Signs of headway
We're living in a world filled with dreams of instant gratification and the image of an easy life where success should be effortlessly measured, like on a weight loss journey. But in philosophy, we can't go on a scale or make before-after-pictures to see improvements. Our progress is less obvious.
However, signs of progress are vital to staying motivated with our Stoic practices. So, let's find ways to bring it up front, making advancements visible.
How do we know we're making progress?
"Well-being is arrived at little by little" (Diogenes Laertius 7.1.26)
Progress isn't a giant leap but a series of little victories. And while these little victories - our everyday actions - might seem insignificant or invisible to the casual observer, they are monumental in shaping our character and mindset. To move forward in our Stoic practice, we want to make advancements visible; we must become better watchers of ourselves.
How do we become better observers?
Four proven ways enhance our observation skills, allowing us to recognize progress more clearly. Stoic Buddy offers features for all of these approaches.
- Cultivate mindfulness: Mindfulness practices nurture our ability to focus on the present moment while recognizing our thoughts and feelings without judgment. As we enhance self-awareness, we begin to identify recurring thinking and behavioral patterns on the fly.
- Create self-reflection habits: We dig up unknown patterns by evaluating our thoughts and behaviors through introspection. Hence, recognizing them when they occur becomes easier.
- Count accomplishments: Counting accomplishments such as acts of kindness or specific habits grants a tangible measure of progress. It encourages positive behavior and improves self-awareness, offering realistic insight into our personal growth.
- Complete the picture: Asking for feedback from trusted friends or family members allows us to gain an external perspective on our actions and behavior, offering discernment that might escape self-observation.
Hint: To become a master of self-observation, I recommend creating your own Stoic routine where you apply those methods in daily life.
10 Signs Of Progress As Practicing Stoic
Knowing what to look for opens the door to seeing signs indicating our progress. Below, discover 10 keys to unlock that door.
1. Accepting responsibility
"In effect, what Epictetus is saying is that no one can tell you how to live your life because you must reason for yourself and live accordingly — you must take Stoic principles and make them work for you. You must choose which rules or practices can be accepted and integrated or rejected and dismissed." Kai Whiting and Leonidas Konstantakos, Being Better, 1
The authors refer to the following passage from Epictetus:
"Thus, for instance, when you are to write to your friend, grammar will tell you what to write; but whether you are to write to your friend at all, or no, grammar will not tell you. Thus music, with regard to tunes; but whether it be proper or improper, at any particular time, to sing or play, music will not tell you." Epictetus, Discourses, 1.1
We can't escape our responsibility to handle our thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Once we take it on, we will make headway and ensure further improvement.
Grammar becomes more than a tool; it becomes a compass, guiding us on how and when to use it.
Having this understanding of responsibility is a sign of progress.
2. Consistently asking, "What's within your power?"
"If you bet your peace of mind on things not completely in your control, you're willingly forfeiting part of your happiness to random chance." Massimo Pigliucci and Gregory Lopez, Live Like A Stoic 1.1
It's a simple question but a sign of incredible progress. When constantly applying the dichotomy of control, asking what we can control in the present moment, we undoubtedly grow as a Stoic.
3. Keeping desires in check
"He restrains desire; he transfers his aversion to those things only which thwart the proper use of our own will; he employs his energies moderately in all directions; if he appears stupid or ignorant, he does not care; and, in a word, he keeps watch over himself as over an enemy and one in ambush." Enchiridion 48
Desires are not our master anymore; instead, we question them, curiously looking for their root cause. We can differentiate between desires that are beneficial for a virtuous life and those that are merely fulfilling material needs.
Slowly, our demand for pleasure and an easy life vanishes.
4. Leaving the role of a victim behind
"It is the action of an uninstructed person to reproach others for his own misfortunes; of one entering upon instruction, to reproach himself; and of one perfectly instructed, to reproach neither others nor himself." Epictetus, Enchiridion 5
"The condition and characteristic of a vulgar person is, that he never looks for either help or harm from himself, but only from externals. The condition and characteristic of a philosopher is, that he looks to himself for all help or harm." Epictetus, Enchiridion 48
When we stop blaming others for our circumstances, we mature in our Stoic practice. We leave the role of the victim, whether we have to handle an insult, face our fears, or deal with a jealous partner. Instead, we focus on the next logical step within our control.
5. Recognizing a growing sense of calmness
"For nowhere either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble does a man retire than into his own soul, particularly when he has within him such thoughts that by looking into them he is immediately in perfect tranquillity. And I affirm that tranquillity is nothing else than the good ordering of the mind. Constantly give yourself this retreat then, renew yourself, and let your principles be brief and fundamental, which as soon as you shalt recur to them will be sufficient to cleanse the soul completely and send you back free from all discontent with the things to which you return." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.3
As we move forward on our Stoic journey, we begin to feel a sense of calmness and peace of mind in situations we formerly freaked out - we move toward apatheia (free of passion). Our emotional stability sometimes surprises us and those close to us as we easily deal with struggles as if they were nothing more than a ripple in the water.
6. Doing good for its own sake
"One man, when he has done a service to another, is ready to set it down to his account as a favour conferred. Another is not ready to do this, but still in his own mind he thinks of the man as his debtor, and he knows what he has done. A third in a manner does not even know what he has done, but he is like a vine which has produced grapes, and seeks for nothing more after it has once produced its proper fruit. As a horse when he has run, a dog when he has tackled the game, a bee when it has made the honey, so a man when he has done a good act does not call out for others to come and see, but he goes on to another act, as a vine goes on to produce again the grapes in season." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.6
Stoicism isn't solely self-centered, as many may think. It has a strong emphasis on kindness and our duty to serve society.
A further sign of progress is when we start behaving well and being helpful to others even when no one is watching. It's the kind of action that just feels right because we genuinely believe in it. We don't expect applause or that someone pats on our back.
7. Humanity is becoming more important
"Since you yourself are one of the parts that serve to perfect a social system, let your every action contribute to the perfecting of social life. Any action of yours, then, which has no reference, whether direct or indirect, to these social ends, tears your life apart, prevents it from being at one, and creates division, as does the citizen in a state who for his own part cuts himself off from the concord of his fellows." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.23
The circles of concern and cosmopolitanism are no longer strange-sounding words but concepts we try to embody and live by every day. Thereby, we increasingly recognize their importance for happiness, giving us confidence and trust in Stoicism's practices and in humanity as a whole.
8. Relationships improve
"Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself can improve. The process is mutual; for men learn while they teach." Seneca, Moral letters, 7.8
Empathy, active listening, and understanding toward others grow with our progress. Others will notice and appreciate the change, enhancing the quality of our relationships.
As we make headway, we understand how our behavior impacts relationships and become open to our flaws, actively searching for ways of becoming better people, thus better partners, friends, family members, or colleagues.
9. Questioning our Stoic routine
Seekers for wisdom always continue on their quest, preserving a flexible mindset. That's why we regularly question our Stoic routines and adapt when necessary.
The significance of experiences is ingrained within us.
We're never too good to try something new and never embarrassed of switching exercising when something doesn't work as intended.
Therefore, examining our routines is a signal of progress.
10. Beginning to know ourselves better
"I have often marveled at how everyone loves himself above all others, yet places less value on his own opinion of himself than that of everyone else…So much greater is our respect for what our neighbors think of us than what we think of ourselves!" Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 12.4
Greater self-knowledge, as well as an affinity toward ourselves and others (oikeiôsis), are the last of the 10 signs of progress in Stoicism. We begin to have a better sense of self-respect, fewer self-doubts and can balance life aligned with our values.
It's a subtle feeling; we constantly get to know ourselves better and gradually understand our position within the grand scheme of things.
If this sounds familiar, you're in a good way.
Final thoughts
Progress in a school of thought is like walking through a dense fog where we don't realize we're getting wet. It's a gentle breeze instead of a storm. Only by looking closely will we notice it. We must celebrate the small daily steps to see progress regularly!
Our minds and hearts are called to make the invisible visible.
