We have put together some 11 morning habits of a stoic for a calm and purposeful day to help you more practically live a happy life. Throughout history, the stoics have been providing a guide for perplexed minds seeking to live the good life which is one of pleasure occasioned by virtue, reason, and resilience in the face of difficulty.
The stoics were not wild pleasure seekers. Therefore, they sought to have inner peace and courage to face whatever challenges came up in their lives. That is why even in today’s world, this ancient school of philosophy has continued to influence enquiring minds.
To achieve tranquility, here are 11 morning habits of a stoic for a calm and purposeful day:
1. Practice Gratitude
For the stoics, it is a morning ritual to begin the day with gratitude. The famous stoic and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius used to say that each day should start with gratitude and not complaints.
He advised that it is virtuous to begin each day with gratitude for the things that we have received to set a positive posture for the entire day. It is likened to the more Christian axiom of counting one’s blessings.
2. Meditate on Your Values
It is not in the behavior of stoics to jump into daily tasks without some meditation. Stoics meditate to reestablish a connection with their driving principles and values. Values like courage, justice, and restraint provide for a happy life. By so doing, they will best align with their purpose.
3. Visualize Your Perfect Day
Stoics believe less in luck and more in their purpose by visualizing how they want their day to be. Such expectations have to be positive to align with all the ideals of the stoic. This will keep you motivated throughout the day. As such, visualization is among the 11 morning habits of a stoic for a calm and purposeful day.
4. Practice Morning Affirmations
You can practice saying positive morning affirmations using the sayings of famous stoics like Marcus Aurelius to draw strength for each day. These affirmations can provide the energy needed for us to surmount problems.
5. Exercise
Stoics favor whatever will make you happy so exercise is one of such things that can make you happy since it supports the release of endorphins which livens your mood and relieves the body of stress. It is also a medical remedy for stress and mood livening.
6. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is associated with phenomenology but it has its roots in stoicism which encourages people to focus on the moment and not blur their moods by expectations about the future. It is credited as a great anxiety reliever which requires some degree of expertise to practice.
Mindfulness is not about moments after but focuses solely on the moment. An example of mindfulness is observing oneself breathe in and out. Stoics generally hold that we determine what we allow to bother us and make us anxious and unhappy.
7. Plan Your Day with Awareness
By being aware of what we want. Stoics ought to plan the day and prioritize tasks in line with their established values and goals. This will help them to be more focused on achieving their goals and indulge less in trivial matters that contribute little to their goals and ideals.
8. Avoid Negativity
The morning is considered a sacred period for the stoic because whatever they consume and allow into their minds can affect them throughout the whole day. Stoics ought to abstain from negative triggers so that their minds can easily be under control throughout the day.
9. Express Kindness
Stoics understand that the more positive people they encounter the easier it is for them to remain positive hence they spread love and kindness to people that they meet throughout the day. It is a virtue and an act of being generous for stoics to support others too to become happy and positive about life.
Read Also: Lifestyle practices for stoics in 2024
10. Reflect on Your Day
At the start of each day, stoics have to think about their day and identify areas where they demonstrated strength and areas where they demonstrated weakness. This will provide them with what to work on so that they can become better every day. If this is adopted as a regular practice then stoic life will shine brighter and brighter every day.
11 Acceptance of Reality
Stoics need to accept what life has in store for them including the people in their lives. In their morning routine, they must not grudge about them but accept them with love and cheerfulness.
These morning habits of a stoic to have a calm and purposeful day were drawn mainly from the works of Marcus Aurelius and other stoics such as Seneca, Epictetus, and Chrysippus who have made meaningful contributions to the development of stoicism as a school of philosophy. Stoicism also has some epistemic relevance because it believes that certain knowledge can be obtained from perception.
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