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Daily Stoic May Review - Right Action
- Alex Chen
- 12 hours ago
- 16 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.
The theme for May is "right action", and this article will summarize my May reflections:
What makes a true philosopher
The work of a philosopher
Methods for habit change
Philosophical joy
Seize the present
1: What Makes A True Philosopher
A lot of people think of philosophy as a mental activity that involves a lot of thinking and pondering. While that's certainly a part of philosophy, it's not the full picture. What's the purpose of all that thinking and pondering?
May 1:
"The monk dresses in his robes. A priest puts on his collar. A banker wears an expensive suit and carries a briefcase. A Stoic has no uniform and resembles no stereotype. They are not identifiable by look or by sight or by sound. The only way to recognize them? By their character."
—Ryan Holiday
The purpose of learning philosophy is to improve our moral character, which will then result in having better relationships, which then results in happiness and benefit for ourselves and others. If someone "learns" philosophy but does not improve their virtues, relationships, or happiness, then they're learning it wrong.
May 10:
"Reflect then, that your ancestors set up those trophies, not that you may gaze at them in wonder, but that you may also imitate the virtues of the men who set them up."
—Seneca
When we learn from past philosophers and heroes, we don't just admire them for their great character and accomplishments. We try to emulate them. That is truly learning and practicing philosophy.
May 17:
"Show me someone sick and happy, in danger and happy, dying and happy, exiled and happy, disgraced and happy. Show me! By God, how much I'd like to see a Stoic. But since you can't show me someone that perfectly formed, at least show me someone actively forming themselves so, inclined in this way… Show me!"
—Epictetus
Philosophy is inner work. It is about cultivating our own mind and actions. It is not about trying to change the outside world or other people. If we blame our feelings on external factors outside our control, then we are not true Stoics.
Epictetus lamented that it's rare to find a true Stoic. After all, it's no easy feat, but we can all work towards this ideal, and in the process, we will reap the sweet fruits of such cultivation: happiness, freedom, tranquility, strength.
This also reminds me of a quote by Confucius in the Optimality Principle:
"Exemplary people act in accordance with their position and do not seek beyond. In a position of wealth and prestige, they act accordingly. In a position of poverty and low rank, they act accordingly. When among the barbarian tribes, they act accordingly. In a position of difficulty, they act accordingly. Exemplary people have no situation in which they enter and cannot be contented."
(Original text: 君子素其位而行，不愿乎其外。素富貴，行乎富貴；素貧賤，行乎貧賤；素夷狄，行乎夷狄；素患難，行乎患難：君子無入而不自得焉。)
My Practice
I have been doing daily self-reflection for many years now, and I do feel that my virtues, relationships, and happiness have improved as a result. I learn the teachings of ancient philosophers every day, and when I encounter matters in daily life, I will ask myself, "If Marcus Aurelius or Seneca were in my situation, how would they think? What would they do?" This is emulating the past Stoic sages.
While I still get influenced by external circumstances and other people, I am working on being more of a true Stoic, being happy and at ease regardless of external factors. I still have a long way to go, but at least I am actively working on it.
2: The Work Of A Philosopher
If character is what makes a philosopher, then how does one go about working on their character? This month had many quotes that give us directions on cultivation.
May 2:
"First tell yourself what kind of person you want to be, then do what you have to do."
—Epictetus
In other words, we should envision what kind of person we want to be, which virtues we want to embody, and then connect our daily actions to that goal. If we don't even have an end in mind, then there's no way we'll make progress.
I heard similar advice before: Imagine it's your funeral. What would you want people to say about you? Is what you're doing now aligned with that? Begin with the end in mind, then figure out the path to get there.
May 3:
"Those who receive the bare theories immediately want to spew them, as an upset stomach does its food. First digest your theories and you won't throw them up. Otherwise they will be raw, spoiled, and not nourishing. After you've digested them, show us the changes in your reasoned choices, just like the shoulders of gymnasts display their diet and training, and as the craft of artisans show in what they've learned."
—Epictetus
May 19:
"One of the hallmarks of the martial arts, military training, and athletic training of almost any kind is the hours upon hours of monotonous practice…Simply knowing isn't enough. It must be absorbed into the muscles and the body. It must become part of us. Or we risk losing it the second that we experience stress or difficulty."
—Ryan Holiday
How might someone learn philosophy incorrectly? They view it as merely knowledge to memorize, talk about, or measure others. They don't contemplate how these teachings apply to their own lives and how they should use these teachings. They haven't digested the teachings. If they have truly digested the teachings, then they would change their way of thinking and actions.
This quote reminds me of another quote by about learning by Confucius in the Optimality Principle:
"Learn deeply and broadly, inquire thoroughly, think carefully, discern clearly, and practice earnestly."
(Original text: 博學之 審問之 慎思之 明辨之 篤行之。)
But even knowing what's right often isn't enough to change our bad habits. For example, we might know it's wrong and unhelpful to be angry, lazy, indulgent, etc. But can we truly control ourselves in the moment? This is the mental training of philosophers, we ought to view it the same way as professional athletes view their sport or professional artists view their craft.
It reminds me of a Chinese idiom:
"Raise an army for a thousand days to use on one day."
(Original text: 養兵千日，用兵一時)
We train our mind every day, and through these accumulated small events, we slowly improve our mental cultivation. One day, when a major event happens, we can keep our calm and act rationally, thereby preventing disaster and instead creating fortune.
May 21:
"But what is philosophy? Doesn't it simply mean preparing ourselves for what may come? Don't you understand that really amounts to saying that if I would so prepare myself to endure, then let anything happen that will? Otherwise, it would be like the boxer exiting the ring because he took some punches. Actually, you can leave the boxing ring without consequence, but what advantage would come from abandoning the pursuit of wisdom? So what should each of us say to every trial we face? This is what I've trained for, for this is my discipline!"
—Epictetus
Normal people dislike difficulties. If life throws them difficulties, they want to exit the boxing ring. Philosophers view overcoming difficulty as their sport. Why? Because they think about long-term benefit, not just short-term convenience.
Sure, if we can somehow avoid the difficulty temporarily, we might be fine in the short-term, but what about in the long-term? The difficulty will most likely come back and keep chasing us until we can overcome it. If you have a personality weakness, it'll hinder you over and over again. If you have a bad relationship with someone close to you, it'll bother you until you resolve it. Thus, philosophers face challenges head-on, ready to learn, struggle, and improve their wisdom and character throughout the process.
My Practice
I have a list of virtues that I reflect on every day, each with concrete examples of actions to do. For example, one virtue is kindness, and one action is to greet others with a smile. Another virtue is patience, and one action is to patiently give my attention to those who interrupt me. Another virtue is etiquette, and an action is to maintain good posture. Reflecting on these matters every day helps me to slowly become my ideal self.
I record the same actions and matters every day because it is the training I need to do to keep my mind fit. If I encounter a big matter one day, I rely on all my past training and accumulation to remain calm and rational.
Although I might not like all the difficulties that life throws at me, I also know that difficulties are inevitable in life. Given this fact, complaining doesn't help. It's much better if I can choose a good attitude to face them. The attitude of the Stoics is to view these difficulties as sparring partners who are here to help us improve our ability.
3: Methods for Habit Change
Ultimately, cultivation is changing our habits at the level of thought, speech, and action, with thought being the root. The tips that the Stoics gave (un)surprisingly match with modern habit research.
May 13:
"Every habit and capability is confirmed and grows in its corresponding actions, walking by walking, and running by running…therefore, if you want to do something, make a habit of it; if you don't want to do that, don't, but make a habit of something else instead. The same principle is at work in our state of mind. When you get angry, you've not only experienced that evil, but you've also reinforced a habit, adding fuel to the fire."
—Epictetus
Modern habit research also advises that if we want to stop a bad habit, it's easier to replace it with another habit than to just stop that bad habit. For example, if we want to stop eating junk food whenever we're bored, it's easier to replace that junk food with healthier snacks than to just force yourself to not eat the junk food.
The same is true with changing our habitual thoughts. It's very hard to suppress a bad thought. We know that bad thoughts will arise, but cultivation lies in changing our thoughts. As Liao Fan's Four Lessons says,
"When proper thoughts arise, improper thoughts will naturally be unable to pollute the mind."
The stronger our cultivation "muscle", the more sensitive we are to changes in our emotional state, and the faster we can change improper thoughts into proper thoughts. For example, we might notice that we are starting to feel a little upset and annoyed at somebody, and then we immediately change our thoughts from "How dare they do that." to "How others treat me is my past karma. How I treat others is my cultivation and my future karma."
May 16:
"If you don't wish to be a hot-head, don't feed your habit. Try as a first step to remain calm and count the days you haven't been angry. I used to be angry every day, now every other day, then every third or fourth… If you make it as far as 30 days, thank God! When you can say 'I didn't lose my temper today, or the next day, or for three or four months, but kept my cool under provocation,' you will know you are in better health."
—Epictetus
Modern habit research also advocates the idea of keeping a streak. Once we get a streak going, we really don't want to break that streak. When we hit certain milestones, like one week, one month, three months, one year, multiple years, it feels very gratifying.
My Practice
One of my reflection items each day is changing negative thoughts into positive ones. There's always a positive side to everything; I just have to find it. This matches the Stoic motto of "the obstacle is the way".
I also have many streaks going, such as for my daily reflection journal, weekly blog, and Duolingo. The streaks are most beneficial at the beginning to help set up the habit. Once it becomes habitual, I don't intentionally keep count anymore.
I've also done short-term challenges such as the 21-day no complaint challenge and 90-day selflessness challenge. These are also great kickstarts to establishing new habits.
Modern habit research provides many other useful tips, which I wrote about in detail in this article. To briefly summarize:
Make the habit super convenient
Have a memorable cue or trigger to remind you to do it
Pair the new habit onto an existing habit
Get accountability
Use if-then rules for changing habits
By using these different tactics, I've successfully set up some good habits and changed some bad ones.
4: Philosophical Joy
A lot of people seek joy from external stimulation, such as food, shopping, entertainment, games, social media, praise, etc. These are all fleeting pleasures that can create craving, which is a form of suffering. The Stoics aren't averse to these things, but they don't crave them. Their joy comes from an inner source that is within their control.
May 7:
"Here is how to guarantee you have a good day: do good things. Any other source of joy is outside of your control or is non-renewable. But this one is all you, all the time, and unending."
—Ryan Holiday
There is a lot of scientific research that shows that the human brain is wired for helping others, and that we feel good when we help others. Thus, if we want a long-lasting deep feeling of joy that does not result in craving later, we should try to help others more in our daily lives. It could be as simple as greeting others with a smile, holding the door open for someone, giving encouragement and praise, sharing a joke, or lending a helping hand. These small gestures are all free and within our control, and they bring happiness to ourselves and others.
May 14:
"We should take pleasure from our actions—in taking the right actions—rather than the results that come from them."
—Ryan Holiday
Cultivation is at the level of the mind. We should always harbor good intentions and consider carefully before making decisions. If we've done our best to have proper intentions, but then our actions don't reap good results, we shouldn't feel bad or think that we are wrong. We should affirm ourselves for using our mind properly.
For example, let's say the weather says there's a 40% chance of raining today. I decide to put an umbrella in my backpack, which makes my backpack heavier on my walk to work. Later, it doesn't even rain. Should I get upset? No! I should affirm myself for cultivating the virtue of carefulness.
To give another example, if I see someone else do something bad, and I try to advise them, but they got annoyed at me, should I feel upset? Well, it depends on if I used my mind correctly. I should first hone my intentions so that I advise them out of kindness. I don't want them to suffer in the future because of their shortcoming, and that's why I will try to advise them. I am not complaining or criticizing. Moreover, I will try my best to advise them at a suitable time in a polite manner.
If I didn't do my role well, then I should blame myself and make sure I do better next time. If I did do my role correctly all along the way and they still got upset at me, then there's nothing more I can ask of myself, and I have a clear conscience.
To give one more example, let's say I got angry at someone and scolded them very harshly. Later, that person improved. Should I be happy with myself? No! I lost control of my temper. That's failure at my own cultivation. The other person improving despite my angry outburst is a result of their own virtuous roots. If it was someone else, they might resent me and try to get even with me. Thus, we judge ourselves on using our mind correctly and taking the right actions, not on the results.
May 25:
“Joy for human beings lies in proper human work. And proper human work consists in: acts of kindness to other human beings, disdain for the stirring of the senses, identifying trustworthy impressions, and contemplating the natural order and all that happens in keeping with it.”
—Marcus Aurelius
Proper human work is fulfilling our moral duties in our relationships, whether as children, siblings, parents, leaders, followers, or citizens. As children, we should take good care of our parents and siblings. As parents, we raise and educate our children to be good, capable people who will contribute to society. As leaders, we take care of our followers, and as followers, we help our leaders succeed. As citizens, we contribute our part to the society through whatever ability and skill we specialize in. By fulfilling our moral duties, we will have the joy of a clear conscience and the joy of good relationships.
Stirring the senses is seeking external stimulation. Such things create a short-term high followed by a low, and in that low state, we crave more stimulation. It is a recipe for craving and suffering.
Identifying trustworthy impressions and contemplating the natural order of things is cultivating our wisdom and judgment. A lot of times, our first impression or thoughts are incorrect and do not align with the truth. For example, we habitually think other people or the outside world is the cause of our negative emotions. Cultivation is promptly noticing that incorrect thought and changing it to a correct thought. When we get better at this, our mind will be more peaceful and joyful.
In summary, philosophers experience the joy of a clear conscience, the joy of self-improvement, and the joy of happy relationships.
May 26:
“I’m constantly amazed by how easily we love ourselves above all others, yet we put more stock in the opinions of others than in our own estimation of self… How much credence we give to the opinions our peers have of us and how little to our very own!”
—Marcus Aurelius
There are a few things that really kill happiness. One is caring too much about what others think. Another is focusing on what we don't have instead of being grateful for all that we do have. Another is relationship conflicts. Here, Marcus Aurelius is talking about caring too much about what others think.
We all have ego, so we all care about what others think. This isn't wrong per se, but it needs to be balanced with wisdom. We should care about what others think because we want to be kind to them. But we shouldn't base our self-worth on what others think, especially if their thinking is incorrect or problematic.
We can care about what wise people would think, such as the Stoic philosophers, because they would want what's best for us. If Marcus Aurelius or Seneca would approve of our thoughts, speech, and actions, then we can take pleasure in that. This requires us to study the teachings of wise philosophers and frequently self-reflect.
We should also base our self-esteem on being morally right; in this way, we have a clear conscience. For example, if my peers want me to do something that I feel is inappropriate or not aligned with my values, then I can say no. I'd rather be rejected by people who aren't aligned with my values than seek approval from everyone. (The prerequisite is that we are actually clear on our values.)
Sometimes, we might do something that people cannot understand in the moment, but later on, they'll understand. For example, if a kid is spoiled and we start treating them strictly to teach them that certain behaviors are not acceptable, and then the kid starts shouting and crying, will we start doubting ourselves? Or perhaps we make a decision knowing that there are pros and cons, and later people start criticizing us because of the cons; do we feel the urge to argue with them and convince them that we are right?
Ultimately, if we truly have confidence in our good intentions and judgment, then we wouldn't doubt ourselves when others don't understand, and we wouldn't feel the need to force others to approve of us or to understand us. People often don't even understand themselves, how could they possibly understand us? The most important thing is that we understand ourselves, that we approve of ourselves, that we have a clear conscience.
As Confucius said,
"To not be understood by others yet not be upset, is this not the mark of an exemplary person?"
(Original text: 人不知而不慍不亦君子乎 )
My Practice
Over the past few years of cultivation, I've felt the joy of self-improvement, improved relationships, and a clear conscience, and these joys keep me motivated to continue my learning and cultivation.
Not caring so much about what others think is something I've worked a lot on. I'm much better at it now. I care more about what I think and what the wise philosophers think. When I get unfairly criticized or misunderstood, I still get upset, but I'm better than before. The cultivation journey continues!
4: Seize The Present
When it comes to taking action, we have to be timely. We must not delay what should be done today.
May 9:
"Let us therefore set out whole-heartedly, leaving aside our many distractions and exert ourselves in this single purpose, before we realize too the swift and unstoppable flight of time and are left behind. As each day arises, welcome it as the very best day of all, and make it your own possession. We must seize what flees."
—Seneca
May 25:
“I don’t complain about the lack of time…what little I have will go far enough. Today—this day—will achieve what no tomorrow will fail to speak about. I will lay siege to the gods and shake up the world.”
—Seneca
Time is our most precious resource. We're all given 24 hours a day, and the way we spend it differentiates us from everyone else. Philosophers live with a clear purpose and big aspirations. As a result, they will seize each day and make good use of their time. If we still idle around and waste our most precious resource, then either we need to find a purpose that inspires us, or learn better ways to manage our time.
My Practice
I am clear on my bigger purpose in life, which is to promote timeless wisdom and help everyone live happier lives. Thus, most of my free time is spent towards this aspiration.
With this one aspiration, there are so many things I could do. My weekly blog is just one of them. I still have so much to learn and write about. I often feel like I don't have enough time to do everything I want to do, let alone idle around.
One of the items I reflect on every day is proper prioritization. Given that I don't have enough time to do everything I'd like, did I at least do things in proper sequence of importance?
I also keep a daily time log that records all the things I did and how long each thing took. When I do my self-reflection in the evening, I'll go through everything that I did that day and judge if I did things in proper order and spent an appropriate amount of time on each thing. This practice also helped me get a better sense of how long certain things actually take, which helps me to plan my time better.
Conclusion
May was all about right action. Philosophy isn't just an intellectual learning, it requires action, practice, and training. Philosophy is akin to sport; we might intellectually know how to do the moves, but it takes training to actually master the moves. We might intellectually know how to stay serene, but it takes training to actually maintain serenity in the face of triggering situations.
Athletes create a great body. Craftsmen create great crafts. Philosophers create a great mind. The result of philosophical training is inner joy that comes from self-improvement, good relationships, and a clear conscience. The training may be tough, but the rewards are well worth it!
Weekly Wisdom #396
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