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How to Begin the Stoic Practices

December 3, 2025 B. John 157 Views 0 Comments sympatheia, morning reflection, voluntary discomfort, daily habits, evening contemplation, Memento Mori, Journaling, Stoic practices

This entry is part 1 of 18 in the series Stoicism Practices

This entry is part 52 of 53 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Most people imagine Stoic practice as a long list of habits they should somehow manage to fit into an already crowded day. The truth is simpler. Most practices don’t begin with a grand plan. They begin the way mine did. A quiet morning walk becomes a morning reflection. A hard season pulls you into sympatheia. Three lines in a notebook settle into evening contemplation. The practices grow inside an ordinary life. They do not sit on top of it.

This closing essay is an invitation to begin without pressure. You don’t need every practice. You don’t need hours of silence. You only need one small place to start. A moment of attention in a day that is already unfolding. If you want to build a steadier inner life without turning Stoicism into homework, this is the place to step in.

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Stoic Practices: Morning Reflection

October 12, 2025November 30, 2025 B. John 334 Views 0 Comments meditation, daily practice, philosophy, Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, mindfulness, morning reflection

This entry is part 9 of 18 in the series Stoicism Practices

This entry is part 42 of 53 in the series Journey Through Stoicism

The mornings came first as exercise. Two years ago, I started walking for my health, beginning with just a few blocks at a time. I carried extra weight then, 187 pounds of it, to be exact. The plan was simple: move more, eat better, and feel less tired. What I didn’t expect was that those early walks would become something much deeper. They began with music, everything from Sousa marches to soft piano covers. Later, I switched to audiobooks to make the walks more productive. But as my life began to shift in other ways, I started walking in silence. In that quiet, something changed. My thoughts began to stretch out and organize themselves.

It became a kind of morning meditation. And like most good accidents, it only later revealed its purpose. I realized that what I was doing was practicing a Stoic exercise—the morning reflection. The Stoics began each day by preparing the mind for the world ahead, anticipating difficulties, and setting a moral compass. Two thousand years later, science affirms what they knew: that a few deliberate minutes at dawn can redirect an entire day.