The Art of Patience: Insights from Stoicism and Martial Art

Patience doesn’t mean enduring everything. It doesn’t mean humiliating yourself, And it certainly isn’t a compromise with what is wrong — in any case.

Patience is the ability to maintain one’s spirit in any circumstances.

Maintain your spirit

In the context of Japanese martial arts and Zen practice, “maintaining your spirit” is an expression that refers to a practitioner’s ability to keep the right mental state. This involves concentration and determination during training or in the face of challenges.

It encompasses several aspects.

Mental focus:

Maintaining your spirit means keeping your mind focused on what you are doing at that moment. Martial arts practitioners are taught to discipline their minds to be present in every move and respond quickly to unexpected situations.

In other parts of the world, other civilizations have had an equivalent approach. For instance, the Stoics emphasized the importance of focusing on what we can control, such as our reactions and attitudes towards events.

Through patience, we can learn to manage our reactions and remain calm in the face of external circumstances.