From Thought to Action. Courage, Justice, Moderation, Wisdom

Or how to develop the Stoic Virtue? One by one or all at once? What advice would you give?

This question was asked by a subscriber in Telegram channel Stoics Don't WhineThis article is the answer.

The Stoic strives for virtue, so everything you learn from books is already aimed at developing it. But just reading is not enough. This writing is nothing until you act.

Stoicism doesn't exist until you practice it.

To develop virtue, apply knowledge from books in practice. The philosophy of Stoicism is, first of all, a practical philosophy for living. And living happily, by the way, and not selfishly ignoring the world with indifference and let it all burn in a blue flame…

To understand what exactly to do to be virtuous, it is enough to look around you in everyday life at any moment. And even if no one is around and nothing is happening, pay attention to your thoughts. After all, actions are born in thoughts. What are you thinking about? As who do you think (from what position)? Is it reasonable or do instincts dictate their own?

Virtue consists of justice, moderation, courage and ultimately wisdom. To develop these qualities, act in accordance with them. At the right moments, act courageously and justly, show moderation in relation to yourself and others. And the right moments happen all the time. For example, rudeness in a checkout line, nervousness while driving a car, temptations in a restaurant, people on public transport, colleagues at work, something happens that is suitable for practice. Pay attention to how you react to everyday events. Not to mention that there are specific cases for the manifestation of stoic qualities.

To notice such opportunities, develop awareness. Be in the present moment, and do not live periods of time automatically with template reactions to what is happening around.

How to develop mindfulness?

Mindfulness is developed by analyzing each day lived and making short notes. Today at the end of the day, go away and mentally scroll through the whole day. What was I thinking? What were they, negative or positive? What did I do? What did I do good? And what bad? How did I react to the comments of that saleswoman from the store? Did it hurt me? And how could I have reacted so that it would correspond to the behavior of a stoic? And so on …

The next day, in the morning, look at your diary, reread what you wrote yesterday evening. In this way, for the coming day, you will refresh your memory of what you did yesterday, how you reacted, and perhaps you will no longer allow automatic reactions. Sooner or later, you will come to this, over time, you will develop awareness. Even if you constantly repeat the same reactions, at some point you will consciously see this in the moment and act differently, as a worthy son (or daughter) of the human race.

Such diaries were written not only by ancient Stoics, but also by modern successful people, businessmen and politicians. Franklin, who is Benjamin, kept similar records. But he had more virtues, which he tracked and developed, analyzing them daily and noting whether he acted in accordance with them. For us, Stoics, four are enough. And for the rest of us, too…

Google: Benjamin Franklin's Virtue System

So, to begin with, start recording your thoughts, analyze them. Then, if it is convenient, hit each component separately, dividing them into weeks. For example, the first week you observe whether you act courageously. Record. Realize. Act. The next week, work on moderation and so on. Or develop everything at once.

It doesn't matter where you write notes – in a notebook with a pencil, type on a laptop or take notes on a smartphone. It is important to do it regularly. Otherwise, you will not see awareness, as a slave to things of a free spirit.

You can ask a question in the comments, but it is better to do it in telegram channel Stoics Don't Whinethere is a link to the bot in the description. The question is anonymous. I answer there.

Next time I will write how stoicism affects specific areas of life, whether you are a housewife or the head of a large company.

Be healthy!
Stoics don't whine