Episode 70 – On Rumination and Overthinking

This episode presents Stoicism as a powerful antidote to the modern affliction of overthinking and chronic worry. It identifies rumination as a destructive mental habit fueled by focusing on things we cannot control, such as past events or future uncertainties. The core Stoic solution is to shift this focus entirely onto our own prohairesis—our faculty of rational choice, judgment, and assent—which is the only domain where we have complete power. This shift from external outcomes to internal actions is the first and most critical step in breaking the cycle of worry.

The episode outlines three essential strategies from the Stoic toolkit to achieve this shift. First is mastering the Dichotomy of Control, rigorously separating what is up to us from what is not, thereby ceasing to waste mental energy on the uncontrollable. Second is practicing objective perception, a technique championed by Marcus Aurelius that involves stripping events of their emotional labels and analyzing them as a neutral scientist would. This cognitive distancing prevents us from assenting to the catastrophic judgments that fuel anxiety, allowing us to see things as they are, not worse than they are.

The third and final tool is a constant, moment-to-moment self-awareness, treating life as an ongoing contest where every decision matters for our character. By understanding that emotions are the product of our own judgments, we can use these tools to proactively dismantle the thought patterns that lead to worry before they gain momentum. The episode concludes with Victor Frankl's modern echo of Stoic thought, suggesting that life asks us the meaning, and our answer is found in the responsible, virtuous actions we choose in each present moment.