Stoic exercises, and where they come from

The Stoics treated philosophy as training. Musonius Rufus, Epictetus’s teacher, held that a doctor or musician who knows only the theory is of little use, and that character works the same way: practice does more than theory (Lecture 5, in our words).

Start with these three

If you are new, begin here. All three are free in the app, and all three run in your browser on this site.

Dichotomy of control

Sorting what is up to you from what is not, and putting your effort into the first. Epictetus opens the Enchiridion with it (see also Discourses 1.1), and most of the other practices lean on it. Use it when an outcome depends on someone else, like a job offer or a reply you are waiting on. About two minutes; the full guide has twelve everyday examples.

The four virtues

Wisdom, courage, justice and temperance: the four excellences of character the Stoics took as the good. Marcus Aurelius challenges himself to find anything in human life better than justice, truth, temperance and fortitude (Meditations 3.6). The practice is to hold one real decision up to each in turn. The free virtue check takes about three minutes.

The evening examination

Reviewing the day honestly before sleep: what went well and what to do better. Seneca did it every night once the lamp was out, following the philosopher Sextius (On Anger 3.36). The free evening examination takes about three minutes.

In the morning

The other nine are grouped by when you would use them. Each has a free guide on this site; in the app their guided Try It Now is part of Premium, and the times given are for those.

Morning preparation

Preparing briefly in the morning for the day ahead and how you want to meet it. In one note Marcus lists the difficult people he expects to meet and reminds himself that none of them can harm him (Meditations 2.1); in another he argues himself out of a warm bed (5.1). Most useful on the days you would rather not start. More on morning preparation. About two minutes.

Premeditatio malorum

Considering in advance what could go wrong, so that setbacks do not arrive as shocks. Seneca observes that we collapse more completely when misfortune catches us unawares, and that a blow long foreseen lands with less force (Consolation to Marcia 9; also Letter 91, on the fire that destroyed Roman Lyon). It suits the run-up to something with a lot riding on it; stretched too long, it turns into plain worry, and the premeditatio malorum guide explains the difference. About three minutes.

Memento mori

Remembering that you will die, so that you live with more clarity now. Marcus wants every act and thought shaped by the fact that he might leave life today (Meditations 2.11); in Letters 1 and 24, Seneca adds that we die a little every day. It helps when you are spending your days as if the supply were endless. See the memento mori guide and the free life-in-weeks calendar. About three minutes.

In the moment

These are for use during the day, when something has just happened or a plan depends on things you don’t control. The dichotomy of control belongs here too. For anger, worry or something you can’t change, the free exercises in I Need Perspective are the quickest route.

Amor fati

Accepting what happens as part of the whole, and working with it rather than against it. Epictetus advises wanting events to go the way they actually go, not the way you would choose (Enchiridion 8), and Marcus says that whatever suits the universe suits him (Meditations 4.23). It is for things already settled, where arguing only costs you the afternoon. Amor fati in the sources. About two minutes.

View from above

Picturing your situation from a great height to see it in proportion. Marcus tells himself to look down on the whole human scene, its ceremonies and its sea voyages in storm and calm, and to remember how many people do not even know his name (Meditations 9.30; see also 7.48). Try it on the dispute that has filled your week. More on the view from above. About two minutes.

Objective representation

Describing an event plainly, without the value judgments we add to it. Marcus’s examples are deflating: the delicacy on the table is the dead body of a fish or a bird, the vintage wine a little grape juice, the purple robe only sheep’s wool and a dye made from shellfish (Meditations 6.13; see also 3.11). Try it on whatever just got under your skin. Objective representation, explained. About three minutes.

Reserve clause

Committing fully to a plan while keeping in mind: if nothing prevents me. Seneca’s examples are a sea voyage, a run for office and an investment, each planned with the proviso that nothing intervenes; that proviso, he says, is why nothing befalls the wise man that he did not expect (On Tranquility of Mind 13). Epictetus advises going after things lightly and with exceptions (Enchiridion 2). You still commit; you just don’t stake your peace on the result. The reserve clause, explained. About two minutes.

Over time

These work by repetition, on ordinary days rather than bad ones. The four virtues belong here too.

Negative visualization

Briefly imagining the loss of something you value, to appreciate it more and be steadier if it changes. When you kiss your child, Epictetus says, tell yourself it is a human being you are kissing (Enchiridion 3); and of anything you lose, say that you gave it back (Enchiridion 11). His stated reason: when the loss comes, you will not be disturbed. Negative visualization, explained. About three minutes.

Voluntary discomfort

Choosing small, safe discomforts to become less dependent on comfort. In Letter 18, Seneca proposes living for a few days now and then on the cheapest food and in coarse clothes, so that poverty becomes something you have tried rather than something you dread (in our words); Musonius Rufus counts getting used to cold, heat and hunger as part of training (Lecture 6). Keep it mild, and if you have a health condition, ask a doctor before anything involving cold, fasting or hard exercise. Voluntary discomfort, without the bravado. About two minutes.

In the evening

The evening examination, described above, closes the day: the morning looks ahead, the evening looks back at how the day went. To keep a written record, see Stoic journaling.

Which practice for which situation

For more situations, see Stoicism in daily life.

Modern names, ancient practices

Several of these names are modern, and this site says so wherever it uses them.

How do Stoics meditate?

The sources describe no breathing techniques. For a Stoic, meditating means thinking something through on purpose, repeatedly and often in writing. Epictetus tells his students that the lessons he has just given, about what no one can take from you, are what a philosopher should think over, write out every day and train in (Discourses 1.1). Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations is a set of such notes to himself, and in one he describes the Stoic kind of retreat.

His retreat is not an empty mind but a return to a few principles kept “brief and fundamental” (Meditations 4.3), and he names two: outside things cannot touch the mind, which is disturbed only by its own opinions, and everything you see is already changing. In a modern day that means a passage in the morning, a few minutes with a hard moment, and a review at night.

Print the list

Print this page, or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print menu: the print layout keeps every practice, its sources and both tables, and drops the site’s navigation. No email address needed.