Stoicism was founded more than two thousand years ago by the Greek philosopher Zeno of Scythia, who lived in the third century B.C. The name Stoicism comes from the Greek word "stoá", which means places of philosophical teaching.

The story goes that Zeno was a Phoenician merchant who was transporting goods by sea. One day he was shipwrecked and lost everything he had, but ended up in Athens, where he learned about the philosophies of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle. He then completely changed his story, as he began to frequent the bookstores in Athens and thus immersed himself in philosophy and founded his school of philosophy in Athens where anyone who was interested could attend. For this reason, philosophy became popular throughout the ages, as its doctrines could be studied and practiced by nobles, the poor and the rich.

The aim of the Stoics was to achieve happiness through moral virtue and tranquillity. Zeno argued that all things in nature are connected and that we must learn to live in harmony with nature. For Stoicism, human perfection is founded on the idea that human beings are connected to nature.

Stoic philosophy also emphasized the importance of cultivating virtues such as self-discipline and justice and helps us to accept what cannot be changed and focus on controlling our reactions and emotions towards external events. Stoicism teaches us the importance of our discipline, self-control and the practice of virtue, these are the essential character traits for living a meaningful and fulfilling life.

Practical Lessons from Stoicism

• Practice self-discipline: set realistic goals, always motivated.
• Always live in the present moment: focus on today, on your own thoughts and actions.
• Be tolerant: try to understand the feelings and ideals of others, so that you can have healthier relationships.
• Gratitude: practice gratitude, always staying positive and persevering, knowing how to appreciate the good things that happen in your life.
• Learn to deal with differences: we always learn a lot from adversity.
• Learn to deal with pain: we can go through many difficulties and pain is part of our existence here, so work to improve.
• Know your values: discover your values and live by them.

Although Stoic philosophy was founded over two thousand years ago, it is still very relevant today, with many people around the world studying and practicing its ideas.