If your goal is to follow Stoicism, or even just to explore it, there are a few hard truths you need to face. The first, Stoicism is not easy. It is not the feel-good pop psychology peddled by most so-called Stoics on social media and in the popular press.
The second hard truth, following from the first, is that Stoicism requires intense focus, discipline, and training. It takes months of study and focus to even begin moving substantively into a Stoic mindset and years before Stoicism becomes fully integrated into your being. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something.
That is not to say you cannot get an immediate benefit from Stoic study; you can, but it is to say that you will likely be at it for a lifetime and still not master it fully, and maybe that’s the point.
Following from point two, Stoicism takes daily study and training. You don’t dabble in Stoicism to be Stoic; you live it or you don’t. This daily training is not just to learn Stoic thought and behavior but is itself the act of being Stoic. You must train and improve daily, both mentally and physically, not just to become a Stoic but to be Stoic.
Finally, realize there are no unenlightened, weak Stoics, physically or mentally. There are no Stoics who accept mysticism, magic, pseudo-science, anti-intellectualism, or any belief system that does not stand up to rational, logical discourse. There are no Stoics who do not train physically and mentally. Weakness in body or mind and Stoicism are in no way compatible.
On Physical Training
“For obviously the philosopher’s body should be well prepared for physical activity, because often the virtues make use of this as a necessary instrument for the affairs of life.”
—Musonius Rufus, Lectures, 6, trans. Cora Lutz
“Where then is progress? If any of you, withdrawing himself from externals, turns to his own will to exercise it and to improve it by labour, so as to make it conformable to nature… this is the man who truly makes progress.”
—Epictetus, Discourses, 1.4, trans. George Long
“The body should be treated more rigorously, that it may not be disobedient to the mind.”
—Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, 8.5, trans. Richard M. Gummere
“Not everything that is difficult and dangerous is suitable for training, but only that which is conducive to what is set before us as the object of our effort.”
—Epictetus, Discourses, 3.12, trans. P. E. Matheson
On Rational Examination
“It is the nature of the mind—to agree to what is true, and disagree with what is false, and withhold judgement on what is doubtful.”
—Epictetus, Discourses, 1.28
“Reverence the faculty which produces opinion. On this faculty it entirely depends whether there shall exist in thy ruling part any opinion inconsistent with nature and the constitution of the rational animal.”
—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 3.9, trans. George Long
“But first of all do not be hurried away by the suddenness of the shock, but say, ‘Wait for me a little, impression. Let me see what you are, and what is at stake: let me test you.’”
—Epictetus, Discourses, 2.18, trans. P. E. Matheson
“Objective judgment, now, at this very moment. Unselfish action, now, at this very moment. Willing acceptance—now, at this very moment—of all external events. That’s all you need.”
—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.6, trans. Gregory Hays
On Intellectual Advancement
“As long as you live, keep learning how to live.”
—Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, 76.3, trans. Richard M. Gummere
“How much progress shall I make? Just as much as you try to make. Why do you wait? Wisdom comes haphazard to no man.”
—Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, 76.5–6, trans. Richard M. Gummere
“Philosophy teaches us to act, not to speak.”
—Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, 20.2, trans. Richard M. Gummere
“We should so learn them that words may become deeds.”
—Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, 108.35, trans. Richard M. Gummere
To be a Stoic is not about cherry-picking verses that suit you in the moment, or make you feel better, or justify your preconceived notions of what Stoicism should be. Stoicism is a whole-life philosophy and requires constant, daily mental and physical training. To accomplish this requires planning, strategy, energy, and focus across four points: passive and active improvement and tactical and strategic improvement.
Passive Improvement
Passive improvements are about weaving healthy activities and both Stoic actions and non-actions into your daily life. These are not things you need to think about, or plan, or set aside time to accomplish; they are things you just do (or don’t do) as part of living stoically. Organize your life to weave these items into your daily routine. If any part of your life is hostile to these objectives, eliminate that part, or reform it to make these core behaviors flow naturally.
Sleep eight hours.
Eat healthy and in moderation.
Do not drink past moderation or partake in any recreational substances.
Speak less. When you feel you need to speak, don’t. Wait and reserve opinion.
React right. When you feel you need to react, assess and reserve judgment.
Associate with those whom you admire.
Active Improvement
These improvements are about things you must go out of your way to accomplish. Your life must be reorganized around these things, and they must be core to your daily routine. They cannot be an afterthought when or if you have time; they take priority.
Each morning, plan your day and your improvements and set your daily goals.
Choose one per day and alternate: strength training and endurance training.
Choose one per day and alternate: Read classical Stoic source material, study an intellectual field, learn/practice an art, or learn a language.
Each night, self-examine and add to tomorrow’s plan. What succeeded? What failed? Why? How will you do better tomorrow?
Strategic Improvements
Strategic items are your long-term goals. Look at your daily improvement activities, and ask regarding each one where you want each one to go over the next year. It doesn’t matter what you choose, so long as they are realistic but challenging and they are logically the result of your daily activities. Plan out the strategic goals, write down your goals and time frame, and hold yourself accountable with a daily record. Examples:
Add 5–10 pounds of muscle.
Lose 40+ pounds of fat.
Run a 5k or 10k.
One year without alcohol or substances.
Complete a certification or part of a degree.
Complete a skills training.
Read and study a specified set of philosophical or academic materials.
Tactical Improvements
Tactical items for improvement are the specific daily things that you do that fit into your larger strategies. Tactics go hand in hand with strategic goals. If your strategic goal is to run a 5k, then your daily endurance training tactic is running. If your strategic goal is to have read all the classic Stoic writings, then your daily reading tactic is 30–60 minutes of reading the classics.
Put It Together
Begin by outlining your passive improvements and start them immediately. They do not have to be perfect; they just have to be consistent and improve as you go. List your strategic goals and time frames. From the strategic goals, detail your daily tactics to achieve your strategic goals, and those will tell you your daily active improvements.
You will not get it right at first. You will fail. This does not matter. Only consistency matters. Fall one hundred times, get up one hundred and one. Consistency alone is enough to improve. As you improve, further refinements will take on a life of their own, but first you have to actually get up and do something to get started. The longer you sit there, the further away it gets until it will be unreachable forever.
Time is finite, and the clock is ticking.
“Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you.”
—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.17
“It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested.”
—Seneca, On the Shortness of Life, 1.1
“Let us prepare our minds as if we had come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing.”
—Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, 101.7, trans. Richard M. Gummere
Tactics within the strategies. Excellent nuance as always 👊🏻