366 Day Challenge in Stoicism
Applying knowledge from The Daily Stoic. One day at a time. Reading it is not enough. Act based on what you read.
On and off I have read some of The Daily Stoic.
Initially I was just reading — it was easy, quick 2–3 minutes each day. But I was inconsistent.
Because it was not part of my daily routine, I skipped a few days here and there.
Days became weeks. Weeks became … not at all.
Reboot 1
I rebooted. Each day wrote a daily message to friends and family — loosely based on that days meditation.
Most were ramblings. Some made sense. A few sparked others to reflect.
But I was not committed enough. I questioned myself. “Am I doing this for me or because I like the attention?” It turned out I wasn’t sure. So I stopped. Again.
Reboot 2
This is my 3rd go at it. More public this time. The intention still the same. Don’t just read. Apply & Act!
Why Stoicism?
Many of the lessons and meditations from Stoicism are similar to my own beliefs about the world I live in. At times they challenge me. They make me question my actions. Did I act, and did I do right.
I re-started The Daily Stoic this week (again). Rushing through the last 2 weeks of April, and most of May, in just a few days.
The meditations in May made clear what I need to do:
- “Be the person you want to be” (May 2nd) : Don’t hope to be better. Act to be better.
- “Show, not tell, what you know” (May 3rd) : Turn words into works. Instead of quotes, share my actions and choices.
- “You are the Project” (May 5th) and “Learn, practice, train” (May 19th) : Reading is not enough. It must practice over and over so the knowledge is absorbed in every action I take.
- “Fueling the Habit Bonfire” (May 13th) : Change only happens when I repeatedly act.
Why a 366 day challenge?
If I dont commit to something 100% I will stop. Maybe in a few days, maybe a few months.
“The Chain Method” (May 16th) reminded me of this. I succeed when I build the chain and avoid breaking it. I did this when I quit alcohol 4 years ago.
I will build a stoicism chain that is 366 daily posts long.
And I’ll start on the 1st of June.
A new chapter. A new attempt at this thing.
Why 1st of June ? Why not now?
It hit home yesterday while reading the May 22nd meditation. I was falling into the same trap. Bloody resistance.
Starting on June 1st is nice, clean and logical. But are those good enough reasons? Is it the right choice?
No! So Fuck Logic.
“Today, not tomorrow,is the day that we can start to be good.”
So here I am, starting today, with this introduction post.
The Plan
Here is my public commitment. The start of my “366 daily posts” challenge.
Each day I will :
- read the daily meditation as part of my morning routine
- journal for 5–10 minutes about what it means for me. More importantly I will reflect on how I apply it.
- post the result as a daily story here on Medium
If you are into this sort of thing, feel free to follow along with my Daily Stoics Challenge. You choose your own path! You can:
- Recommend this story to your friends by clicking the ❤️ below
- Subscribe so you get tomorrows post by clicking the
Followbutton at the top orGet Updatesat the bottom of this page - Share your own daily story by responding to mine, or submit your own story to this publication.
