Maintaining Rationality in Times of Panic

Maintaining rationality and focusing on the common good, as advised by Marcus Aurelius, helps prevent and handle panic in times of crisis.

### How to Act When People Panic: Lessons from Marcus Aurelius
* 🧘 To avoid panicking ourselves during times of mass hysteria, it is crucial to understand the **nature of what we are panicking about** and the **reasons behind our panic**.
* 🔄 Marcus Aurelius teaches that everything we experience has happened before, and life is a **repetition of the same archetypal storylines**.
* 🌍 "No matter what happens, keep this in mind: It’s the same old thing, from one end of the world to the other. It fills the history books, ancient and modern, and the cities, and the houses too. **Nothing new at all**. **Familiar, transient**."
* 🧠 When faced with rapidly changing circumstances, it is essential to **see things as they are** and act based on **rationality, not fear**.
* 🏠 Instead of trying to change things beyond our control, it is more beneficial to focus on our immediate environment and **do something positive**.
* 💪 "Staying calm in the herd is much easier when our own faculties are **strong**."
* 🗣 If people around us are panicking, Marcus Aurelius advises not to engage with their irrational behavior and to **focus on what the situation requires**.
* 🕊 "The tranquillity that comes when you stop caring what they say. Or think, or do. Only what you do. Not to be distracted by their darkness. To **run straight for the finish line, unswerving**."

How should we act when people around us are panicking? And how can we avoid panicking ourselves? Panic gets us nowhere, as it is a state of emotional turmoil during which our rationality is thrown overboard. So when we’re faced with a wide variety of opinions, the strong language of influencers, and decisions based on fear and greed, it can be difficult to find direction and maintain course. But during times of mass hysteria, it’s essential to use our capacity for rationality. From a Stoic point of view, our decisions should be based on facts and logic, and our actions have to be in the interest of the common good. In times of hardship, it’s not an unnecessary exercise to fortify our minds with philosophical ideas, so we don’t slip into the trap of panic. Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius had some valuable insights on how to strengthen the mind, so we don’t deviate from the right path.

Now, let’s start with the second question, as it paves the way to answering the first one: How can we avoid panicking ourselves? To navigate our minds back into tranquility, it is important to become aware of the nature of what we are panicking about, and also the reasons why we panic. In his meditations, Marcus Aurelius mentions that no matter what happens, it is something that has happened before. When we are ruled by the issues of the day, we lose sight of the bigger picture. So, what unfolds in the moment may seem totally new and alien. In a way, this is true, because nothing that happens now takes place in the past. However, when we look at historical accounts, we see that they are filled with the same old, same old. Marcus Aurelius shifts the paradigm by pointing out that life is simply history repeating itself. So, we could say that we experience the same archetypal storylines over and over again.

just with different characters and in different
formats. Lost all your money? Your job? Millions of people are going through the same
thing as we speak, and have been in the past. Is the world ravaged by the plague? We had the Spanish Flu, the Black Death, SARS,
MERS. Humanity has gone through many different crises,
individual people have faced a lot of hardship in their lives, there have been good times
and bad times, and we have gone through peace and war. History taught us that this mechanism never
changes as long as we exist. It is simply life manifesting the same patterns. Everything is transient, like yin and yang. So, why do we panic when it’s just another
manifestation of the same? Probably because the thing we panic about
disguised itself as something unprecedented, it triggers our fear of the unknown. While, in reality, it has happened many times
before. What’s new and scary now, will be old and
familiar tomorrow.

That’s because we are adaptable creatures
who can change along with the transient nature of the universe. So, to keep a cool head when things around
us start to change quickly, we might want to repeat the following quote by Marcus Aurelius: “No matter what happens, keep this in mind:
It’s the same old thing, from one end of the world to the other. It fills the history books, ancient and modern,
and the cities, and the houses too. Nothing new at all. Familiar, transient.” End quote. All comes down to seeing things as they are,
as much as possible, and doing the right thing, based on rationality and not based on fear. Thus, in a crisis, we ought to prepare but
not overdo it. Especially when it undermines the community. Marcus Aurelius emphasizes repeatedly that
we should work together, and act conformably to our own nature, and the nature of the whole. Or as he puts it: “to do what the community
needs done.”

When we panic, we are often inclined to act unintelligently and in ways that only make things worse, or overlook the things that actually need to be done. That’s why it’s essential to keep calm in the face of adversity because if we don’t, we can screw things up. In the case of a virus outbreak, for example, instead of trying to be the hero of the day, it’s probably much better to simply stay at home. Also, we may want to keep in mind that the media are companies motivated by profit, so they recreate and inflate reality by constantly focusing on certain topics that attract attention. When we expose ourselves to the media all day, we become deluded because we start to believe that there’s nothing else going on in the world besides disaster. And this is not true. So instead, it’s better to focus on our direct environment (something that we can actually influence) and see how we can do something beneficial.

Thus, don’t try to change the things you cannot change. Instead, give your grandmother a call. Now, when it comes to dealing with panicking people, staying calm in the herd is much easier when our own faculties are strong. If we are determined and don’t let ourselves be carried away by our irrational thoughts and emotions, we become towers of strength that are immune to all compulsion, like, for example, the cravings for toilet paper. Even when world leaders act irrationally, and the things they say don’t make any sense, or when hostility and violence dominate the streets, and people scream bloody murder, Marcus Aurelius would probably advise us to not engage, and to calmly do what the situation asks of us. I quote: Let them scream whatever they want. Let animals dismember this soft flesh that covers you. How would any of that stop you from keeping your mind calm—reliably sizing up what’s around you—and ready to make good use of whatever happens?

End quote. At the end of the day, what the people around
us are doing is not up to us. If they feel that panic is the answer, we
can only change their minds if they’re open to alternatives. But when they aren’t, we’ll only waste
time trying. In such cases, we are better off preventing
ourselves to go along with their panic, so we maintain our inner peace. I quote: The tranquillity that comes when you stop
caring what they say. Or think, or do. Only what you do. Not to be distracted by their darkness. To run straight for the finish line, unswerving. Thank you for watching and be kind to each
other.

“Let Them Scream Whatever They Want” | Marcus Aurelius on Panic

Einzelgänger

Panic is a state of emotional turmoil that can lead to irrational decision-making, especially in the midst of widespread fear and strong influencer opinions.

During such times, it is crucial to rely on rationality, facts, and logic, following the Stoic philosophy of making decisions in the interest of the common good.

To avoid panicking, it's important to be aware of the nature of the situation and the reasons behind the panic, as highlighted in Marcus Aurelius' meditations, which emphasize the repetitive nature of historical events and the importance of focusing on the bigger picture.

Humanity has faced various crises and hardships throughout history, showing the same patterns of struggle and adaptation.

The tendency to panic during unprecedented events is natural, but historical patterns can offer reassurance and guidance for the future.

Marcus Aurelius emphasizes the importance of rationality, cooperation, and staying true to one's nature during a crisis.

Keeping calm in a crisis is crucial to avoid making things worse and focus on what truly matters, like staying home during a virus outbreak.

The media's focus on disaster can distort reality, so it's better to concentrate on our immediate environment and take positive actions.

Strengthening our own resolve allows us to resist irrational impulses, even in the face of panicking crowds and irrational leaders, and to respond to the situation rationally, following Marcus Aurelius's advice.

Maintaining Inner Peace in the Face of Others' Panic

It's not our responsibility to change others' panic if they are not open to it, so it's better to focus on maintaining our inner peace.

We should prioritize our own actions and not be distracted by the negativity of those around us.

Ultimately, the key is to stay focused on our path and not get swayed by the panic of others.