5 Alternative Stoic Practices that will change your life
Practical steps for a practical philosophy
If I had a nickel for every time I wrote about Stoicism and described it as a practical philosophy which needed to be put into practice every day ….. I would have give or take 53 nickels/pennies. Not a lot but definitely a strange coincidence all things told, or is it. Honestly as boring and repetitive as it sounds this is what truly strikes to the heart of this philosophy. If we are to practice Stoicism in the manner intended by those who penned the core texts, we must constantly put what we have learned into practice.
I have been looking at updating my routine in recent weeks to implement practices which will help me in adhering to the strictures of Stoicism. They might not all be explicitly Stoic in nature but each of the below have definitely helped me to be a better more well rounded Stoic. Although you should bear in mind that I have not always been the most consistent or routine oriented, but I do hope to allay this deficiency in the days ahead. So I would invite you to try and bring at least one of the below into your routine in the days and weeks ahead.
(1) Cold Showers
I will be the first person to admit that I am one of the worst people out there to preach on the benefits of cold showers, naturally disdaining cold water and adoring my hot showers. However you are the one who signed up to receive these intermittent words of wisdom, so preach I will.
Even on the face of things the benefits of implementing cold showers into your daily routine are numerous and scientifically proven. Turning the tap to the blue side of the spectrum will help in developing your immune system and fighting off common colds and flus and further improve the body’s overall circulation. Cold showers will also help to reduce inflammation and the soreness of muscles following on from exercise.
Whilst I could wax lyrically about the benefits of cold showers for the remainder of this article, I would just like to finish on my favourite benefit, that of increased alertness. As a person who has struggled most of his life with sleeping, I often feel quite groggy in the mornings and the shot of freezing cold water in the face during the early hours sets me up for the day ahead in a way warm water cannot match.
In order to make this adjustment a little easier I would not recommend launching straight into the coldest temperature possible. Rather I would start off slow building up your tolerance to cold water daily and before you know it you’ll be ready for your first ice bath. Another handy alternative which provides much of the same benefits is that of a bullet shower. Whereby you can enjoy your warm shower before at the end turning the temperature down to cold and enduring that freezing change of situation for a minute or two.
Now to get to the bit relating to Stoicism, a little ironic to say this late in an article considering you are reading A Stoic for Any Season, but here we are so lets make the most of it!
The Stoics would often practice voluntary discomfort in order to challenge them to leave their comfort zones and also to challenge themselves physically and mentally. The voluntary element is what is key here and goes back to the core tenet of the locus of control. By building our tolerance to discomfort on a voluntary basis one which we can control, we build fortitude. This fortitude will come in particularly handy when the discomfort we are faced with is not voluntary, rather it is thrust upon us whether we are prepared or not.
So who knows a cold shower here and there might prepare us for the worst of what is to come. If not at least with this cost of living crisis it might drive down your electricity bills!
(2) Journaling
Again I am forced to admit that I may be the last person on earth to talk to you about the benefits of journaling, however I am doing the best right now to implement it into my daily routine. This has been aided by the fact my wonderful girlfriend has bought me a beautiful Lord of the Rings themed journal, which you can see below.
Journaling has a wide variety of benefits to our mental health which have also been scientifically researched and proven. They include; reduced anxiety, breaking a cycle of obsessive thinking, regulating emotion, increasing awareness and allowing us to process events in a healthy manner, amongst a myriad other positive impacts.
I journal in a manner which suits me and I would advise all of you to figure out which approach works best for you. I will write one quote at the top of my page which has resonated with me and mull over those words while working through the rest of my entry. This has been aided by my purchase of two page-a-day books which I have thoroughly enjoyed; Leo Tolstoy’s A Calendar of Wisdom and Ryan Holiday’s Daily Stoic. These books are particularly useful in terms of focusing your writing and ensuring that the mindset utilized in constructing your entry leans into the Stoic lens.
I will follow this quote up with three things during the day which I am grateful for. This helps me to shift my perception day to day. Perspective is a massive element of this philosophy and it is only with introspection that we can attain such a change. In particular there may have been a negative event that occurred which otherwise might have tainted my view on the day gone by. However when I apply a Stoic lens of perspective I can apply Marcus Aurelius’ words below,
“Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not "This is misfortune," but "To bear this worthily is good fortune.”
I end each entry with one thing I have today to be better or something I can improve on. A lot of the time it is a desire to increase my consistency when journaling, which is ironic yet again in the context of this article. So give it a go whether it is gratitude journaling, bullet journaling, stream of conscious journaling or some amalgam of the three its worth giving it a go. While we will never produce a work of the quality displayed in the Meditations, it will most definitely help us to be better Stoics.
(3) Active Commuting
Now I know what you’re thinking and I will make sure there is a point relating to Stoicism in here for the sake of your reading experience and my own sanity. Whether it is walking, cycling, running or floating down a river like those lunatics in Switzerland, there are no downsides to an active method of commuting.
We all lead busy lives and for some of us regular exercise is difficult to come by, an active commute ensures that this is hardwired into our daily routine. There is a reduction in cardiovascular disease, lower risk of any form of hospitalisation, lower risk of cancer mortality and also huge benefits to our own mental health.
My own commute consists of cycling, which brings with it a few dangers as I have written about in the past, but is honestly one of the most enjoyable parts of my day. Human beings were not made to sit in gridlocked traffic listening to whatever passes for engaging radio on a daily basis. We were designed to be active beings, using our bodies in a way which the current office lifestyle does not naturally allow for.
My commute serves as a form of meditation for me during the day. In which I can listen to a daily news briefing in the morning, which catches me up on current events in advance of starting work. Then when my hard day at the desk is put down, I can put in a podcast and think on points raised during this gap in my evening prior to reaching home without the usual distractions.
Commuting particularly in Dublin requires you to be present in a manner which is not conducive to the modern smartphone culture. This allows me to reach the office alert and awake, often with something from the news or a good podcast to mull over.
Another Stoic perspective on this is that I have suffered my fair share of accidents over the years, most severely breaking my jaw in 2022. Many people presumed I would pack it in then due to fear of what may or may not happen to me on the roads. However I used the Stoic tenets I had learned over the years to get back into the saddle and focus on what I can control. I would not allow fear of what lay outside my control to take from me a very enjoyable aspect of my routine.
This will also work on the voluntary discomfort aspect during those winter months when things get a little chillier, rainier and all round darker. So please see point number one on cold showers for further information, rather than letting my penchant for repetition to drag us all down.
Not to mention it is far cheaper, better for the environment and in most situations the quickest way to get to work. So go on give it a try you won’t regret it.
(4) Reading
I was listening to a recent podcast of Ryan Holiday’s the Daily Stoic, wherein they discussed whether a person is a reader or not. Again we are all beyond busy in this day and age but nothing is healthier than shutting off our smartphone and sitting down with a good book. So when the definition was brought up in the podcast, Ryan’s approach was that you just need to read even a small bit on a regular basis to be a reader. Either you read or you don’t and any Stoic out there as part of their ongoing practice should be a reader.
It is very easy to compare ourselves to others who devour books exponentially, however this is a starkly anti Stoic approach. Rather what we have within our control is that we can read on a regular basis as long as we make this a priority. I am not asking you to set aside hours of your day to reading ancient tomes, rather to put whatever time you can spare to your reading habit.
Page a day books like the A Calendar of Wisdom and Ryan’s own Daily Stoic are brilliant for making this habit a sustainable one. You do not have to read all the time to be a reader, rather just read at your own pace in your own way and whenever you can find the time.
I would highly recommend going back to the ancient texts in this regard, whether it is picking up a copy of the Meditations (the Hays edition is widely regarded as the best translation), the Enchiridion, Letters from a Stoic or any such classic piece. The wisdom available in these pages cannot compare to any more modern repackaging in my opinion.
If you cannot find the time to sit down with the traditional paper or hardback editions, there are so many other alternatives for you nowadays. You can purchase the audiobooks from Audible or like me join your local library, there are so many apps including Borrowbox which can be used for free in this regard. Stick in your earphones and listen on your commute (preferably an active one), on a walk or a run, on the train, plane or automobile, whatever suits your routine best.
Kindles are also a fantastic resource and likewise apps such as the above example of Borrowbox can be used on your phone for free to access such ebooks. You can read them in your spare moments and believe me small bursts over an extended period of time will pay dividends, but only if you start now. There are literally no excuses in the modern day.
(5) Consistent Exercise
I have written on this point in a past article but the benefits accruing from establishing a consistent routine of exercise are exceptional. You can start wherever you are and with whatever you have, whether it is in running, active commuting, joining a gym, joining a sports team or whatever else best suits you. There is quite literally nothing stopping us from beginning to implement exercise into our routines.
In my own routine I utilize this time to listen to podcasts and to think through events or concepts which I do not always get the time or clarity of thought to run through in my daily life. Similar to active commuting, going out for a long run in my experience provides me with the sharpest thought process in my week. This activity gets me away from all of the distractions which plague me on a daily basis, first and foremost the smartphone.
It is often on such longer runs that the ideas and concepts behind my articles are thought through and developed, to the extent I find myself in a position to put them on to paper. Likewise if there is something during my day or week which has been bothering me I use this time to logically process and analyse the offending point through a Stoic lens.
The fantastic element of the practices I have detailed in this category and the earlier four, is that they double up in many respects. Physical exercise allows us to enjoy a form of meditation and clarity of thought lacking in our every day lives, practice discomfort by constantly striving for better results and a better version of ourselves and also to balance our physical and mental practice.
Stoicism is a practical philosophy which should be put into practice on a daily basis (another nickel for me it appears). The Stoics were unlike many other traditional schools of philosophy and in a way claimed philosophy back from the philosophers. We do not embrace physical fitness for our own vanity, rather it is so we can be useful. In instances where strength or endurance is required we can display such traits, developed over many hours of hard practice. So that no matter what comes our way we are not found lacking for a dearth of effort on our part.
“The philosopher's body also must be well prepared for work because often virtues use it as a necessary tool for the activities of life” - Musonius Rufus
Conclusion
As in all things consistency is key and the above practices will only truly be of use if they are applied on a regular basis. While this is far easier to advise than to implement, it is still crucial in this respect.
Therefore I would recommend for any of you reading this now to work on one such habit which could aid your practice of Stoicism. Once that habit is solidified in your routine, whether it is active commuting or journaling, you can start on another.
Although these practices are not inherently Stoic by way of their character, in my experience they have helped my own practice in an outsized fashion. If they are not for you or you would prefer to implement a more traditional habit (which I will write an article on at a later date) then please do implement such into your routine. Stoicism as long as it has a positive impact on your life should not fall foul of dogma and gatekeeping.
What works for you is what you should go for and above all else the core tenets of Stoicism should underly all that you do. Therein lies the core of true Stoic practice.