I think that’s fine, so long as we understand what the phrase means within a Stoic context. You won’t find that phrase in any of the ancient Stoic texts, but you are right, it has become associated with the current popularization of Stoicism.

How well does this maxim reflect the essence of Stoicism? Stoicism was recently likened to the phrase “Keep Calm and Carry On”. So I think life hacking is a legitimate, but limited approach. But adopting a philosophy of life–or a religion, which is a type of life philosophy–is a bigger deal, and cannot be reduced to life hacking. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I don’t particularly like the term “life hack,” but I understand some people’s desires to put into practice a select number of techniques to simply improve their life. Should philosophy be used as a life hack? Some of these approaches have retained more of a philosophical outlook (REBT) while others have focused on short-term actionable advice (CBT). Likewise, Stoicism has inspired a number of successful, evidence-based modern psychotherapies, including Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy, Albert Ellis’ rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), and the family of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT). Some people, for instance, engage in meditation, or practice yoga, without necessarily embracing the philosophical or mystical traditions behind those techniques. This is nothing unusual, we do it in other areas as well. If one is interested only in developing a toolkit, one can of course push the philosophy in the background and just focus on the tools it provides. Stoicism is a practical philosophy, and as such it comes with actionable advice for its practitioners. Does Stoicism lend itself better to everyday life than other philosophies? Stoicism is building a reputation for being a “ life hack”. I spoke with Massimo about whether Stoicism is a good life hack, if “Keep Calm and Carry On” should be a Stoic maxim, and how Stoicism answers to oppression.

He studies the nature of evolutionary theory, the relationship between science and philosophy, and the modern revival of ancient Stoicism. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York.

Massimo pigliucci how to be a stoic