The Stoic Art of Not Following The Crowd

Author

Betwixt Chaos
November 04, 2023

The Stoic Art of Not Following The Crowd

Following the crowd, as the Stoics would say, is a terrible danger everyone faces.

But why?

Epictetus even said that conforming to the ordinary man doesn’t allow us to stand out. As a result, he and the other Stoics paved their own path; and the reason why is explained in our quote of the week:

📚 Quote of the Week 📚

“Associating with people in large numbers is actually harmful: there is not one of them that will not make some vice or other attractive to us, or leave us carrying the imprint of it or bedaubed all unawares with it.

And inevitably enough, the larger the size of the crowd we mingle with, the greater the danger.”

Seneca, Letters from a Stoic (L.VII)

⚔️ Why To Not Follow The Crowd

Not only do you not shine above others because you conform to the same values as the crowd, but it also allows vices to creep in.

Due to complacency, these vices become more attractive to us since we think to ourselves: ‘Oh, why not? What’s the worst that can happen?’ As we know through my previous videos, a lot of bad can happen.

And for this very reason, we should follow this art of Stoic advice.

Create your own destiny.

Pave your own path.

Learn the skills you want to learn, not because someone else told you so.

At the end of the day, do you want to be remembered for listening to conformity and being like everyone else, or being your own person, doing something unique, and standing out against the norm?

Cheers,

Betwixt

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“The Stoic Art of Not Following the Crowd”

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