Stoicism, an ancient philosophy from thinkers like Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, has surged in popularity because it equips people to face modern chaos—like the endless pull of social media—with calm and purpose. This article draws from those timeless ideas to show how you can cut through digital noise, regain focus, and protect your mind.

I'm going to break down the core problem of social media overload, introduce Stoic basics, and explain key principles with real-world applications. By the end, you'll have tools to apply these ideas yourself, whether you're scrolling less or debating online. Think of this as a guide to spotting overload in your life, judging how it affects you, and starting small changes that build resilience.

Introduction

Imagine picking up your phone for a quick update, only to lose hours in a storm of notifications, comparisons, and heated arguments. This scenario traps billions worldwide. Social media overload drains energy and creates anxiety, but Stoicism provides a clear path out.

Stoicism offers tools to regain control and find peace amid the digital chaos. It teaches you to focus on your responses, not the endless feed.

This article explains how ancient Stoic ideas apply to modern online habits. We'll cover the overload issue, Stoic foundations, specific principles, benefits, and practical steps.

This story focuses on Elon Musk of course, as the news tends to focus on every X post or reply he makes.

If you read this story, you may have noticed that it quotes Scott Adams' reaction to a previous story about the idea of issuing $5,000 "DOGE dividend" checks, questioning why we would do that when we are facing such massive budget deficits and an enormous national debt. Elon responded to that stating that he thought we needed to balance the budget first.

Become a Supporter

This isn't the only story written about this.

What it doesn't state is that my post about the $5,000 DOGE check idea is what prompted this whole conversation. 😎

https://x.com/OwenGregorian/status/1892184391717384462

It's also notable that the whole thing started with an X post from James Fishback (@j_fishback) that included a letter he wrote with a detailed proposal about the idea:

https://x.com/j_fishback/status/1891933120313663493

It's still a trip to think that an ordinary person like me can have even a small impact on the national conversation.

Don't underestimate the influence what you do on this platform could have. And thank you for your support, and for coming along this strange journey with me.

John Boyd and William S. Lind changed our understanding of modern warfare, and their ideas can help you in business, politics, influencing people, and lots more.

John Boyd was a fighter pilot in the US Air Force, and later became a military strategist and advised the Pentagon. He wrote many essays on how the nature of warfare was changing and what we should do about it. William S. Lind wrote a book called The 4th Generation Warfare Handbook that included many of Boyd's ideas which has been influential to how we approach warfighting. 

I'm going to describe some of the key concepts and frameworks covered in that book, and how they can be applied to information warfare. I'm hoping you'll come away with enough understanding that you can notice when these techniques are being applied, judge how well various players are doing with them to help predict how a conflict will turn out, and be able to start practicing these techniques yourself.