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Daily Stoic April Review — Unbiased Thought
- Alex Chen
- May 10
- 13 min read
The Daily Stoic is a book with 366 quotes from Stoic philosophers on how to live a good life. I had previously read this a couple years ago and benefited a lot from it, and I've decided to read it again this year. Every day, I read the quote, the explanation, and then journal my thoughts and reflections. At the end of each month, I review my reflections and summarize the month.
April's theme is unbiased thought, and this article will summarize my April reflections:
The importance of our thoughts
Cultivating our thoughts
Adjusting expectations
Cultivating virtues
1: The importance of our thoughts
April 1:
"Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought, for the human spirit is colored by such impressions."
—Marcus Aurelius
A lot of people spend most of their time and energy trying to earn more money, to gain a better reputation, to buy more things, or to have better experiences. But what is the most important thing that we should improve in our lives?
Ancient philosophers like Marcus Aurelius would tell us it's our mind, our thoughts, or our attitude. After all, it is our thoughts that determine how we feel, not what happens to us. It is our thoughts that determine our actions and reactions, which then determines our life. More importantly, our thoughts are in our control! We can consciously choose and train the color of our thoughts. In fact, it's absolutely necessary if we want a good life.
April 17:
"If being upset or hurt is something you'd like to experience less often, then make sure your interpretations of others' words make that possible."
—Ryan Holiday
April 18:
"What is bad luck? Opinion. What are conflict, dispute, blame, accusation, irreverence, and frivolity? They are all opinions, and more than that, they are opinions that lie outside of our own reasoned choice, presented as if they were good or evil. Let a person shift their opinions only to what belongs in the field of their own choice, and I guarantee that person will have peace of mind, whatever is happening around them."
—Epictetus
A lot of us think, "If only that person would change…if only my situation would change…then I would be happy." But external people and situations are not the root of our happiness or unhappiness. Our thoughts are. Moreover, externals are not in our control, while our thoughts are. Thus we see the importance of our thoughts: it's our thoughts that determine our happiness and peace of mind, not outside people or situations.
My Practice:
In my daily reflection journal, I will record things that upset me, and I will try to reframe the situation positively or imagine ancient philosophers advising me. This helps me to change my perspective and thoughts towards what I initially felt was a purely negative event.
2: Cultivating our thoughts
April 30:
"Just as what is considered rational or irrational differs for each person, in the same way what is good or evil and useful or useless differs for each person. This is why we need education, so that we might learn how to adjust our preconceived notions of the rational and irrational in harmony with nature. In sorting this out, we don't simply rely on our estimate of the value of external things, but also apply the rule of what is in keeping with one's character."
—Epictetus
The purpose of learning philosophy and moral education is to teach people correct standards for right versus wrong, good versus bad, appropriate versus inappropriate, and beneficial versus harmful. When we have a correct moral compass, we will naturally live in harmony with the world. People who haven't learned such things might think they should be common sense, but actually, it's often more complicated than we think.
If we still have conflict with others or get bad results when we try to do something that we think is good or right, then we probably need to spend more time and effort in moral learning. Moreover, it's best to read ancient teachings that have been time-tested for thousands of years as compared to modern ideas that haven't passed the test of time.
For example, a modern idea is that the purpose of life is self-enjoyment. But there's no record of ancient philosophers saying that. Why? Probably because if someone said that, and then later people followed that advice, they realized it led to problems, so they wouldn't pass on that bad teaching to future generations. It's no coincidence that all the ancient philosophers agree that the purpose of life is to serve and help others.
Thus, establishing a correct moral compass is the first step to cultivating our thoughts. Once we have correct standards, we can then compare our thoughts to the standards and correct them.
To give some examples, Stoicism teaches us:
Focus on what's in our control.
Be strict with yourself and tolerant towards others.
The purpose of life is to cultivate our moral character and serve the common good.
Wherever there is another person, there is an opportunity for kindness.
The obstacle is the way.
Amor Fati: Love everything that happens because anything can be good and useful.
Memento Mori: Life could end at any time. Cherish time and don't waste life.
These are all effective and proper standards for our moral compass.
April 21:
"Is it possible to be free from error? Not by any means, but it is possible to be a person always stretching to avoid error. For we must be content to at least escape a few mistakes by never letting our attention slide."
—Epictetus
April 22:
"These are the characteristics of the rational soul: self-awareness, self-examination, and self-determination. It reaps its own harvest… It succeeds in its own purpose…"
—Marcus Aurelius
Philosophers are rational people. Rational people do things that are beneficial and worthwhile. What obstructs rationality? Excessive emotion. We all get emotionally triggered by certain things, whether it's certain people, events, or things.
Thus, philosophical training is training our attention and self-awareness to be aware of our thoughts, mental state, and emotional state. The faster we can become aware of bad thoughts and correct them, the better our cultivation. This is cultivating from the root.
If we want to have self-awareness, then we need to constantly do self-examination, that is examining if our thoughts are correct or proper. This constant self-examination can be quite tiring and unnatural at first, so we also need to have self-determination to build this ability or habit.
My Practice:
I've been learning philosophy for many years now, and I feel that I have slowly built up a moral compass that reaps good results. As with learning anything major, it requires time and determination, but the harvest is worth it.
To improve my awareness of the virtues I want to cultivate, I inspect myself on those things every night in my daily reflection journal. I also meditate every day to help keep my mind rational and calm.
3: Adjusting Expectations
Aside from the methods mentioned earlier, adjusting expectations is another method for cultivating our thoughts. There were many quotes about this in April, so I created its own section here.
Surprise magnifies emotions. But if we saw it coming, it's much easier to remain calm and rational. Thus, the Stoics have many ways to adjust expectations to be more realistic. The point isn't to put us in a bad mood. Rather, it's to put ourselves in a state of vigilance to remain calm in the face of challenges.
April 6:
"When you first rise in the morning, tell yourself: I will encounter busybodies, ingrates, egomaniacs, liars, the jealous, and cranks. They are all stricken with these afflictions because they don't know the difference between good and evil. Because I have understood the beauty of good and the ugliness of evil, I know that these wrong-doers are still akin to me…and that none of them can do me harm, or implicate me in ugliness—nor can I be angry at my relatives or hate them. For we are made for cooperation."
—Marcus Aurelius
The fact is, school nowadays doesn't teach people how to cultivate their thoughts, virtues, character, and relationships. Instead, school just focuses on grades. Given that most people didn't really learn about moral cultivation, it's only expected that we would encounter people who have vices and bad habits. Even those of us who have learned should know how difficult it is to change bad habits. Thus, we should be more tolerant and understanding towards everyone.
As philosophers and self-cultivators, we recognize that others cannot implicate me in their vice. Just because others do bad things doesn't mean they can make me do bad things. Just because others have negative emotions doesn't mean I will get influenced. Just because others have conflict with me doesn't mean I can't have harmony with them. With awareness and training, we become masters of ourselves, and we'll be able to cooperate with all people, virtuous or not. That is attainment, and it is our true nature.
April 15:
"Nothing will ever befall me that I will receive with gloom or a bad disposition. I will pay my taxes gladly. Now, all the things which cause complaint or dread are like the taxes of life—things from which, my dear Lucillius, you should never hope for exemption or seek escape."
—Seneca
"Waiting around is a tax on traveling. Rumors and gossip are the taxes that come from acquiring a public persona. Disagreements and occasional frustration are taxes placed on even the happiest of relationships. Theft is a tax on abundance and having things that other people want. Stress and problems are tariffs that come attached to success. And on and on and on."
—Ryan Holiday
I think the analogy of tax is a great one. From one perspective, tax is just a matter of life. Nobody gets upset that they have to pay tax when they buy stuff. It's extremely normal and common.
From another perspective, we should be grateful for taxes and pay them gladly as Seneca says. Why? Firstly, the reason you pay tax is because you have the money to buy the thing in the first place. You aren't super poor. Secondly, tax money is used to serve the people. We should feel thankful for the services that tax provides.
This mindset can be extended to other taxes of life. When we have to wait in line, we can be grateful that it's so easy to buy groceries at the store, that we can get fresh produce from all over the world at a local supermarket. Wow. Waiting in line is just a minor inconvenience or tax in exchange for a great luxury. Traffic may not be ideal, but wow, we have cars and highways that allow us to travel far distances so fast. And we have a job. And we have the freedom to go to the office unlike during the pandemic. And we can use our commute time to listen to podcasts. And on and on.
April 26: Things Happen in Training
"When your sparring partner scratches or headbutts you, you don't then make a show of it, or protest, or view him with suspicion or as plotting against you. And yet you keep an eye on him, not as an enemy or with suspicion, but with a healthy avoidance. You should act this way with all things in life. We should give a pass to many things with our fellow trainees. For, as I've said, it's possible to avoid without suspicion or hate."
—Marcus Aurelius
Most people want life to follow their wishes. Subconsciously, they think the world revolves around them. This incorrect thinking leads to many unpleasant surprises, which then leads to upset.
Marcus Aurelius views life as a sparring partner who is here to help us train and elevate our virtues. We don't get upset if our sparring partner attacks us. We know it's part of the sport! Instead, we train our own skills to defend, dodge, and attack better. If we can have this kind of attitude, not only would we not get upset at challenges, we would improve from them and appreciate them.
My Practice:
In my practice, I really agree with what Epictetus said about how it's impossible to be free from error, and so our goal isn't perfection, it's to be a person striving for excellence. I still get upset and influenced by external people and situations, but I'm working on it, and I'm certainly better than before.
All the examples of adjusting expectations given here remind me of the Six Ways of Endurance, which I review every day. Being more tolerant towards others and viewing their vices as expected and normal is enduring through compassion and observation. Being grateful for the taxes of life is enduring through forgetting; by focusing on the big positives, we forget the small negatives. Being grateful for the sparring partner is enduring through joy; we are happy from the joy of improvement.
In the morning, I visualize the people, matters, and things that have upset me a lot in the past, and I thank them for showing me my deficiencies and helping me improve. In the evenings, I reflect on whether I got upset or impatient during the day and if I practiced any of the six methods. Over time, I don't get as annoyed by the things that annoyed me in the past, and I'm better able to respond in a calm and rational way.
4: Cultivating virtues
Another aspect of cultivating our thoughts is to cultivate virtues. We want to make virtuous thoughts more natural and habitual, and make non-virtuous thoughts unnatural and unfamiliar.
April 20:
"Here's a way to think about what the masses regard as being 'good' things. If you would first start by setting your mind upon things that are unquestionably good—wisdom, self-control, justice, courage—with this preconception you'll no longer be able to listen to the popular refrain that there are too many good things to experience in a lifetime."
—Marcus Aurelius
The Stoics taught that the truly valuable things in life are not external things, like material possessions, but rather our own internal virtues. The four cardinal virtues in Stoicism are wisdom, self-control (or temperance), justice, and courage.
Wisdom is knowing what's right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate, and beneficial and harmful. With wisdom, we will make effective choices, leading to good results and a good life.
Wisdom is the supporting foundation for the other three virtues. It's thanks to wisdom that
We know how to be just and what to be just about. (Justice)
We know what to be courageous about, what to persist in, and what to resist. (Courage)
What the right amount and degree of something should be. (Self-control and temperance)
Self-control is necessary for action. Knowing is just the first step. If we don't take action, nothing good will happen. However, the training process isn't easy, so self-control, discipline, and perseverance are key to attainment. Moreover, self-control involves the aspect of temperance, which is doing things to the appropriate degree. Excessiveness and deficiency are all problematic.
Justice, as defined by Marcus Aurelius, is "A commitment to justice in your own acts. Which means: thought and action resulting in the common good. What you were born to do.” Justice is about our interactions with people and how we handle matters. This is built on the foundation of our self-control and wisdom. Once we have corrected ourselves, we can naturally handle relationships and matters effectively.
Courage is required to do what's right even when it is difficult, and to continually grow and challenge ourselves.
April 4:
"Make sure you're not made 'Emperor,' avoid that imperial stain. It can happen to you, so keep yourself simple, good, pure, saintly, plain, a friend of justice, god-fearing, gracious, affectionate, and strong for your proper work. Fight to remain the person that philosophy wished to make you. Revere the gods, and look after each other. Life is short—the fruit of this life is a good character and acts for the common good."
—Marcus Aurelius
This is one of the most memorable quotes from the book for me. It tells us that the purpose of life is twofold: to cultivate a good character and to serve the common good. When we grow our moral character, we'll experience the joy of growth. When we serve the common good, we'll experience the joy of helping others.
Moreover, the order of the two is very important. We have to first cultivate ourselves before we can go serve others. Otherwise, we may end up causing more trouble than help to others. The two are also mutually supporting. We cultivate ourselves to have better relationships, and it is through relationships that we cultivate ourselves.
The other aspect of this quote is to guard against arrogance, which is one of the most harmful vices. When people are arrogant, they no longer respect others, they don't think they need to improve, and they wouldn't think about benefiting the common good.
April 25:
"If anyone can prove and show to me that I think and act in error, I will gladly change it—for I seek the truth, by which no one has ever been harmed. The one who is harmed is the one who abides in deceit and ignorance."
—Marcus Aurelius
"It would be embarrassing if we didn't end up finding out if we were wrong in the past."
—Ryan Holiday
This is another quote emphasizing humility. I really admire how Marcus Aurelius was so vigilant towards arrogance. After all, he was an emperor, so no one was higher in position than him, but he had the wisdom to know that arrogance would lead to his downfall, and that humility was essential. Only the humble will receive advice and support from others, which will then help them prevent major errors.
Humility is about valuing knowing the truth more than feeling good about ourselves. When hearing advice and criticism, humble people would listen respectfully and thank the adviser. Sure, it might hurt the ego a bit to know we're wrong, but we'll get over it, and we'll slowly learn to not care about being right all the time. We want to hear the opposing opinions because it will help us get a more accurate and well-rounded picture of the situation, which can then help us make better decisions, which then leads to a better life.
My Practice:
I have a list of virtues that I am working on, and I reflect on these every day in my reflection journal.
Wisdom: I read or listen to ancient philosophical teachings every day. I also write a blog article every week to solidify my learning. If I have to make big decisions, I will usually meditate to calm my mind first.
Self-control and temperance: My personality is naturally quite disciplined and self-motivated. I manage my time strictly, which the Stoics point out is our most important resource. Doing things to just the right degree is not an easy matter. I can be overly perfectionistic or demanding sometimes, which causes trouble for myself and others. I've noticed that if I want to achieve just the right degree, the key is that my mind is very clear and objective, and my emotions are peaceful.
Justice: I care a lot about fairness and appropriateness. I try to consider matters from multiple angles and multiple people's perspectives.
Courage: I try to challenge myself to be in the growth zone rather than staying in the comfort zone all the time. I give myself short-term goals where I focus on one matter of cultivation for a period of time to try to develop better habits one at a time.
Humility: This is one of my weaknesses. I need to improve on being more respectful and appreciative, especially when hearing criticism.
Conclusion
April was all about cultivating our thoughts to be unbiased, proper, and effective. We have to first recognize the importance of our thoughts, that our thoughts determine our actions and consequently our life. Then we would naturally be motivated to cultivate our thoughts.
As for the methods of cultivation, we need to educate ourselves on the standards of morality. Once we know these standards, we can then compare our thoughts to these standards. Therefore, we need to train our awareness of our thoughts, to constantly examine our thoughts, and to correct our thoughts as soon as we notice they are wrong.
The Stoics also gave us many analogies to adjust our expectations towards life, guiding us to be more tolerant, patient, understanding, and appreciative.
Finally, we should cultivate virtues such as wisdom, self-control, justice, courage, and humility. This is cultivating a good character, which we do for the purpose of serving the common good. Through relationships, we cultivate our virtues, and through virtues, we have happy relationships and a happy life.
Weekly Wisdom #393
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