How To Do This ‘Stoic’ Thing? | Books
How can we apply Stoicism in our daily lives? This is what a book, Practical Stoicism: Exercises for Doing the Right Thing Right Now, is all about. Robbing Homer offered me the opportunity to listen to the Audible version of this book, which he narrated, so I did.
Author Gray Freeman argues that the most important thing about Stoicism is the actual application of the philosophy in our daily lives. So if you're enthusiastic about Stoicism and want to reap the benefits by actually applying this philosophy, this book may be a very interesting read.
Why should we get out of bed early and watch the sunshine, and what to tell ourselves when we have difficulties doing so? How do we bring Stoic philosophy out of the world of the theoretical into our daily lives? The idea to write the book Practical Stoicism was born on a very active Stoicism Reddit as an answer to the following question: So how exactly does one actually do this Stoic thing?
Yes, we can go on and on about Stoic values, ethics, virtues, etc., which is, in my opinion, a very pleasurable thing to do. But at some point, it's time to turn words into deeds. Stoic teachers like Epictetus, Seneca, and Massonius Rufus left us with a treasure of wisdom that is universally applicable and timeless.
But because of the quantity of the ancient Stoic texts, it's not always an easy task to find clear instructions that we can use when we face a specific problem. Author Gray Freeman managed to extract a series of valuable lessons from the Stoic texts that can help to improve our lives and turn them into about a hundred exercises.
Every exercise is backed by a quote, so we can see where it came from. When I first read the book, it reminded me a bit of an updated version of Epictetus and Cato, which was also meant to be a handbook that we can take with us, so we have our philosophical band-aid within arm's reach when necessary.
What I like about this book is that the instructions are much more accessible for people in the current age. While the ancient Stoics will talk about being attached to ceramic cups and gladiator fights in the arena, this book uses contemporary scenarios like the excessive use of caffeine and our collective addiction to soap operas and social media.
All Stoic concepts, like the premeditatio malorum (translated as negative visualization) and memento mori (translated as the remembrance of our mortality), are seamlessly integrated in a modern context and concisely explained.
In any exercise, brace for trolls. Freeman tells us that on any given day, we will meet some jerks—at least if we go outside and participate in the world. Here's an audio clip on how to handle these jerks: consider how you will handle them philosophically. Go through the mental play-acting of not losing your cool, of acknowledging that they could only act as they do.
Consider how you will preserve your serenity and remain above the fray. Admit that you have your faults—and sometimes you hide them better than other times. Many of the exercises are geared towards self-reflection by retreating in oneself, assessing the situation, considering worst-case scenarios, and enjoying silence.
The Stoics spent time to self-reflect by journaling and reviewing all daily events, examining them closely to see if something could have gone better. One exercise I liked specifically is called Turn It Around, which is actually an excellent way to reflect on conflict and encounters with "toxic" people.
Because in many cases, we could have handled the situation in a different way. In many situations, with a little reflection, you will find an error on your own part that has contributed to any conflict you might be experiencing. If you are not in conflict, the fact that you have put yourself forward as the judge of another, without knowing all that has led them to where they are, is fault enough to consider.
It is also likely that you have yourself been tempted to act in a similar manner. You may have, on occasion, even given in to it. Freeman makes a profound statement when he says that our only concern is improving our own faults, and that the only interest we should take in the faults of others is to see if there's a lesson in it for us.
Another thing that this book offers are exercises to live in the present moment, explaining why we should focus on the task at hand and prevent our minds from drifting off to the past and the future.
Also, a recurring theme of the book is death and the reminders of death. Because we never know when death comes—it could be today, it could be tomorrow. So with this in mind, we may want to appreciate our greatest commodity a bit more, which is time.
The Stoics wanted their time to be well spent, which reflects in a work. If we know that our lives are taken away second by second, we might want to think twice before we go on a Netflix binge or spend our weekends hungover from spending Friday night in the club.
So do not expect this book to be a long read or a literary masterpiece, because that's not what you get. It's rather an instruction manual than a long philosophical plea, and this is by design. So if you want to enrich your knowledge about Stoicism in a more intellectual direction, then I don't think that this book will satisfy you.
But if you're looking to apply Stoicism, I think it will. Practical Stoicism is a nice valuable guide that can help people that are stuck in certain situations or simply want to use Stoicism to improve their lives.
The book offers exercises for a variety of day-to-day situations and things like what company to seek and how to behave in conversation. I would say it's something to listen to when you're traveling to work, to prepare for the day, or to take with you in your bag or suitcase so you can consult it when you're looking for some Stoic wisdom to guide you.
If you're interested in purchasing the book, I've put a link in the description. Thank you for watching.