Epictetus, an ancient philosopher, once said, “We suffer not from the events in our lives,
but from our judgements about them.”
The people who truly resonate with this quote, classify themselves as stoics.
In simple terms, stoicism is the ability to endure pain or hardship without letting our
emotions get the better of us.
One character that does this very well is Ferb, one of the main characters from the
popular Disney cartoon, Phineas and Ferb.
He doesn’t talk much, but you know what they say, “quiet people have the loudest
minds.”
One thing you’ll notice immediately with Ferb’s character is how calmly he reacts
to both good, and bad situations.
One way he does this is by displaying optimism, similar to the way his brother does, but there’s
a difference between optimism that’s genuine, and optimism that sounds kind of half-assed
and sarcastic.
Genuine optimism is about looking on the bright side of things, not necessarily in
a happy-go-lucky, "the world is perfect" way, but more in a relaxed, or determined kind
of way.
For example: Here is a moment in the show where Ferb expresses his genuine optimism
when other characters feel like quitting.
Something else I appreciate about Ferb is how he doesn’t overreact when something
doesn’t go his way.
Take this scene for example. After Vanessa, his love interest, leaves unexpectedly, Ferb
makes a conscious choice to respond without any emotion.
Normally if you missed your chance to connect with someone you have romantic feelings for,
it’s only natural to get bummed out, but Ferb responds by keeping a level head.
He’s very vague in his response, but for the sake of his own mental health, that’s
very wise to do.
Normally as humans we tend to overthink certain situations, and because of this, we ultimately
create suffering for ourselves.
Phineas is actually the one overreacting here.
Which creates another point.
Just because someone else overreacts doesn’t mean we have to participate or share that
negative energy.
One powerful way to make the most out of an unfortunate situation is to make a joke out of it.
This is something that Ferb is an expert at.
I want to clear up a common misconception about stoicism.
It is not about suppressing or ignoring our emotions.
We are human.
It is okay to feel sad, frustrated, or disappointed when something doesn’t go our way, but the
point is, a true stoic knows how to take those emotions, and to transmute them in a way that
will set themself up for success.
Just because Ferb is a master stoic, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have emotions.
He just knows how to control them.
For example: During this scene where an army of zombies is chasing after him, he’s scared,
and has no problem admitting that.
But he still sacrifices himself because he knows it’s the right thing to do.
He has courage.
Which is one of the 4 virtues of a stoic.
Wisdom, moderation, justice, and courage.
As you saw earlier in this video, he definitely has his moments of wisdom.
In regards to moderation, Ferb makes the most of what he has.
Like a minimalist.
You can see an example of this in pretty much every episode.
After the boys are done with their amazing invention of the day, it almost always disappears
by the end of the episode, but they have the ability to let it go, and think about what
they are going to build next, because they realize the memories are what’s most important.
This virtue is about the ability to detach from material items, and the approval of others.
Justice is about being fair.
It is about seeing the bigger picture rather than to take advantage of those who have wronged us.
It is the quality of doing what feels right, rather than settling for what feels comfortable
and safe for our survival.
For Ferb, justice can be as simple as taking care of a lake nose monster despite the dangers
that come with that responsibility.
Ferb is also a very patient character.
He’s patient with what other people think about him, he’s patient about speaking only when
he feels it’s appropriate and he’s patient with any other external forces that try and
slow him down.
He’s just interested in experiencing the world, and everything it has to offer.
He doesn’t judge the world, he observes, he gathers information, and he enjoys the journey.
Quiet people get a bad rep nowadays.
Usually when someone is, or does something different than the majority of people, it’s
considered weird, or cringe, or there’s something wrong with them, but this show portrays
quiet people to be badass, which I appreciate.
Ferb truly doesn’t give a damn about what anyone thinks of him.
All he cares about is experiencing the world, maximizing his potential with what he can
create, and living life to the fullest, which is something that I personally resonate with
in his character.
He isn’t focused on the things that are not in his control, whether that be criticism,
mysterious forces destroying his invention every day, or anything else that would piss
the average person off.
Instead, he has the wisdom to realize it’s all about mindset.
If Ferb was real, it would be very difficult to say or do something to him that will ruin
his life, because he has trained his mind to take a bad situation, and turn it into
something positive, or something that can be laughed at.
His peace of mind is what makes him invincible.