Short YouTube clip in which Chris Hipkins cites Nelson Mandela as an inspiration and characterizes him as a stoic. Hipkins argues that stoicism—focusing on what one can control and persisting through difficulty—is undervalued in modern life, and recommends making a list and acting on controllable tasks when overwhelmed.
You mentioned Nelson Mandela, and I've drawn a lot of inspiration from reading about him and reading things that he's written in the past. I think he would I would definitely describe him as a stoic. And I think stoicism is something that is really undervalued in the modern way that we live and work and play. You know, that idea that sometimes life's tough and actually the secret there is to keep going. And again, you focus on the things that you can change, rather than the things that might be overwhelming you. So when you are feeling overwhelmed, you know, make a list and do the stuff that you can do. Do the things that are actually within your control. If you look at Nelson Mandela's life, for a huge amount of his life, he couldn't make a difference, but he never gave up, and he focused on the things that he could change.
