<ul><li>In the morning, remind yourself of what is in your control and what's not.</li><li>Before lunch, remind yourself that the only thing you truly possess is your ability to make choices.</li><li>In the afternoon, remind yourself that aside from the choices, your fate is not entirely up to you.</li><li>In the evening, remind yourself again how much is outside of your control and where your choices begin and end.</li><li>As you lie in bed, remember that sleep is a form of surrender and trust and how easily it comes. And prepare to start the whole cycle over again tomorrow.</li></ul>

The One Path To Serenity - Day 159

<ul><li>We're all addicts in one way or another. We're addicted to our routines, to our coffee, to our comfort, to someone else's approval. These dependencies mean we're not in control of our own lives - the dependency is. </li><li>Our routines can be disrupted, the doctor can forbid us from drinking coffee, we can be thrust into uncomfortable situations. That is why we must strengthen ourselves by testing these discrepancies before they become too great. </li><li>Make yourself invulnerable to your dependency on comfort and convenience, or one day your vulnerability might bring you to your knees. </li></ul>

The Vulnerability Of Dependence - Day 50

<ul><li>Abraham Lincoln got fuming mad with a subordinate. Rather than taking it out on that person directly, he'd write a long letter, outlining his case why they were wrong. Then he would fold it up, put the letter in the desk drawer, and never send it.</li><li>He knew, that it was easy to fight back. It's tempting to give them a piece of your mind. But you almost always end up with regret. You almost always wish you hadn't sent that letter. Think of the last time you flew off the handle. What was the outcome? Was there any benefit?</li></ul>

To Each His Own - Day 203

<ul><li>This can be swiftly taught in very few words: virtue is the only good; there is no certain good without virtue; and virtue resides in our nobler part. </li><li>And what this virtue can be? True and steadfast judgement. For from this will arise every mental impulse, and by it every appearance that spurs our impulses will be rendered clear. </li><li>You become the sum of your actions, and as you do, what flows from that - your impulses - reflect the actions you've taken. Choose wisely! </li></ul>

The Supreme Court Of Your Mind - Day 9

<ul><li>Remember to conduct yourself in life as if at a banquet. As something being passed around comes to you, reach out your hand and take a moderate helping. Does it pass you by? Don't stop it. It hasn't yet come? Don't burn desire for it, but wait until it arrives in front of you. Act this way with children, a spouse, toward position, with wealth - one day it will make you worthy of a banquet with the gods.</li></ul>

The Banquet Of Life - Day 197

Don't tell yourself anything more than what the initial impressions report.<ul><li>It's been reported to you that someone is speaking badly about you. This is the report - the report wasn't that you've been harmed. I see that my son is sick - but not that his life is at risk.</li><li>So always stay within your first impressions, and don't add to them in your head - this way nothing can happen to you.</li><li>As Nietzsche put it, "to stop courageously at the surface" and see things in plain objective form.</li></ul>

Stick with just the facts - Day 3

<ul><li>Won't you be walking in your predecessor's footsteps? The ones who pioneered these paths aren't our masters, but our guides. </li><li>Traditions are often time-tested best practices for doing something. But remember, today's conservative ideas were once controversial. </li><li>Perhaps we have a breakthrough of our own. If these ideas are true and better, embrace them - use them. You don't need to be a prisoner of dead old men who stopped learning two thousand years ago! </li></ul>

Respect The Past, But Be Open To The Future - Day 19

<ul><li>Is the ship of Theseus the same ship after every wooden plank of it is replaced or is it a new one? </li><li>In Japan a Shinto shrine is rebuilt every 23 years. Is it one shrine, 1400 years old? Or sixty consecutive shrines? </li><li>Our understanding of what something is, is just a snapshot - an ephemeral opinion. The universe is in a constant state of change. Our nails grow and are cut and keep growing. New skin replaces dead skin. Old memories are replaced by new. Are we still the same people? Are the people around us the same? Nothing is exempt from this fluidity, not even the things we hold most sacred. </li></ul>

All Is Fluid - Day 95

<ul><li>Anyone can get lucky. There's no skill in being oblivious, and no one would consider that greatness. </li><li>On the other hand, the person who perseveres through difficulties, who makes it to their destination through hard work and honesty? That's admirable because their survival was a result of fortitude and resilience, not birth right and circumstance. </li><li>A person who overcame not just the external obstacles to success but mastered themselves and their emotions along the way? That's much more impressive. </li><li>The person who has been dealt a harder hand, understood it, but still triumphed? That's greatness. </li></ul>

Anyone Can Get Lucky, But Not Everyone Can Persevere - Day 41

<ul><li>Remember that it's not only the desire for wealth and position that debates and subjugates us, but also the desire for peace, leisure, travel, and learning. It doesn't matter what the external thing is, the value we place on it subjugates us to another... where our heart is set, there our impediment lies.</li><li>Because fate can always intervene and then we'll likely lose our self-control in response.</li><li>When it comes to your goals and the things you strive for, ask yourself: Am I in control of them, or are they in control of me?</li></ul>

Wish Not, Want Not - Day 199

Whatever our case is today, let's align our minds along these four critical habits:<ol><li>Accept only what is true. </li><li>Work for the common good. </li><li>Match our needs and wants with what is in our control. </li><li>Embrace what nature has in store for us. </li></ol>

Four Habits Of The Stoic Mind - Day 104

<ul><li>Socrates used to say that "nobody does wrong willingly." Meaning that no one is wrong on purpose either. Nobody thinks they're wrong, even when they are. They think they're right, they're just mistaken. Otherwise, they wouldn't think it anymore.</li><li>How much more tolerant and understanding would you be today if you could see the actions of other people as attempts to do the right thing? Whether you agree or not, how radically would this lens change your perspective on otherwise offensive or belligerent actions?</li></ul>

Seeing Things As The Person At Fault Does - Day 217

<ul><li>It's dangerous to have faith in what you do not control. But your own reasoned choice? Well, for now that is in your control. Therefore it is one of the few things you can have confidence in. It's the one area of health that can't suddenly be given a terminal diagnosis. It's the only one that remains pristine and never wears down - it's only the user who quits it; never will it quit the user. </li><li>All philosophers lived this way - even while they had families and while they were struggling students. And so can you. </li></ul>

Everlasting Good Health - Day 132

"Leave the past behind, let the grand design take care of the future, and instead only rightly guide the present to révérence and justice. Révérence so that you'll love what you've been allotted, for nature brought you both to each other. Justice so that you'll speak the truth freely and without evasion, and so that you'll act only as the law and value of things require." - Marcus Aurelius <ul><li>Two words for life: persist and resist. But what principles should determine what we persist in and what we ought to resist? Marcus supplies that answer: reverence and justice. In other words, virtue. </li></ul>

Révérence And Justice - Day 65

<ul><li>Stoicism is not a religion. You're not obligated to save anyone - there's no risk of hell if a soul remains ignorant to the Stoic philosophy. </li><li>But now that you've learned a better path, you can be of service to others. You can share your wisdom or insight with a friend or stranger - remembering that behaviour is always a better example than a lecture. </li><li>Everyone deserves to benefit from "philosophy's principles" as Seneca put it. If you see someone who is in need of help, or has asked for guidance, provide it. You owe them that much. </li></ul>

Spread The Word - Day 71

<ul><li>Take a look at some of the powerful, rich people. Look at what success has cost them. Mostly? Freedom.</li><li>Their work demands they wear a suit. It will require - inevitably - realizing they are unable to say what they actually think. Worse, it demands that they become a different person.</li><li>Sure, it might pay well - but they haven't truly examined the transaction. As Seneca put it, "Slavery resides under marble and gold." Too many successful people are prisoners in jails of their own making. Is that what you want? Is that what you're working hard toward? Let's hope not.</li></ul>

Living Without Restriction - Day 216

<ul><li>A sign on President Truman's desk read, THE BUCK STOPS HERE. As president, he knew that good or bad, there wasn't anyone he could blame for stuff other than himself. </li><li>As president of our own lives - and knowing that our powers begin and end with our reasoned choice - we would do well to internalize this same attitude. We don't control things outside that sphere, but we do control our attitudes and our responses to those events - and that's plenty. It's enough that we go into each and every day knowing that there is no one to pass the buck to. It ends with us. </li></ul>

The Strong Accept Responsibility - Day 98

"But the wise person can lose nothing. Such a person has everything stored up for themselves because they invest well" - Seneca<ul><li>Some people put their money in assets - stocks, bonds, property. Others invest in relationships or accomplishments, knowing that they can draw on these things just as easily as others can draw funds from a bank account. But a third type, Seneca says, invests in themselves - in being a good and wise person. </li><li>Which of these assets is most immune to market fluctuations and disasters? Which is most resilient during trials and tribulations? Which will never abandon you? </li></ul>

The Most Valuable Asset - Day 57

"Meditate often on the interconnectedness and mutual interdependence of all things in the universe. For in a sense, all things are mutually woven together and therefore have an affinity for each other - for one thing follows after another according to their tension of movement, their sympathetic stirrings, and the unity of all substance." - Marcus Aurelius <ul><li>Over and over again, the stoics reminded themselves of the interconnectedness in life. Today, take a moment to remember that we are woven together and that each of us plays a role (good, bad and or ugly) in this world. </li></ul>

A Mantra Of Mutual Independence - Day 58

<ul><li>It is essential for you to remember that the attention you give to any action should be in due proportion to it's worth, for then you won't tire and give up. </li><li>If you give things more time and energy than they deserve, they're no longer lesser things. You've made them important by the life you've spent on them.</li><li>And sadly, you've made the important things - your family, your health, your true commitments - less so as a result of what you've stolen from them. </li></ul>

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff - Day 16

"That which isn't good for the hive, isn't good for the bee. That which doesn't harm the community can't harm the individual." - Marcus Aurelius Just because something is bad for you doesn't mean it's bad for everyone. Just because something is good for you definitely doesn't mean it's good for everyone. A good stoic understands that proper impulses, and the right actions that arise from them, naturally carry the good of the whole, which is the wise person's only good. Conversely, good and wise actions by the whole are what's good for the individual.

All For One, One For All - Day 59

<ul><li>Think of the maniac people in your life, the ones whose lives and choices are in disorder. Everything is soaring highs or crushing lows; the day is either amazing or awful. Don't you wish they has a filter through which they could test the good impulses versus the bad ones?</li><li>There is such a filter. Justice. Reason. Philosophy. If there's a central message of Stoic thought, it's this: impulses of all kinds are going to come, and your work is to control them, like bringing a dog to heel. Put simply: think before you act. Ask: Who is in control here? What principles are guiding me?</li></ul>

Steady Your Impulses - Day 183

<ul><li>Part of the reason we fight against the things that happen is that we're so focused on our plan that we forget that there might be a bigger plan we don't know about. Plenty of times, something we thought was a disaster turned out to be, a lucky break?</li><li>This sense of being wrong is a simple awareness problem. We need to remember that all things are guided by reason - but that it is a vast and universal reason that we cannot always see. The misfortune we have experienced is simply the prelude to a pleasant and enviable future.</li></ul>

One Day It Will All Make Sense - Day 218

<ul><li>When you set your mind to a task, do you always follow through? It's good if you do. But don't let yourself become a prisoner of that kind of determination. </li><li>Conditions change. New facts come in. Circumstances arise. If you can't adapt to them - if you simply proceed forward without adjusting to this new information - you are no better than a robot. The point is not to have an iron will, but an adaptable will. </li><li>It's not weak to change and adapt. Flexibility is it's own kind of strength. In fact, this flexibility combined with strength is what will make us resilient and unstoppable. </li></ul>

Flexibility Of The Will - Day 44

"You are afraid of dying. But, come now, how is this life of yours anything but death?" - Seneca <ul><li>Most of us are afraid of dying. But sometimes this fear begs the question: To protect what exactly? For a lot of people the answer is: hours of television, gossiping, wasting potential, reporting to a boring job, and on and on and on. Expect, in the strictest sense, is this actually a life? Is this worth gripping so tightly and being afraid of losing? </li><li>It doesn't sound like it. </li></ul>

What Are You So Afraid Of Losing - Day 139

<ul><li>Remember, then, if you deem what is by nature slavish to be free, and what is not your own to be yours, you will be shackled and miserable, blaming both gods and other people. </li><li>But if you deem as your own only what is yours, and what belongs to others as truly not yours, then no one will ever be able to coerce or to stop you, you will find no one to blame or accuse you, you will do nothing against your will, you will have no enemy, no one will harm you, because no harm can affect you. </li></ul>

Focus On What Is Yours Alone - Day 30

We don't abandon our pursuits because we dispair of ever perfecting them. <ul><li>Psychologists speak of cognitive distortions - exaggerated thoughts which include </li></ul><ol><li>If you're not with me, you're against me. </li><li>Because this wasn't a complete success, it is a total failure </li></ol><ul><li>This sort of extreme thinking is associated with depression and frustration. Perfection rarely begets perfection - only disappointment. </li><li>We're never going to be perfect. We're human after all. Our pursuits should be aimed at progress, however little that it's possible for us to make. </li></ul>

Perfection is the enemy of Action - Day 4

"Don't behave as if you're destined to live forever. What's fated hangs over you. As long as you live and while you can, become good now." - Marcus Aurelius <ul><li>The reality is, a sword is hanging over all of us - life can be taken from us at any moment. And that threat can send us in one of two directions: we can fear and dread it, or we can use it to motivate us. To do good, to be good. Because the sword is dangling, and there's nothing else to be concerned with. Would you rather it catch you in the middle of some shameful, selfish act or during your wait to be good in the future? </li></ul>

The Sword Dangles Over You - Day 122

<ul><li>At any moment, we may be toppled from our perch and made to do with less - less money, less recognition, less access, less resources. Even the "less-es" that come with age: less mobility, less energy, less freedom. But we can prepare for that, in some way by familiarizing ourselves with what that might feel like. </li><li>One way to protect yourself from the swings of fate - and from the emotional vertigo that can result - is by living within your means now. So today, we can try to get used to having and surviving on less so that if we are ever forced to have less, it would not be so bad. </li></ul>

What Would Less Look Like? - Day 36

<ul><li>When people say change is good, they're usually trying to reassure themselves. Because instinctively we view change as bad - or at least we're suspicious of it.</li><li>The Stoics want you to do away with those labels altogether. Change isn't good. The status quo isn't bad. They just are.</li><li>Remember, events are objective. It's only our opinion that says something is good or bad (and thus worth fighting against or fighting for). A better attitude? To decide to make most of everything. But to do that you must first cease fighting.</li></ul>

Not Good Neither Bad - Day 90

<ul><li>Stories about lottery winners tend to share one lesson: suddenly coming into a great deal of money is a curse, not a blessing. In just a few years, many lottery winners are actually in worse financial shape. They've lost friends, got divorced, and their lives have turned into a nightmare as a result of their good fortune. </li><li>And yet the most common response from a cancer survivor, the person who went through the thing we all dread and fear? "It was the best thing that ever happened to me."</li><li>Funny how that works out, isn't it? </li></ul>

Funny How That Works Out - Day 111

<ul><li>A good person is invincible, for they don't rush into contests in which they aren't the strongest. You will never compel what they set out for, nor trap them in what they would avoid. How can such a person not be invincible? </li><li>Don't try to beat the opponent where they are strongest. That's what we try to do when we are put on the spot. Or we say yes to everything that comes our way. </li><li>Discretion is the better part of valour. Think hard before choosing, and make yourself unbeatable. </li></ul>

Only Fools Rush In! - Day 12

"There is no reason to live and no limit to our miseries if we let our fears predominant." - Seneca"Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." - RooseveltThe stoics knew fear was to be feared because of the miseries it creates. A tough situation isn't helped by terror - it only makes things harder. That's why we must resist it and reject it, if we wish to turn this situation around.

Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself - Day 34

<ul><li>We're making money and we're stimulated and busy. But the busier we get we drift further and further from philosophy.</li><li>Eventually, stress builds up, our mind gets clouded and we forget what's important. When that happens it's needful that we tap The breaks - put aside all the momentum and the moment. Return to the practices that we know are rooted in clarity and good judgment.</li><li>Stoicism is designed to be medicine for the soul. It relieves us of the vulnerabilities of modern life. It restores us with the vigor we need to thrive in life. Check-in with it today, and let it do its healing.</li></ul>

Philosophy As Medicine Of The Soul - Day 178

Let's get into the tasks:<ol><li>Choice - to do and think right</li><li>Refusal - of temptation</li><li>Yearning - to be better</li><li>Repulsion - of negativity, of bad influences, of what isn't true</li><li>Preparation - for what lies ahead or whatever may happen</li><li>Purpose - our guiding principle and highest priority</li><li>Assent - to be free of deception about what's inside and outside our control (and be ready to accept the latter)</li></ol>This is what the mind is here to do. We must make sure that it does - and see everything else as pollution or a corruption.

Seven Clear Functions Of The Mind - Day 154

<ul><li>Instinctively, we protect our physical selves. We don't let people touch us, push us, control where we go. But when it comes to the mind, we're less disciplined. We hand it over willingly to social media, to television, to what other people are doing, thinking, or saying.</li><li>We don't realize how much waste is in it, how inefficient and distracted it makes us.</li><li>To the Stoics, this is an abomination. The mind is ours. We must protect it. Maintain control over your mind and perceptions, they'd say. It's your most prized possession.</li></ul>

Don't Unintentionally Hand Over Your Freedom - Day 213

<ul><li>At 5'-3" tall, Muggsy Bogues was the shortest player to play professional basketball. Against all odds, he succeeded. He saw his height as his strength when others saw it as his weakness. In fact, small size has many advantages: speed and quickness, ability to steal the ball from unsuspecting players, to say nothing of the fact that players just underestimated him.</li><li>Could this approach not be useful in your life? What things do you think have been holding you back that, in fact, can be a hidden source of strength?</li></ul>

Anything can be an advantage - Day 10

<ul><li>The mind is a muscle, and like the rest, it can be strained, overworked, even injured. Our physical health is also worn down by overcommitment, a lack of rest, and bad habits. Remember John Henry - the man who challenged the machine? He died of exhaustion at the end. Don't forget that. </li><li>Today, you may face things that try your patience, require considerable focus or clarity, or demand creative breakthroughs. Life is a long haul - it will mean many such moments. Are you going to be able to handle them if you've burned the candle at both ends? If you've been abusing and overworking your body? </li></ul>

Don't Burn The Candle At Both Ends - Day 141

<ul><li>After all you've read, it night be tempting to think: This stuff is great. I get it. I'm a Stoic. But it's not that easy. Just because you agree with the philosophy doesn't mean the roots have fully taken hold in your mind. </li><li>Fooling with books so you can sound smart or have an intimidating library is like tending a garden to impress your neighbours. The seeds of Stoicism are long underground. Do the work required to nurture and tend to them. So that they - and you - are prepared and sturdy for the hard winters of life. </li></ul>

A Garden Is Not For Show - Day 40

We go through our days responding and reacting, but it's better to really pause and ask: Is this the kind of thing the person I would like to be should do? The work of living is to set standards and then not compromise them. When you're brushing your teeth, choosing your friends, losing your temper, instructing your child, or walking your dog - all of these are opportunities. Now I want to do good - that's an excuse. But I will do good in this particular instance, right now. Set a standard; hold fast to it. That's all there is.

Set The Standards And Use Them - Day 64

<ul><li>We could look at the upcoming day and despair at all the things we don't control: other people, our health, the outcome of a project once it leaves our hands. </li><li>Or we could look out at that very same day and rejoice at the one thing we do control: the ability to decide what any event means. </li><li>The second option offers the ultimate power-a true and fair form of control. While you don't control external events, you retain the ability to decide how you respond to those events. </li><li>This includes the difficult one in front of you now. You'll find, if you approach it right, that this trump card is plenty. </li></ul>

You Hold The Trump Card - Day 53

<ul><li>Clarity of vision allows us to have belief. That's not to say we're always going to be 100 percent certain of everything. Rather, we're heading generally in the right direction - that we don't need to constantly compare ourselves with other people or change our minds every three seconds based on new information.</li><li>Instead, tranquility and peace are found in identifying our path and in sticking to it: staying the course - making adjustments here and there, naturally - but ignoring the distracting sirens who beckon us to turn toward the rocks.</li></ul>

Place Is In Staying The Course - Day 162

When the problem arose for us whether habit or theory was better for getting virtue - Musonius thought habit to be more effective. <ul><li>There is no time to chop logic over whether our theories are correct. We are dealing with the real world here. What matters is how you're going to deal with this situation right in front of you and whether you're going to able to move past it. </li><li>Although theories are clean and simple, situations rarely are! </li></ul>

No Time For Theories, just Results - Day 5

<ul><li>It's pretty obvious that one should keep away from the wicked and two-faced as much as possible. Marcus is reminding us to avoid false friends.</li><li>But what if we turn it around? We've all been frenemy at one point or another. We've been nice to their face - usually because there was something in it for us - but later, in different company, we said how we really felt. Ore we've strung someone along, cared only when things were going well, or declined to help even though someone needed us.</li><li>This behaviour is beneath us - and worth remembering the next time we accuse someone else of being a bad friend.</li></ul>

Frenemies - Day 73

<ul><li>Philosophy isn't a parlor trick or made for show. It's concerned with facts that shapes and builds up the soul, gives order to life, guides action, shows what should and shouldn't be done - it sits at the rudder steering our course as we cruise through uncertainties. </li><li>The idea of idly discussing some issue - of believing or arguing two contradictory ideas - is an absurd waste of time, energy and belief. Philosophy is not a fun trick. It's for use - for life. </li></ul>

This Isn't For Fun; It's For Life - Day 8

<ul><li>Most teenagers put in half-hearted, lazy efforts which give them a ready-made excuse: "It doesn't matter. I wasn't even trying."</li><li>As we grow older, failure is not inconsequential anymore. What's at stake is not some grade or sports trophy, but the quality of your life and your ability to deal with the world around you.</li><li>Don't let that intimidate you, though. You have the best teachers in the world: the wisest philosophers who ever lived. And not only you are capable, but the professor is also asking for something very simple: just begin the work. The rest follows.</li></ul>

Reboot The Real Work - Day 164

<ul><li>Death is scary because it is such an unknown. No one can come back and tell us what it is like. We are in the dark about it.</li><li>There is a helpful consideration about death from the Stoics. If death is truly the end, then what is there exactly to fear? For everything from your fears to your pain receptors to your worries and your remaining wishes, they will perish with you. As frightening as death might seem, remember: it contains within it the end of fear. </li></ul>

Fear The Fear Of Death - Day 136

<ul><li>Why did I do that? You've probably asked yourself. We all have. How could I have been so stupid? What was I thinking?</li><li>You weren't. That's the problem. Within that head of yours is all the reason and intelligence you need. It's making sure that it's deferred to and utilized that's the tough part. It's making sure that your mind is in charge, not your emotions, not your immediate physical sensations, not your surging hormones.</li><li>Fix your attention on your intelligence. Let it do its thing.</li></ul>

Think Before You Act - Day 192

<ul><li>Seneca tells us that we should each have our own Cato - a great and noble person we can allow into our minds and use to guide our actions. It doesn't have to be an actual person, just someone who, like Seneca said, can stand witness to our behavior. Someone who can quietly admonish us if we are considering doing something lazy, dishonest, or selfish.</li><li>And if we do it right, and live our lives in such a way, perhaps we can serve as someone else's Cato when they need it.</li></ul>

Find Yourself A Cato - Day 215

<ul><li>It can be beneficial to reflect on what you used to accept as normal! Consider your first paycheck - how big it seemed then. Today, as you've become more successful, these conditions would hardly feel sufficient. In fact, you want even more than what you have now. Yet a few years ago those small you had, they felt great. </li><li>Remember today that you'd be okay if things suddenly went wrong. Your actual needs are small. There is very little that could happen that can truly threaten your survival. Think about that - and adjust your worries and fears accordingly. </li></ul>

Your Actual Needs Are Small - Day 54

<ul><li>The single most important practice in Stoic philosophy is differentiation between what we can change and what we can't. What we have influence over and what we do not. </li><li>There's something called Serenity prayer: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." </li><li>If we can focus on making clear what parts of our day are within our control and what parts are not, we will not only be happier, we will have a distinct advantage over other people who fail to realize they are fighting an unwinnable battle. </li></ul>

Control And Choice - Day 148

<ul><li>Marcus Aurelius constantly points out how the emperors who came before him were barely remembered just a few years later.</li><li>The same goes for those driven to the heights of hate or anger or obsession or perfection. Alexander the great - one of the most ambitious and passionate men - was buried in the same ground as his mule driver. Eventually, all of us will pass away and slowly be forgotten. We should enjoy this brief time we have on earth - not be enslaved to emotions that make us miserable and dissatisfied.</li></ul>

The Smoke And Dust Of Myth - Day 202

<ul><li>Seneca was a Stoic. He had many material things, yet, as the Stoics say, he was also indifferent to them. He enjoyed them while they were there, but he accepted that they might someday disappear. What better attitude than desperately craving more or fearfully dreading losing even one penny. Indifference is a solid middle ground.</li><li>It's not about avoidance or shunning, but rather not giving any possible outcome more power or preference than is appropriate. This is not easy to do, certainly, but if you could manage, how much more relaxed would you be?</li></ul>

Cultivating Indifference Where Others Grow Passion - Day 204

<ul><li>The leader convinced that he might be betrayed acts first and betrays others first. Afraid that he's not well-liked he works hard that it has the opposite effect. Convinced of mismanagement, he micromanages and becomes the Source of mismanagement. The things we dread or fear, we blindly inflict on ourselves.</li><li>The next time you're afraid of some outcome, remember that if you don't control your impulses if you lose your self-control, you may be the very source of the disaster you so fear. It has happened to smarter and more powerful and more successful people. It can happen to us too</li></ul>

Fear Is A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy - Day 185

<ul><li>At a Roman triumph, everyone would keep praising the victorious general. Only a few would notice the aide whispering into his ear, "Remember, thou art mortal." What a reminder at the peak of glory. </li><li>In our lives we can train to be that whisper. When there is something or someone we love, whisper that it is fragile and mortal. No matter how strong something feels, it never is. We must remind ourselves that it can break, die and leave us. </li><li>Loss is one of our deepest fears. Ignorance and pretending don't make things any better. They just mean the loss will be all the more jarring when it occurs. </li></ul>

Train To Let Go Of What's Not Yours - Day 110

<ul><li>Have you had a bad couple of weeks? Have you been drifting away from the principles and beliefs that you hold dear? It's perfectly fine. It happens to all of us.</li><li>But the reminder here is that no matter what happens, no matter how disappointing our behavior has been in the past, the principles themselves remain inchangés. We can return and embrace them at any moment. What happened yesterday - what happened five minutes ago - is the past. We can reignite and restart whenever we like.</li><li>Why not do it right now?</li></ul>

Reignite Your Thoughts - Day 167

<ul><li>Seneca observes how often powerful people are slaves to their money, positions, mistress, etc. We see this slavery all the time - a codependent person who can't help but clean up after a dysfunctional friend, a boss who micromanages employees and sweats every penny. The countless causes, events, and get-togethers we're too busy to attend but agree to anyway.</li><li>Take an inventory of your obligations from time to time. How many of these are self-imposed? How many of them are truly necessary? Are you as free as you think?</li></ul>

Awareness Is Freedom - Day 209

I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune. You have passed through life without an opponent - no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you. - Seneca<ul><li>There's a benefit for so-called misfortune. Having experienced and survived it, we walk away with a better understanding of our own capacity and inner strength. </li><li>So today if things look like they might take a bad turn, why worry? This might be one of those formative experiences you will be grateful for later. </li></ul>

How Can You Know Whether You've Never Been Tested - Day 29

<ul><li>Consciously consider whom you allow into your life - like someone who is trying to cultivate the best life possible. Ask yourself about the people you meet and spend time with: Are they making me better? Do they encourage me to push forward or do they drag me down to their level? Now, with this in mind, ask the question: Should I spend more or less time with these folks?</li></ul>"Tell me with whom you consort and I will tell you who you are." - Goethe"If I know how you spend your time, then I know what might become of you." - Goethe

Find The Right Scene - Day 214

<ul><li>Self-deception and ego are the sworn enemy of our ability to learn and grow. We will be unable to improve, to learn, to earn the respect of others if we think we're already perfect, a genius admired far and wide.</li><li>In this sense, ego and self-deception are the enemies of the things we wish to have because we delude ourselves into believing that we already possess them.</li><li>So we must meet ego with the hostility and contempt that it insidiously deploys against us - to keep it away, if only for twenty-four hours at a time.</li></ul>

Self Deception Is Our Enemy - Day 219

"By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop." - Robert Greene<ul><li>Having an end in mind is no guarantee that you'll reach it - but not having an end in mind is a guarantee you won't.</li><li>How will you know what do to in a day, where to say yes/no, when you've had enough of something, when you've gotten off track, if you've never defined what those things are?</li><li>The answer is that you cannot. And so you are driven into failure - or worse, into madness by the oblivion of directionlessness.</li></ul>

Clarify Your Intentions - Day 152

If you start something and right away feel yourself getting lazy and irritated, first ask yourself: Why am I doing this? If it really is a necessity, ask yourself: Whats behind my reluctance? Fear? Spite? Fatigue?Don't forge ahead hoping that someone will relieve you or someone will explain you why what you're doing matters. Don't be the person who says yes with their mouth but no with their actions. Quality is much better than quantity.

When You Feel Lazy - Day 24

"The person who does wrong, does wrong to themselves - making themselves evil" - Marcus Aurelius <ul><li>The next time you do something wrong, try to remember how it made you feel. Rarely does one say, "I felt great!"</li><li>We feel a version of sickness when we lie, when we cheat and when we screw someone over. In that split second before your ill-gotten gains kick in, ask: How do I feel about myself? </li><li>Self-awareness and wrongdoing rarely go together. If you need a selfish reason to not do wrong - put yourself in touch with these feelings. They're a powerful disincentive. </li></ul>

A Selfish Reason To Be Good - Day 62

<ul><li>Many successful people have a morning ritual. For some, it's meditation. For others, it's exercise. For many, it's journaling - just a few pages where they write down their thoughts, fears, hopes. In these cases, the point is not so much the activity itself as it is the ritualized reflection. The idea is to take some time to look inward and examine.</li><li>Every day starting today, ask yourself some tough questions. Let philosophy and hard work guide you to better answers, one morning at a time, over the course of a life.</li></ul>

A Morning Ritual - Day 168

<ul><li>The stoics saw sports as both a fun pastime as well as a training ground to practice for the challenges one will inevitably face in the course of living. </li><li>Everyone has found themselves outmatched by an opponent, frustrated by some skill that we don't - height, speed, vision, whatever. How we choose to respond says a lot about who we are.</li><li>Do we see it as a chance to learn and get stronger? Do we get frustrated and complain? Or worse, do we call it off and find an easier game to play, one that makes us feel good instead of challenged? </li></ul>

No Pain, No Gain - Day 47

"You can bind up my leg, but not even Zeus has the power to break my freedom of choice." - Epictetus
<ul>
<li>Great men like Epictetus, Stockdale, McCain etc., where put under chains.</li>
<li>None of these men broke. No one could make them sacrifice their principles. That's the thing - someone can throw you in chains, but they don't have the power to change who you are. Even under the worst torture and cruelties that humans can inflict on one another, our power over our own mind and our power to make our own decisions can't be broken - only relinquished.</li>
</ul>

They Can Throw You In Chains, But... - Day 31

<ul><li>Philosophy is not some pursuit only for academics or the rich. It is for everyone to help us solve problems of life, not only theoretically but practically. </li><li>You're not reading these quotes for fun. Though they may be enjoyable, their aim is to help you sculpt and improve your life. And because we have but one life and one death, we should treat each experience like a sculptor with his chisels, carving until we set free the angel in the marble. </li><li>We are trying to do this difficulty thing - living and dying. And to do that, we must remember what we've learned and the wise words we've been given. </li></ul>

The Philosopher As An Artisan Of Life And Death - Day 119

<ul><li>Today, see if u can go without blaming a single person or thing. Someone messed up your instructions - it's on you for expecting anything different. Your stock portfolio takes a big loss - what did you expect making such a big bet? </li><li>Whatever it is, however bad it may be, see whether you can make it a whole day laying it all in your reasoned choice. </li><li>Start where u need to. Even 1 minute without playing the blame game is progress in the art of living. </li></ul>

Take Responsibility For Your Choices - Day 11

"We are like pellets of incense falling on the altar. Some collapse sooner, others later, but it makes no difference."-Marcus Aurelius <ul><li>Measuring ourselves against others makes acceptance difficult, because we want what they have, not what we happen to have. But that makes no difference. </li><li>Some might see this line from Marcus as pessimistic, whereas others see it as optimistic. It's really just truth. We're all here and we're all going to leave this earth eventually, so let's not concern ourselves with petty differences in the meantime. We have too much to do. </li></ul>

The Altar Of No Difference - Day 112

<ul><li>Rubin Carter, the boxér was wrongly convicted of homicide and spent nearly 20 years in prison. He would say, "I don't acknowledge the existence of the prison. It doesn't exist for me." Of course the prison existed, and he was inside it. But he refused to let his mind be contained by it. </li><li>That's the power that you have too, in the midst of any and every kind of adversity, it is there. No matter what's happening to your body, no matter what the outside world inflicts on you, your mind can remain philosophical. It's still yours. It's untouchable - and in a way, then, so are you. </li></ul>

You Can't Touch Me - Day 55

<ul><li>We have an irrational fear of acknowledging our own mortality. We avoid thinking about it because we think it will be depressing. In fact, reflecting on mortality often has the opposite effect - invigorating us more than saddening us. Why? Because it gives us clarity. </li><li>If you had only a week to live, what changes would you make? If you died but were resuscitated, how different would your perspective be? </li><li>There's no risk of getting caught up in petty matters or distractions. Instead of denying our fear of death, let's let it make us the best people we can be. Today! </li></ul>

The Cards We're Dealt - Day 123

<ul><li>We're going to get caught off guard from time to time. Not just by a terrorist attack or a financial panic - but also minor, unexpected occurrences. Your car battery dies, you don't feel well suddenly. These situations may throw us into confusion and disarray. </li><li>That's perfectly OK! It happens. A line of infantry men will face withering attacks. Musicians will experience technical difficulties. It just matters that they get into position as fast as possible. </li><li>The same is true for you today. The order and peace might be interrupted by a new scenario. Get a hold of yourself and find your way back. </li></ul>

Maintain Composure, Maintain Control - Day 46

<ul><li>Let's say someone has treated you rudely. It's natural to think: Oh that's how the world works, or One day it will be my turn to be like that. </li><li>But the proper response - indeed the best revenge - is to exact no revenge at all. If you meet other people's dishonesty with dishonesty of your own, guess what? You're proving them right - now everyone is a liar. </li><li>Instead, today, let's seek to be better than the things that disappoint or hurt us. It's awful to cheat, to be selfish, to feel the need to inflict pain on our fellow beings. Meanwhile, living morally and well is quite nice. </li></ul>

Revenge Is A Dish Best Not Served - Day 68

<ul><li>It's something to think about when you consider whom to work with and whom to do business with in life. If you provide a bad example or something illegal or unethical advice to your employees, associates, or your children, might they betray you or hurt you down the road? What goes around comes around, is the saying. Karma is a notion we have imported from the East, along similar lines. </li><li>Seneca paid a price for his instructions to Nero. As has been throughout the ages, his hypocrisy - avoidable or not - was costly. So too will be yours. </li></ul>

We Reap What We Sow - Day 82

"If the breaking day sees someone proud, the ending day sees them brought low. No one should put too much trust in triumph, No one should give up hope of trails improving. God mixes one with the other and stops fortune from resting, spinning every fate around. No one has has so much divine favor that they could guarantee themselves tomorrow. God keeps our lives hurtling on, spinning in a whirlwind"-Seneca<ul><li>No amount of prosperity, no amount of difficulty, is certain or forever. A triumph becomes a trial, a trail becomes a triumph. Life can change in an instant. Remember, how often it does today.</li></ul>

Someone Else Is Spinning The Thread - Day 92

<ul><li>The amount of matter in the universe is immense - on the order of trillions of atoms. What percentage of that matter does one human body constitute? Of the earth's 4.6 billion years of age, our time on earth? Several decades, maybe? </li><li>Sometimes we need to have the facts and figures spelled out in front of us to fully realize the scale at which humans happens to exist in the big scheme of things. </li><li>Consider this the next time you feel self-important, or like everything rise and falls on what you do next. You're just one person among many, doing your best among many. That's all you need to do. </li></ul>

Human Scale - Day 135

<ul><li>Epictetus shows us the themes of tolerance and acceptance. Cleanthes and Euripides evoke destiny and fate as concepts that help ease acceptance. When one has a belief in a greater power, then there is no such thing as an event going contrary to plan. </li><li>What happens to us can seem random or upsetting, when in fact these events make perfect sense when our perspective is zoomed out, even just slightly. </li><li>Let's practice this today. Pretend that each event - whether desired or unexpected - was willed to happen, willed specifically for you. You wouldn't fight that much would you? </li></ul>

Maxims From Three Wise Men - Day 105

<ul><li>At the beginning or end of each day, the Stoic sits down with his journal and reviews: what he did what he thought, what could be improved.</li><li>Keep your own journal, whether it's saved on a computer or in a little book. Be unflinching in your assessments. Notice what contributed to your happiness and what detracted from it. Write down what you'd like to work on or quotes that you like.</li><li>By making the effort to record such thoughts, you're less likely to forget them. An added bonus: you'll have a running tally to track your progress too.</li></ul>

The Day In Review - Day 169

<ul><li>What we consider to be harmless indulgences can easily become full-blown addictions. The little compulsions and drives we have not only chip away at our freedom and sovereignty, they cloud our clarity. We think we're in control - but are we really? As one addict put it, addiction is when we've "lost the freedom to abstain." Let us reclaim that freedom.</li><li>What that addiction is for you can vary: Soda? Drugs? Complaining? Gossip? Internet? Pornography? Biting your nails? But you must reclaim the ability to abstain because within it is your clarity and self-control.</li></ul>

Seeing Our Addictions - Day 155

<ul><li>One of the hardest things in life is to say "No." To invitations, entertainment and obligations. Even harder is saying no to certain time-consuming emotions: anger, excitement, obsession, lust. These don't feel like a big deal, but they become commitment like anything else. </li><li>Saying no may hurt some feelings. It may turn people off. It may take some hard work. But the more you say no to the things that don't matter, the more you can say yes to the things that do. This will let you live and enjoy your life - the life that you want. </li></ul>

Be Ruthless To The Things That Don't Matter - Day 150

<ul><li>The next time someone gets upset near you - crying, yelling, or breaking something, watch how quickly this statement will stop them cold: "I hope this is making you feel better." Because of course, it isn't.</li><li>It's worth applying that standard to yourself. The next time you find yourself in the middle of a freakout, moaning and groaning with flu-like symptoms, or crying tears of regret, just ask: Is this actually making me feel better? Is this actually relieving any of the symptoms I wish were gone?</li></ul>

Did That Make You Feel Better? - Day 186

"Better to trip with the feet than with the tongue." - Zeno<ul><li>You can always get up after you fall, but remember, what has been said can never be unsaid. Especially cruel and hurtful things. </li><li>So it's always better to think twice before you say something which makes you regret a lifetime. Cruel words are like double-edged swords. It's going to hurt both sides. Choose wisely. </li></ul>

Words Can't Be Unsaid - Day 60

<ul><li>The purpose of all our reading and studying is to aid us in the pursuit of the good life. At some point, we must put our books aside and take action. So that, as Seneca put it, the "words become works." There is an old saying that a "scholar made is a soldier spoiled." We want to be both scholars and soldiers - soldiers in the good fight. </li><li>That's what's next for you. Move forward, move onward. Another book isn't the answer. The right choices and decisions are. Who knows how much time you have left, or what awaits us tomorrow? </li></ul>

Get Active In Your Own Rescue - Day 147

<ul><li>When someone has a strong opinion about something, it usually says more about them than whatever or whomever the opinion happens to be. This is especially true when it comes to resentment and hatred of other people. </li><li>A Stoic does two things. They ask: Is this opinion inside my control? If there is a chance for influence or change, they take it. But if there isn't, they accept this person as they are (and never hate a hater). </li><li>Our job is tough enough already. We don't have time to think about what other people are thinking, even if it's about us. </li></ul>

Dealing With Haters - Day 42

<ul><li>Seneca, who was one of the richest men in Rome, knew firsthand that money only marginally changes life. It doesn't solve the problems that people without it seem to think it will. In fact, no material possession will. External things can't fix internal issues.</li><li>We constantly forget this - and it causes us so much confusion and pain. Hemingway would write, "He thought (the rich) were a special glamorous race and when he found they weren't it wrecked him as much as any other thing that wrecked him." Without a change, the same will be true for us.</li></ul>

The Truth About Money - Day 170

<ul><li>"Hard winter training" is the notion that there is no such thing as part-time soldering (or part time anything for that matter). In order to achieve victory, one must dedicate every second into preparation and training. </li><li>The same is true for us. We can't do this life half heartedly. There's no time off. There aren't even weekends. We are always preparing for what life might throw at us - and when it does, we're ready and don't stop until we've handled it. </li></ul>

First, A Hard Winter Training - Day 28

<ul><li>Alexandria, the city in Egypt, still bears the name of its founder, Alexander the Great. How cool it would feel to have a city named after you? </li><li>Here's a thought: it wouldn't be cool. Because like Alexander, you'll be dead. You'll have no idea whether your name lasted down through centuries. </li><li>Instead of wasting even a second considering opinions of future people - focus every bit of yourself on being the best person you can be in the present moment. On doing the right thing, right now. The distant future is irrelevant. Be good and noble and impressive now - while it still matters. </li></ul>

Heroes Here And Now - Day 76

"I'll never be ashamed to quote a bad writer with good saying." - Seneca<ul><li>Seneca was looking for wisdom, period. It didn't matter where it came from. This is something a lot of people seem to miss. Who cares whether some bit of wisdom is from a stoic, epicurean or anyone? What matters is whether it makes your life better. </li><li>What wisdom or help would you be able to find today if you stopped caring about affiliations and reputations? How much more could you see if you just focused on merit? </li></ul>

Learn From All Sources - Day 18

<ul><li>Turn your mind away from the things that provoke it. If you find discussing politics at home leads to fighting or your siblings choices bother you, why don't you stop making these choices your concern? </li><li>It's not a sign of weakness to shut them out. Instead, it's a sign of strong will. Try saying, "I know the reaction I typically take in these situations, and I'm not going to do it this time." and then follow it with: "I'm also going to remove this stimulus from my life in the future as well."</li><li>Because what follows is peace and serenity. </li></ul>

The Pleasure Of Tuning Out The Negative - Day 113

<ul><li>"Who then is invincible? The one who cannot be upset by anything outside their reasoned choice." - Epictetus</li><li>Have you watched a seasoned pro handle the media? They parry every blow with humor, poise, and patience. They always choose not to flinch or react.</li><li>Our reasoned choice - Our prohairesis, as the Stoics called it - is a kind of invincibility that we can cultivate. We can shrug off hostile attacks and breeze through pressure or problems. And, like our pro, when we finish, we can point back to the crowd and say, "Next!</li></ul>

On Being Invincible - Day 182

<ul><li>In all circumstances - adversity or advantage - we really have just one thing we need to do: focus on what is in our control as opposed to what is not. Right now we may be facing struggles but in just a few days we might do well that success is actually a burden.</li><li>Ultimately, this is clarity. Whoever we are, wherever we are - what matters is our choice. What are they? How will we evaluate them? How will we make the most of them? Those are the questions life asks us, regardless of our station. How will you answer?</li></ul>

Wherever You Go There Your Choice Is - Day 166

<ul><li>A Zen master who had a beautiful cup would repeat to himself, "The glass is already broken." He enjoyed the cup and used it, but in his mind it was already broken. And so one day when it actually did break, he said, "Of course."</li><li>Devastation - that feeling of shock - is a factor of how unlikely we considered the event. No one is wrecked by the fact that it's snowing in the winter, because we've accepted (and even anticipated) this turn of events. What about the occurrences that surprise us? We might not be so shocked if we took the time to consider their possibility. </li></ul>

The Glass Is Already Broken - Day 108

<ul><li>Most of society seems to have taken it as a commandment that one must know about every single current event, watch every episode of a critically acclaimed series, follow the news regularly, etc.</li><li>But where is the evidence that this is actually necessary? How much more time, energy, and pure brainpower would you have available if you drastically cut your media consumption? How much more rested and present would you feel if you were no longer excited and outraged by every breaking story of and potential crisis (many of which never come to pass anyway)?</li></ul>

You Don't Have To Stay On Top Of Everything - Day 177

<ul><li>The notion of original sin has weighed down humankind for centuries. In reality, we're made to be good to each other.</li><li>You were born good. All of us have been made by nature, so that we can live free from error and nobly - not that one can and another can't, but all. You were born with an attraction to virtue & self-mastery. If you've gotten far from that, it's not out of some inborn corruption but from a nurturing of the wrong things and ideas. As Seneca has pointed out, philosophy is a tool to strip it all away - to get back to our true nature.</li></ul>

You Were Born Good - Day 86

<ul><li>Try to remember that anger is not impressive or tough - it's a mistake. It's a weakness. Depending on what you're doing, it might even be a trap that someone laid for you.</li><li>Fans and opponents call boxer Joe Louis the "Ring Robot" because he was utterly unemotional - his cold, calm demeanor was far more terrifying than any crazed look or emotional outburst would have been.</li><li>Strength is the ability to maintain a hold of oneself. It's being the person who never gets mad, who cannot be rattled because they are in control of their passions - rather than controlled by their passions.</li></ul>

For The Hot-Headed Man - Day 179

<ul><li>People tend to get ahead of themselves, thinking they've got it all figured out and are better than those that don't. It becomes so unpleasant when someone has to drop some knowledge on them. </li><li>But this is entirely avoidable. If the bubble is never inflated, it won't need to be popped. Overconfidence is a great weakness. But if you are already humble, no one will need to humble you - and the world is much less likely to have nasty surprises in store for you. If you stay down to earth, no one will need to bring you - often times crushingly so - back down. </li></ul>

Be Down To Earth, Or Be Brought Down - Day 37

<ul><li>I'll be happy when I graduate when I get this promotion when I do this or that. Psychologists call this conditional happiness. Like the horizon, you can walk for miles but you'll never reach it.</li><li>Eagerly anticipating some future event, passionately imagining something you desire, looking forward to some happy scenario - as pleasurable as these activities might seem, they ruin your chance at happiness here and now. Locate the yearning for more, better, someday and see it for what it is: the enemy of your contentment. Choose it or your happiness, because these two are not compatible.</li></ul>

The Enemy Of Happiness - Day 195

<ul><li>You have two essential tasks in life: to be a good person and to pursue the occupation that you love. Everything else is a waste of energy. </li><li>How does one do that? Stoics makes it simple enough: say no to distractions, to destructive emotions, to outside pressure. Ask yourself: What is it that only I can do? Try to do the right thing when situation calls for it. Treat other people the way you would hope to be treated. And understand that every small choice and tiny matter is an opportunity to practice these principles.</li><li>That's it. That's what goes into the most important skill of all: how to live </li></ul>

Two Tasks - Day 80

Robert Caro has written that "power doesn't corrupt, it reveals." In some ways, prosperity - financial and personal - is the same way. <ul><li>If your mind has developed a certain cast - the habit of panicking, then it won't matter how good things get for you. You're still primed for panic. Your mind will still finds things to worry about, and you'll still be miserable. </li><li>That's why it's foolish to hope for a good fortune. If you were to hope for one thing, you could hope for the strength of character that's able to thrive in good fortune. Or better, work for that kind of character and confidence. </li></ul>

What Will Prosperity Reveal - Day 52

<ul><li>Anxiety surfaces when we're wanting something outside our control. Getting worked up, getting excited, nervously pacing - these intense, pained, and anxious moments show us at our most futile and servile. Staring at the clock, at the sky - it's as if we all belong to a religious cult that believes the gods of fate will only give us what we want if we sacrifice our peace of mind.</li><li>Today, when you find yourself getting anxious, ask yourself: Why are my insides twisted into knots? Am I in control here or is my anxiety? And most important: Is my anxiety doing me any good?</li></ul>

The Source Of Your Anxiety - Day 181

From the team that brought you The Obstacle Is the Way and Ego Is the Enemy, a beautiful daily devotional of Stoic meditations—an instant Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestseller. Why have history's greatest minds—from George Washington to Frederick the Great to Ralph Waldo Emerson, along with today's top performers from Super Bowl-winning football coaches to CEOs and celebrities—embraced the wisdom of the ancient Stoics? Because they realize that the most valuable wisdom is timeless and that philosophy is for living a better life, not a classroom exercise. The Daily Stoic offers 366 days of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright Seneca, or slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, as well as lesser-known luminaries like Zeno, Cleanthes, and Musonius Rufus. Every day of the year you'll find one of their pithy, powerful quotations, as well as historical anecdotes, provocative commentary, and a helpful glossary of Greek terms. By following these teachings over the course of a year (and, indeed, for years to come) you'll find the serenity, self-knowledge, and resilience you need to live well.

The Daily Stoic

<ul><li>Marcus Aurelius throughout his struggles - the years at war, the crippling illness, his troubled son - he never gave up. It's an inspiring example for us to think about today if we get tired, frustrated, or have to deal with some crisis. Here was a guy who has every reason to be angry, who could have abandoned his principles and lived in luxury, put his responsibilities aside and focused on his own health. </li><li>But he never did. His soul stayed strong even after his body became weak. He didn't give up, right up to the second until his body finally did. Let's practice this in our lives. </li></ul>

Don't Let Your Soul Go First - Day 143