The Beauty Of Routines
Imagine starting your day with absolute clarity, navigating life's trials with unwavering tranquility, and ending your day with deep contentment. Having something to hold on to every day, no matter where you are, can provide a tremendous sense of self-certainty - like a rock-solid anchor that keeps your ship steady in rough waters.
A Stoic lifestyle is made of daily routines that guide us through each day, helping us find inner strength and tranquility. However, as unique as we are as individuals, so are our rituals.
This article will help you build your daily routine and navigate life as smoothly as a butterfly gracefully dances through the wind but with the hidden strength of an unwavering elephant withstanding a storm.
TL;DR
- In an often overwhelming and uncertain world, daily routines create structure, helping you to find balance.
- Build routines you enjoy doing to stick with them.
- Routines can help in many ways, such as nurturing self-discipline (a virtue of Stoicism), lowering stress levels, promoting better sleep, and enhancing overall health.
- Routines should be highly individual. Experiment a lot to discover your way.
- Routines shouldn't be set in stone. When circumstances change, it's vital to stay flexible and adjust accordingly.
The Benefits Of Routines
Routines offer structure and a sense of predictability and security amidst life's uncertainties. They free up energy as they automate mundane tasks like household chores or health-related ones like meditation or physical exercise.
It allows us to do what we must to live better lives.
In an ever-changing world, routines can contribute to the stability and flexibility needed to live a flourishing life.
Instead of considering them dull or just another chore, think of them as energizing. Make your routines enjoyable, a part of your identity, something you want to do. Then, you can experience the real value of routines like the butterfly and the elephant - steadfast against uncertainties and temptations to quit while dancing through life with fulfillment.
7 Ways Routines Can Help You
- Create Structure: It makes us feel more in control of our daily lives, reducing the feeling of chaos.
- Promote Healthy Habits: Often built around healthful habits, they're a way to encourage us to do those activities without putting much thought into it - we reduce the activation energy needed to perform those habits. Consequently, they contribute to improved mental and physical health.
- Increase Productivity: It's all about productivity nowadays, isn't it? Routines increase productivity as we become better and better at what we do. The benefit is two-fold: First, we don't waste too much time on mundane tasks thanks to time savings and efficiency. Second, routines ensure that we take the time for what energizes us - vital tasks aligned with our values.
- Boost Self-Discipline: With a routine, we gradually train the Stoic virtue of self-discipline. One cornerstone to nurture an excellent character.
- Reduce Stress Levels: Healthy routines can work as an antagonist against stress. Better coping mechanisms and lower stress levels are the consequence.
- Improve Sleep: A consistent daily routine can help regulate our body's internal clock, leading to better sleep quality.
- Improve Mental Health: Dedicated mental routines can help reframe negative thinking patterns and confidently adjust and handle the unexpected. Plus, we get to know ourselves better.
Stoic Routines
All exercises below are based on my experiences and are ordered in a way that makes sense to me. The fundamental challenge lies in figuring out what resonates with you.
Feel inspired and play around - tweak and adjust until it feels right and suits your personality.
Hint: Once you've read through all exercises, follow this simple two-step approach:
- Choose the ones you'd like to test.
- Create a timetable (When do you want to start and end your routine? How long should each practice take?).
Stoic Morning Routine
"Let us abandon the ordinary sort of day. Let us have a morning that is a special feature of ours, peculiar to ourselves!" Seneca, Letters from a Stoic, Moral Letters 122.9
Wake up like a Stoic and give your day a kickstart. Make it something special, as Seneca said. You deserve it.
Get in your zone and do things that energize you to be ready for whatever the day may bring.
Get up early (enough)
"In the morning when you rise reluctantly, let this thought be present: I am rising to do the work of a human being. Why then am I dissatisfied if I am going to do the things for which I exist and for which I was brought into the world? Or have I been made for this, to lie in the bedclothes and keep myself warm?" Marcus Aurelius, Meditation 5.1
Do you want happiness and a flowing life? Then, do the work of a human being and actively create the circumstances needed. Get up enthusiastically, knowing that a routine contributing to your well-being awaits you.
Therefore, aim to get up as early as possible so your routine doesn't conflict with other responsibilities. I'm not saying 5 am or 6 am because that's not the point - it doesn't even matter. Instead, ensure you can do your practices without being stressed or rushed by the ticking of the clock.
Hint: If you have struggles to get out of bed early, try to wake up 5 minutes earlier each day. Minutes compound over time, and your body and mind get used to it.
Meditation
"Through not observing what is in the mind of another, a man has rarely been seen to be unhappy; but those who do not observe the movements of their own minds must of necessity be unhappy." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.8
Each of the countless ways to meditate has its advantages and can support a different angle of Stoicism. While they don't originate in Stoic philosophy, modern practitioners should consider them to enhance the Stoic way of life.
Here are four helpful methods to give you some food for experimentation.
Mindfulness meditation
It involves focusing on the present moment without judgment. Observe the sensations of your body and let upcoming thoughts pass by like a beautiful cloud. It helps cultivate a state of calmness and awareness, both characteristics of an excellent character.
Loving-Kindness meditation
This meditation method, also known as metta meditation, focuses on cultivating goodwill, kindness, and warmth toward others. It fits perfectly into our Stoic practice as we seek to develop kindness and compassion.
Visualize someone or something you love, and let this feeling settle into your heart. Then, send your love and kindness mentally to another person. Feel the deep connection as love flows from your heart to the heart of the other one.
The individual you choose can be anyone, from a friend, a neighbor, a stranger, or even someone you don't like.
Spiritual meditation
Spiritual meditation is a beautiful practice to connect with higher forces. As Stoics believe in logos or fate - the ultimate force driving the universe - this practice can elevate your spiritual experience.
Find a quiet space, close your eyes, and soothe your mind by focusing on your breath. Go gently over to visualize the higher force you resonate with - nature, the universe, a deity, or any spiritual entity. Imagine this force covering you with warm, nurturing energy, fostering a vibrant sense of connection and tranquility as you become one.
Breath awareness meditation
Solely focus on the rhythm of your breath and ignore everything else. It can improve concentration and free up your mind from mental clutter.
Journaling
"Begin the morning by saying to yourself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them because of their ignorance of what is good and evil. But I who have seen that the nature of the good is beautiful, and that the bad is ugly, and that the nature of he who does wrong is akin to me, not only of the same blood or seed, but that it participates in the same intelligence and the same portion of the divinity, I can neither be injured by any of them, for no one can fix on me what is ugly, nor can I be angry with my kinsman, nor hate him. For we are made for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth. To act against one another then is contrary to nature and it is acting against one another to become frustrated and to turn away." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.1
Write about the challenges ahead and what you expect from the day. Use it to align your intentions with your values, followed by concrete behavior. What do you do when X happens? Jot it down and commit to virtuous action.
Reading
"For what else are you busied with except improving yourself every day, laying aside some error, and coming to understand that the faults which you attribute to circumstances are in yourself? We are indeed apt to ascribe certain faults to the place or to the time; but those faults will follow us, no matter how we change our place." Seneca, Moral Letters 50.1
Wisdom comes from experience and the ability to put things into perspective. And as seekers of such, Stoics are keen on finding and provingwh new perspectives.
Reading inspiring or thought-provoking literature (like the ancient Stoics) can open your mind to new ideas and experiences.
Get just one concept each day and try to incorporate it to see if you find some truth.
Memento Mori
"When a man has said: "I have lived!", every morning he arises he receives a bonus." Seneca, Moral Letters 12.9
Your time is fleeting. Don't waste it by indulging in harmful behavior.
Memento mori is the ultimate reminder to spend your life well, fully engaged in the present moment.
Every morning, remind yourself that it could be your last. Live virtuously and make every day count to receive the bonus Seneca spoke of.
Use Mantras
I have something special for you if you're not establishing a routine because you lack time. Stoic mantras.
It is easy to enhance your everyday tasks, turning them into a powerful Stoic routine. Simply say a few encouraging words at every main event.
It could look like this:
- The alarm rings: "I'm ready to do the work of a human being."
- Brushing teeth: "My words will be kind and fair today."
- Showering (cold): "I'm grateful for having clean and flowing water as well as the option to choose between hot and cold."
- Eating breakfast: "I nourish my body with this delicious food. I'm grateful for all the hands that took part in bringing it to my table."
Hint: You can use mantras at every main event during the day.
Physical Exercising
"For a man cannot know himself without a trial; no one ever learnt what he could do without putting himself to the test; for which reason many have of their own free will exposed themselves to misfortunes which no longer came in their way, and have sought for an opportunity of making their virtue, which otherwise would have been lost in darkness, shine before the world." Seneca, Of Providence 4
Okay, physical exercising isn't mainly Stoic. Nevertheless, a healthy mind lives in a healthy body. 15 to 30 minutes are enough; there's no need to become a pro athlete. Just get moving and leave your comfort zone.
To ensure you stick with it, do something you genuinely enjoy: Yoga, Tai Chi, or a CrossFit workout. Whatever it is, you do it for you! It's a gift for yourself to live a healthy life.
Hint: If you're not a morning sports person, do it during lunch break or evenings. Personally, I often switched my sports schedule according to the circumstances of my life. At periods, I began my day with a long run; at other times, I did it after sunset.
Stoic Daytime Routine
"No one can have a happy life if he looks only to himself, turning everything to his own advantage. If you want to live for yourself, you must live for another. This sense of companionship links all human beings to one another; it holds that there is a common law of humankind, and if carefully and reverently preserved, it contributes greatly also to the maintenance of that other companionship I was speaking of, the one within a friendship. For he who has much in common with a fellow human will have everything in common with his friend." Seneca, Moral Letters, 48, 2-3
Great chances to create connections with fellow humans are waiting for you.
Every single day is so richly full of opportunities that we can't see the forest for the trees. And while morning and evening routines mainly focus on ourselves, we use daytime to cultivate a solid bond with the human community. By consciously engaging in these rituals, we forge meaningful associations that transcend the boundaries of individuality and foster collective well-being.
Acts of kindness
"A human being finds delight in doing what is proper to a human being; and what is proper to him is to show goodwill to his own kind." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 8.26
You like it when you get treated kindly and with respect, right? And so does everyone else.
When you're kind to others, you cultivate vigorous affinities, leading to better relationships. And doesn't it feel good to have trustworthy bonds? Indeed, having reliable bonds and simple acts of kindness can contribute significantly to a happy life.
Treat others as you'd like to be treated, and the resonance and impact on your life will be extraordinary.
5 acts you can do:
- Hold the door open for someone.
- Offer help to carry groceries or bags.
- Greet others with a genuine smile.
- Buy a coffee or lunch for a coworker or friend.
- Take the time to listen and show empathy when someone is going through a difficult time.
Focus on shared humanity
"The very first thing philosophy promises is fellow feeling, a sense of togetherness among human beings." Seneca, On the Happy Life, 20.3-4
Stoics believe that all people are part of one big human family. The idea of a cosmopolitanship releases Stoics from the norms and considerations of just one country. Instead, they encourage us to consider all humankind when making decisions.
- Search for friendships across continents. Someone you can chat with regularly to exchange ideas.
- Educate yourself about global issues and contemplate them from the perspective of an affected person.
- Practice empathy and tolerance by showing understanding toward those with different beliefs.
- Create awareness and show gratitude for the people contributing to whatever you're using each day.
Pay attention to the good qualities
"When you want to gladden your heart, think of the good qualities of those around you; the energy of one, for instance, the modesty of another, the generosity of a third, and some other quality in another. For there is nothing more heartening than the images of the virtues shining forth in the characters of those around us, and assembled together, so far as possible, in close array. So be sure to keep them ever at hand." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.48
How often do you encounter situations pulling on your thread of patience? Yelling people, honking drivers, and unfriendly colleagues or schoolmates are everyday struggles we're all too familiar with. It's challenging to stay calm, patient, and in a good mood, doing the right thing when surrounded by negativity. But it will be easier if you keep the good qualities of those around you in mind. Remind yourself that there are virtues in everyone, and focus on them. It's a great way to stay compassionate and enjoy the day!
Another option you have is to keep the Stoic sage in mind. It's your role model with all the positive attributes you admire. Someone who always acts according to the Stoic virtues. What would he or she do when dealing with struggles? The answer leads the way for your response.
Stoic Evening Routine
"I make use of this privilege, and daily plead my cause before myself: when the lamp is taken out of my sight, and my wife, who knows my habit, has ceased to talk, I pass the whole day in review before myself, and repeat all that I have said and done: I conceal nothing from myself, and omit nothing: for why should I be afraid of any of my shortcomings, when it is in my power to say, I pardon you this time." Seneca, Of Anger 36
How you end your evening lays the first stone for beginning your day. A well-established routine will not only allow you to learn from the experiences of the recent hours but also to prepare for the next day.
Reflect on the day
Ideally done in your journal, review the significant events of your day to discover how you handled the different challenges and treated other people.
- What went well (What did you do well contributing to your well-being and the well-being of humanity?)
- What went badly? (Have you fallen short in acting virtuously?)
- Where to improve? (Did you miss something to do good for your happiness or the prosperity of humanity?)
Celebrate your achievements on what went well; search for ways to learn from your failures and think about how to do better tomorrow.
Negative Visualization
"Therefore, nothing ought to be unexpected by us. Our minds should be sent forward in advance to meet all problems, and we should consider, not what is wont to happen, but what can happen." Seneca, Letters from a Stoic, 91.4
To prepare for tomorrow's uncertainties, practice negative visualization to encounter them beforehand. It makes future adversities less intimidating and fearful.
Contemplate hardships, a life without a valued relationship, or worst-case scenarios for your day-to-day tasks. Come up with solutions on how to best handle any situation and stay present in the moment - with virtue and a Stoic mindset.
Meditation
These two types of meditation are perfect for an evening routine. Give them a try and see how it works for you.
Body Scan Meditation
This kind of meditation is often done before sleep as it can relieve stress. Its goal is to notice tension in your body, allowing you to release and relax. While you listen attentively to nothing else than your physical sensations, you build a profound bond between body and mind.
With closed eyes, lie down and scan your body for tension. Once you've identified an area, go deep into its feelings and actively relax that spot after a few seconds.
Reflective Meditation
Have you encountered something difficult to deal with today? You're torn inside, not knowing what to do next? Then, reflective mediation is worth a try and perfectly aligns with Stoicism's focus on thoughtful exercises to gain wisdom and insight.
Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and focus your mind on the problem. Observe your upcoming thoughts and allow yourself to dive into the situation's complexity. Try to order thoughts, build connections between the different aspects, and dig deeper and deeper while maintaining your focus.
Prepare the morning
Control your outer circumstances to control your inner circumstances.
It sounds counterintuitive, as Stoics always emphasizes we can't control external influences, right? Well, we're not entirely powerless. We can exercise more control over how our day starts and ends than we're usually aware of.
To reduce stress in the morning, prepare it before you go to bed. Make your breakfast, get your clothes ready, and place the key of your car somewhere you'll find it quickly; ensure your external circumstances are optimal to start the day calmly.
You win the day by winning the evening!
Final thoughts
Establishing a day driven by Stoic routines isn't complicated; the secret lies in keeping things simple. To find your way, start small, experiment a lot, and enjoy the process.
You'll find a routine's beauty when staying flexible and adapting it when circumstances change - that's the grace of a dancing butterfly with the stability of an elephant.
