In this article, 3 Keys to The Stoic Routine, we are going to talk about daily actions as a routine, that Marcus Aurelius promotes to improve our lives.

Since they are simple steps that although in principle they could be of little importance, it is proven that they are of great importance, and could be of help for any of us, whether in our professional or personal lives.

Today we are going to decipher the daily routine promoted by the Stoic Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

This daily routine consisting of 3 steps, - actions to be taken into consideration, that well can provide us with clarity of thought, improve our ability to concentrate, self-confidence, discipline, even feel more energetic to cope with our daily tasks and purposes. In short, be better every day.

For all those who know the Stoic current of thought, they will know well who Marcus Aurelius was.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus, nicknamed "the Wise" or the Philosopher, was emperor of the Roman Empire from 161 to the year of his death in 180.
He was the last of the so-called Five Good Emperors and is considered one of the most representative figures of Stoic philosophy.

Marcus Aurelius's great work "Meditations", written in Hellenistic Greek, is still regarded as a monument to perfect government. It is often described as "a work written exquisitely and with infinite tenderness."

Stoicism through the figure of Marcus Aurelius has become more popular in our times than it even was in the past.

Unfortunately, many people interpret Stoicism in an oversized way and come to attribute excessive benefits to it. And although his study is truly interesting, we should interpret his teachings with a little measure.

One of the things that stoicism grants is the capacity for clarity when making decisions in our professional and personal lives. It helps us in our decision-making process.

This does not mean that stoicism will clarify all our decisions, but it is a simple way of interpreting the cosmos that surrounds us, and indeed helps us live a calmer life and thus make clearer and more thoughtful decisions.

This way of life that stoicism promises, considering a correct balance and tranquility, in a good way suits us in the times in which we live, since we are constantly bombarded by signs of stress in our very busy life.

Three steps: Preparation, Meditation, and the Return to Reality.

PREPARATION

The first step that Marcus Aurelius promotes is that as soon as we find ourselves in a situation where we do not know exactly how to behave, we take the following initiative.

"When you go to meet any person, and particularly one of those who consider themselves in a superior condition, put before you what some of the people you would most consider yourself to be in those circumstances would have done."
Marcus Aurelius invites us to consider the virtues of role models, real or imagined, or how they would behave in specific situations.

In the case of Marcus Aurelius, before facing any situation, he always repeated himself: "What would Zeno do in this situation?" Since he had Zeno of Elea, a Greek philosopher, a direct disciple of Parmenides of Elea, as an image to imitate, due to his stoic character.

Many historians consider Zeno as the Founder of Stoicism.

In this case, Marcus Aurelius used this person - perhaps we could do the same looking for someone who we consider to have virtues that we admire.

Let's see a practical example of how this exercise name "The Contemplation of the Sage" is carried out, as we have divided it into three essential parts or stages: Preparation, Meditation, and the Return to Reality.

For those of you unfamiliar with the word ‘sage’, a sage is someone who is considered to be wise or experienced in a certain field, and who is revered for their wisdom, judgment, and expertise.

MEDITATION

Find a quiet place where you can meditate, take a few deep breaths and close your eyes.

Set a purpose, start by reminding yourself why you are meditating.

Set expectations: how do you think this session will go?

Commit to fulfilling your purpose, fulfill it!

Remember a role model. Someone who is admired by you, whom you want to emulate.

Imagine that the role model took your place and lived your day. What decisions would he or she make? What thoughts would he or she have? Visualize this accurately, in as much detail as possible.

Imagine the same situations again, but this time it is you who lives that situation in a very positive way.

Remember that you have the power to perform excellently. You have done it before and can continue to do so.

BACK TO REALITY phase.

Take a few deep breaths.

Open your eyes.

In doing this, it can be helpful to visualize specific moments when you think you may lose control.

It can also be helpful to focus on specific goals that you would like to achieve or specific qualities that you would like to cultivate.

After all, this is an exercise in "previewing situations". For sure we have heard about this kind of mental exercise, since the vast majority of sports professionals practice it, before playing their tennis match, or taking a penalty, even ski professionals train them before his races and jumps.

When choosing a role model, it is worth remembering that no one is perfect. It's okay to experiment with choosing people you want to emulate in some way; maybe not in all aspects of their character, so focus on what you do want to emulate.

Remember to be objective and realistic, if you notice that you continue to act with defective personal traits, that you would like to eliminate, simply lower your expectations or think of a creative solution.

Of course, there are many other ways to practice Contemplation. This is just one of them, in short, this means imitating the good that other people do and thus being able to integrate them into our way of doing things.

This is a very imaginative way to dissociate yourself from your emotions and simply focus on the actions that you are going to develop, in a specific situation, be it your work or your personal life.

Another way to do this would be to try to imagine yourself in the future but an improved version of yourself.

Imagine how you would be, think, act and how you would feel if all your weak points disappeared and became virtues. In short, an improved version of yourself, something you can aspire to be in the future, well we all can.

That is to say, of the 5 personalities that we can have, you would choose the one of “The Person that you would like to be in that perfect future for you”.

This is very useful since instead of comparing yourself with other people it would be better if you start comparing yourself with your improved version. Your 2.0.!!!

In short, there are thousands of possible situations to imagine.

Try to see, imagine, the best version of yourself to imitate it and achieve faster personal development.

Let's continue with Marcus Aurelius, his steps, his advice to improve our day.

The next step could be defined as the visualization in height or what today we know as rationalization, looking at life with perspective. A view from above.

"What illusion about myself do I entertain?” – Marcus Aurelius.
Spending some time viewing your life from above and attempting to remove all emotion from the things you’ve done and the interactions you’ve had throughout the day will help develop your perspective.

When faced with a problem or even difficult decisions to make, try to increase the "field view" a view from above, so that you can have a larger prism.

You will realize that your situation and your specific problems are very small next to those of other people who live in the same city, your same country, or even your same continent.

From the nuance of the situations, it leads us to have a more pragmatic vision of reality. "It de-dramatizes the victories and defeats."

Rudyard Kipling, English, Literature Nobel Prize, already said it in his universal poem "If": "If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same."

Marcus Aurelius also promotes exercising both physically and intellectually, thus avoiding complacency. Exercising not out of vanity but out of discipline, remember the Classic Latin phrase of: “Mens sana in corpore sano” ”Healthy Mind in Healthy Body", which is framed within the context of Greek philosophy on the cultivation of the body, soul, and spirit to achieve balance.

He promotes physical exercise, thinks should be a staple in everyone’s life. You should do something every day that gets your heart beating and your body sweating.

Also exercise self-control of your emotions, your feelings, and your actions.

Another aspect that Marcus Aurelius invites us to do every day is to develop the ability to reflect on the day we have lived. The exercise is easy, simply make a summary of the actions and decisions that we have taken on the day that is ending to be aware of what we can improve in the future.

Reflect, when we have acted well and when we could have acted more correctly. Where I have had weaknesses, where I have faced them, and where I have overcome them with success. This exercise can help strengthen our personality.

In Anthroposophy it is suggested to develop the following Meditation every night before going to bed:

"The retrospective day." That is, review the day that you just finished, but from the back to the beginning, since you just prepared for meditation, marching in your mind back to the day, until its beginning, objectively analyzing all your Behavior both in your Thinking, in your Feeling and your Actions.

"Our life is what our thoughts make it" — Marcus Aurelius.
We will continue to develop the thoughts of remarkable people from the past and present, inspiring us to better develop our human qualities.

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Thanks, best regards, JM.