How Do I Keep Moving Against All Odds? 5 Stoic Steps

There are moments when life feels impossibly cruel. For me, it was losing my mum right in the middle of my cancer battle. I asked myself: Why? Wasn’t the pain I already carried enough? Is this really my way?

The truth is, I don’t have answers to those questions. But the Stoics remind me that even when the “why” is hidden, there are steps I can take to keep moving forward.

1. Focus on what I can control.

Marcus Aurelius said, "You have power over your mind, not outside events."
I couldn’t control illness or loss. But I could choose how I carried myself through them.

2. Choose my response.

Epictetus taught, "It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."
Grief and pain are real. My response is to honor them, but not let them consume me.

3. Stop suffering in my imagination.

Seneca warned, "We suffer more often in imagination than in reality."
I realized I was adding layers of “why me?” and “what if?” to my pain. Letting go of those questions lightened the weight, even just a little.

4. Turn obstacles into the path.

Marcus Aurelius reminded us: "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way."
My illness and my loss became teachers. They forced me to discover strength I didn’t know I had.

5. Practice self‑control as freedom.

Epictetus said, "No man is free who is not master of himself."
In the middle of chaos, I found freedom in small acts of discipline—breathing, writing, and remembering my Mum with love instead of despair.

These five steps don’t erase the pain. They don’t answer the “why.” But they give me a way to walk through it. Against all odds, I keep moving.

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✨ If this reflection speaks to you, I invite you to watch my video:

“How Do I Keep Moving Against All Odds? 5 Stoic Steps”

Premiere: 26.11.2025