Today's culture teaches us the importance of mental toughness, emotional resilience, and overall grit. The ability to persevere in the midst of challenging circumstances can mean the difference between a person being successful in life and living a life full of pain and struggle. Regardless of how talented, intelligent, socially well-adjusted and capable someone is, he or she is powerless without having honed the ability to endure hardship and adversity. No one knows more about how to achieve these strengths than the Stoics of Ancient Greece and Rome.

In fact, cognitive behavioral therapy - thought to be the most effective way to treat emotional and mental disorders - is based on the beliefs of Stoicism. Psychotherapy is above all a philosophical pursuit rooted in traditions both ancient and modern. It uses rational thought exercises to overcome emotionally overwhelming situations. The same logical thought processes used in cognitive behavioral therapy to treat debilitating mental conditions can be used to fortify your emotions on a day-to-day basis.

By learning the values of Stoicism and practicing them in your daily life, you can teach yourself to strengthen your emotional fortitude so that you can take on any challenge you may find yourself facing in life. Even great losses contain lessons within them. By practicing the virtues and coping methods of the Stoic philosophy, you will become skilled in seeing and benefiting from those lessons rather than allowing loss and adversity to consume you.