The Daily Stoic - January 22 - Review

This is another encouragement to journal daily. This time we are asked to reflect on the previous day's events (or it could be that day's events if you are journaling before bed). Journal your reactions to events throughout the day. What things could be improved upon? What went well? This is a personal assessment, so you need to be brutally honest with yourself. How else would you make changes if you cannot acknowledge the issues? 

The journal question:

What bad habit did I curb today?

Actually, this is a timely question. I have an underlying medical condition that has forced me to eat little food and careful with what I am able to eat. I cannot eat full portions of food in one sitting anymore. I tested positive for COVID mid-November; it was a mild case. One of my symptoms was a lack of appetite. My already small portions of food became non-existent. Knowing I needed to eat something, I forced myself to eat every now and again, but I still as not eating anywhere near enough. When I tried eating, I was full after two bites with some foods, so I was looking for anything at all that my body would let me keep eating more than two bites of. Unfortunately, this meant reverting back to old eating habits (lots of sugary items, junk food, etc.). Last night before bed and when I got up today, I told myself I was going to get back on track on with my specialized diet. Two months after COVID and I am only now feeling as if I am back to normal with the underlying medical condition, so getting back on track is more important than ever.

The Daily Stoic - January 21 - Journaling

This meditation encourages a morning ritual of journaling, but really it can be done any time. The idea is to carve out the time to be quiet and alone for yourself. The list of questions was offered by Epictetus's writings:

What am I lacking in attaining freedom from passion?

What for tranquility?

 What am I? A mere body, estate-holder, or reputation? None of these things.

What, then? A rational being.

What then is demanded of me? Meditate on your actions.

How did I steer away from serenity?

What did I do that was unfriendly, unsocial, or uncaring?

What did I fail to do in all these things?

The authors encourage us to journal these questions each day, but we are not limited to this list. Again, the idea is quiet, alone time for ourselves.

The journal question:

What am I getting out of my journaling ritual?

So far, my journaling ritual has been about 3 weeks (when I started The Daily Stoic). I am starting to see these principles everywhere. I even start thinking about these things during the day as the work day progresses. I find it's bringing me some peace. I typically do these reflections at night before bed followed by a guided meditation (or ASMR) from YouTube. I am sleeping better.

The Daily Stoic - January 20 - Reignition

This meditation reminds us that we can reignite our thoughts whenever we want. Nothing needs to precipitate this ability to get back onto your path.

The journal question: 

How can I rekindle my principles and start living today?

Rekindle? I am only just starting!

The Daily Stoic - January 19 - Choices

A side note before I get into today's meditation: 

I'm 2.5 weeks into working through the Daily Stoic, and I am now finding philosophy everywhere. I heard (yes, heard; I did not watch) a commercial for a TV show and the line was something to the effect of, "I treat my guys fairly, but not equally."

My immediate thought was "How can that occur? Fair but not equal." My thoughts then turned to whether fairness was equal to equality. My head is randomly going to places they would not necessarily have gone to before I started The Daily Stoic. I see some of the meditations all the time. In fact, tonight I had to sit through a healthy eating presentation on Zoom, and one of the lines on one of the slides was "Knowledge is power." I will never read or hear this line the same way ever again. I digress. On to today's meditation.

Today's meditation tells us that no matter where we are in life, whether it is good or bad, we will always have our freedom of choice.

The journal question:

Good or bad, high or low, do I still have choices?

Yes. When times are tough, we have the ability to make changes for the better. We need the courage to see them through. When times are great, we have the ability to make choices that will see us through any challenges and keep times great.

The Daily Stoic - January 18 - Seeing the World Differently

See the world in ways that others do not is the message for today. It is about finding the beauty in the ordinary. In my mind, this could also be those moments of awe we have sometimes. For example, we might see a spectacular sunset, but everyone else is too busy to pay attention.

The journal question:

Can I find grace and harmony in places others overlook?

I remember being at my grandparents' house when I was a kind. I was sitting in their sun room watching the birds and other wild life go about their business. I had a sudden realization that we are such a small part of a larger world. People's lives are so busy that they forget to stop and watch nature at its best.

The Daily Stoic - January 17 - Work for It

Today's meditation is reminding us that we cannot be afraid to try something because we are afraid of failure. Everything in life takes work, and we cannot be afraid or lazy.

The journal question:

Am I doing work that matters?

In my professional life, yes. In my personal life, no. As mentioned in yesterday's post, relationships are extremely complicated for people like me. I have monumental hurdles to get over. I do not even know where I would begin with that.

The Daily Stoic - January 16 - Habits

The meditation today is about not doing things out of habit. The example they gave us was about a worker telling a boss that they are doing something because that's the way it is always done. I am not going to lie; I have actually said something similar to this to someone when I first started my job.

Prior to that conversation, I had already started trying to get my office in compliance with specific laws, rules, and regulations, but this time, it was all I could say. Not to make excuses, but my boss at the time had an anxiety issue and our office was very busy. I have since corrected the issue that was discussed in that conversation.

Once I was promoted, I started looking for ways to make the office more efficient. 

The journal question:

What assumptions have I left unquestioned?

This is a tough one because doing things out of habit then becomes "autopilot" as I like to call it. We follow a routine and most often forget that we even did something. My home routines are because I am done for the day and not going out again. Asking myself if this is the best way to do things is not really applicable here. I am not sure what habits I can fix.