25 Stoic Quotes That Helped This Freelance Writer Smash Through Writer’s Block

Hopefully, they’ll do the same for you

Sunday had finally come and with it came that invigorating feeling.

The one where you know the day is set aside for writing. Only writing. And that thought fires you up.

I should be stoked about this — but instead, all of my thoughts are going in circles.

Why can’t I get anything written?

What am I doing wrong?

Shouldn’t it just flow like water?

Didn’t I sleep well enough?

But nothing comes to life on the page.

It’s like my Mac is teasing me. That damn blinking cursor. Each blink is like it’s fucking with me. Tauntingly.

“Nothing”… “you got nothing Rick“… “close me up, go sit your ass on the couch and watch Netflix”…

I sit back at my desk, pick up my coffee mug, and notice the semi-wet, brown ring left on the napkin.

Now I’m thinking about cleaning that wet ring up, and it’s been over half an hour since opening up Mac for my “writing day.”

Look, freelance writing can be a demanding profession. In fact, it’s often very easy to get stuck in the block and not know what to do next.

This is where Stoicism comes in.

Stoicism can help you overcome your writer’s block with its quotes about overcoming adversity and dealing with negativity. You might even find stoic wisdom that will inspire new ideas for your freelance writing projects. Perhaps even the one you’re stuck on right this moment.

Hell, where do you think this piece cam from?

The essence of Stoicism is essentially teaching yourself to live a good life by developing peace of mind through confidence in your ability to overcome roadblocks and adversity. Even if adversity is the brick wall of writer’s block.

So as you read these, consider how they might apply to you. Not only if you’re experiencing the block, but also how they might apply to other aspects of your life. They’ll mean something different for you depending on the moment.

Here are 25 quotes from the great ancient Stoics, and modern ones, to help you take a stand and smash that wall.

1. “Even if some obstacle comes on the scene, its appearance is only to be compared to that of clouds which drift in front of the sun without ever defeating its light.” — Seneca
2. “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” — Marcus Aurelius
3. “If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?” — Rumi
4. “Don’t hope that events will turn out the way you want, welcome events in whichever way they happen: this is the path to peace.” — Epictetus
5. “To be calm is the highest achievement of the self” — Zen Proverb
6. “Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish.” — Marcus Aurelius
7. “Make the mind tougher by exposing it to adversity.” — Robert Greene
8. “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” — Viktor Frankl
9. “Success is based off of your willingness to work your ass off no matter what obstacles are in your way.” — David Goggins
10. “Difficulty is what wakes up the genius.” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb
11. “Man conquers the world by conquering himself.” — Zeno of Citium
12. “The limit is not the sky. The limit is the mind.” — Wim Hof
13. “The obstacle is the way.” — Ryan Holiday
14. “What is to give light must endure burning.” — Viktor Frankl
15. “Today I refuse to stress myself out about things I cannot control or change” — Mel Robbins
16. “A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.” — Seneca
17. “The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers” — M. Scott Peck
18. “Be a master of the mind, not mastered by the mind.” — Zen proverb
19. “To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden” — Seneca
20. “The more you seek the uncomfortable, the more you will become comfortable” -Conor McGregor
21. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you” — Unknown
22. “Unfollow the mind. Follow the heart. Mute the masses” — TheAncientSage
23. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you” — Anne Lamott
24. “Take a deep breath. Get present in the moment and ask yourself what is important this very second” — Greg McKeown
25. “If you ever start taking things too seriously, just remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the universe.” — Joe Rogan

Yeah, talking monkeys on an organic spaceship.

The final word

You might not know how Stoicism can help you overcome writer’s block until you try using stoic wisdom and quotes from ancient stoics like Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus. And from new “philosophers” like the infamous Joe Rogan.

These stoic quotes will motivate you to get writing again and conquer that brick wall of writer’s block.

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