you need to think about how you will react. Instead of getting annoyed and frustrated, imagine yourself reacting with acceptance, patience and understanding. Actually put yourself in that situation, create the picture in your head. Now, when things go wrong, why be surprised — you already planned for this.

It’s not about you

Finally, the Stoic Sage will acknowledge that they need to get rid of their ego and sense of self-importance. When bad things happen you might feel like wallowing, but you need to accept that the world wasn’t designed to cater to your every need. Ticket prices go up, trains get cancelled and buses are too full to let you on. These things happen surprisingly regularly. Instead of asking, “why did this happen to me?” focus your attention on what you can control — your reaction to what has happened and your own character. You can fight against what happens to you, like a dog pulling against a cart, or you can accept what has already happened and work with it. Why not use this as an opportunity to practise one of the Stoic virtues, display wisdom by accepting what is out of your control or justice by forgiving others for being rude. The Stoic Sage knows that not every situation is about them, rather than feeling personally attacked by what is usually caused by poor timing or bad luck, they can use what happens to improve themselves.

The next time you deal with public transport and you feel impatience building or an overwhelming sense of frustration ask yourself:

“What would the Stoic Sage do?”