The work of the mind is comprised of the following.
| Task | Explaination |
|---|---|
| Choice | to do and think right |
| Refusal | of temptation |
| Yearning | to be better |
| Rejection | of negativity |
| Preparation | for what may be coming |
| Purpose | what is our highest priority |
| Clarity | understanding what is in our control |
Our job is to discover why we are here. If you can’t answer that question, you are living without a purpose. Take time every day to think about who you are, so that when you are asked that question you will be prepared to give a clear answer.
Keep a clear picture of your intentions. Keep the end in view. When you make a plan, don’t start out on the plan before you have a clear picture of the destination.
As the Stoics say:
”Having an end is mind is no guarantee you will reach it. Not having an end in mind is a guarantee you will not reach it.”
Keep in mind the best way to honor the present moment is to look at it with gratitude. Always try to see what is at the end of the path you are on, rather than wait to see what that looks like when you get there.
Remember these three things:
Live fully, disengage from pointless grief, foolish joy, greedy desire, and pointless social amusements. In other words, say “no” to those things that aren’t moving you forward. Say no to pointless emotions and tasks that provide no benefit. If you can’t say no when appropriate, you will find your life driven by things that provide no real destination.
Deal with the choices that you actually have control over. Do not dally over matters that are outside of your control. What we can change and what we cannot change becomes the criteria for all decision making. Every moment you spend fretting over events outside your control is a moment not spent doing something worthwhile.
Happy Birthday
Once a year this day arrives. I like to look back and appreciate all the good things that I have been blessed with. There are many. Too many to recount here and anyway, that’s not the purpose of this post. The message I want to share in this moment is that I feel fortunate to have been allowed to spend another year with the ones I love. I’m grateful for the knowledge I have gained. I’m also grateful for the growth I feel in my soul. Difficult concepts to describe, but it’s easier to become aware of them when you take the time to reflect.
I am looking forward to the coming year. My plan is to treat everyone with respect and graciousness. I’m planning to continue as best I can to improve my mind and body. I want to continue to grow in understanding of myself, of others, and of the God force that is in all of us and in all things.
Education means freedom. It also brings peace of mind. Pick up a book and read. It will set you free. More and more people are reading less. Studies have verified that. The more we read the better educated we are. The less we read the more susceptible we become to persuasion by people that do not have our best interests in mind. Stop listening and start reading.
Are you studying philosophy or are you watching TV? That may seem like a silly question, who has time for philosophy? Maybe not philosophy per se, but the big questions in life deserve at least as much attention from us as we give to mindless pursuits like television. We should give time and energy each day to expand our understanding. The result will be growth and satisfaction.
Were we born to be bad or were we born to be good. That is an age old question. Believe you were born to be good and you will find good works worth performing.
“Character is fate.” —Heraclitus
Considered in the long run, character will carry you further than luck or associations. Always strive to build character rather than rely on your association with others.
We need each other and we must be there for each other. We must also allow others to take care of us. This is as much a key to living as the law of gravity is a key to physics.
“Crimes often return to their teacher.” —Seneca
When considering your course of action, remember there is a balance in all things.
Live a good life ruled by reason. Consider carefully at all times, are my actions in accordance with nature? Do my actions benefit humanity? Are my actions in accordance with truth?
Find work that is satisfying and then bring something to that work that only you can provide.
Every event, no matter how small, is an opportunity to practice the principle of always doing the right thing.
We can look for goodness or we can choose to make goodness. The latter is the path that leads to a better society. If everyone took that path, imagine how wonderful society would be.
It is always important to examine why you are committed to a goal. Commitment is good. Goals are good. Keep in mind, they should always be pursued for the right reason. For example, if you are training for a marathon because that means you can spend less time at home supporting your family, you are committed to the wrong goal.
What is the meaning of life is a question we should all ask. We should be seeking the answer constantly, recognizing that it can change over time. There is no one answer out there to be found. The meaning of life is different for everyone. For me, the meaning of life is simply to practice justice, courage, and avoid those things that might bring harm to others.
“When a dog is barking because someone is at the door, the worst thing you can do is yell. To the dog, that’s like your barking too…”
The trick is to break the pattern.
The more time you spend practicing good habits, the less time you will have for bad habits. If you find yourself doing something bad and recognize it, stop, acknowledge it, and look around for something good to do.
It doesn’t do any good to publish a stoic thought every day unless you can remember and put into practice the wisdom you humbly attempt to impart…
Very little of this wisdom is mine. I’m simply doing the best I can to put it into words I can understand and remember. The inspiration for these posts is from the book “The Daily Stoic 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and The Art of Living,” by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.
So why am I doing this instead of just reading the book? It’s about absorption. You can’t make something your own unless you focus on it and put it into your own words. Words that speak to you. I believe when authors put pen to paper they are speaking to themselves, and after all, the words Ryan Holiday is sharing are his interpretation of the words originally written by men like Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, so in a way, what I am doing is no different than what has been done for ages, simply put, trying to understand through exercise of your own mind.
Prepare as best you can. When the time comes to put your preparation into action, be content with what comes next. The best you can do is acknowledge that the result is in the hands of fate. The ultimate result of any endeavor is never exclusively in our own hands.
Do not regret what has happened. Recognize that what has happened cannot now be changed. To desire change, to have regret is a waste of energy, a waste of life. Practice gratitude for everything that happens. You cannot see reality without gratitude.
Welcome to 2026
Everything does not happen as we would like. Stop trying to change what has happened, or wish something different had happened, simply say to yourself what happened was what was meant to be. You cannot change the past, all you can do is change how you look at it. Doing so will allow your life to flow much more smoothly.
Be prepared for failure. Do everything you can to ensure success in your endeavors, But in the final analysis, success or failure can be in the hands of others, not yours. Have a plan if failure is your reward. That plan should be focused on how you can more closely focus on the goal with Gods guidance. Recognize that failure is often part of a higher power or plan that is sending you a message telling you that you didn’t have it all figured out.
Give up your addictions. That’s funny because in my journal this morning I was writing about that very subject. I’m guilty. The things we do out of compulsion and not out of conscious thought are very like addictions. That behavior leads to a lack of clarity. It clouds our purpose. Our addictions become evident when we realize we can’t abstain from some activity. If we learn to abstain we have taken a critical step towards clarity.