Living Like a Stoic-A Week of Control and Moderation

After living as an Epicurean for the Week of Living Philosophically, I thought it would be interesting to live like a Stoic. Stoics focus on the virtues of wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation while understanding that only certain things are under our control. As a Stoic, I meditated for 10 minutes in the morning and the evening. This meditation was initially difficult, as I tend to continuously stimulate my brain to prevent my mind from wandering. However, meditating challenges this, as I must reflect on my thoughts. In the first session of meditation, I meditated for 20 minutes, which felt like an hour. I checked my clock multiple times to ensure my alarm was set. I had trouble focusing on the text for reflection, and my mind wandered to school assignments and social problems. By the end of the week, meditation became easier and more calming. Sunday’s midday reflection was difficult, as it forced me to examine a situation and the extent of my control over it. Losing control scares me, so evaluating what I have control over was hard. I tried to adopt a Stoic mindset and understand that most of the situation was out of my control, and I should only try to control what was under my control. Adopting a Stoic in the future would likely prevent me from overanalyzing situations and trying to control the actions of others.
The Circles of Hierocles was the most interesting exercise, as it allowed me to extend compassion toward all humans. The exercise challenged us to picture ourselves surrounded by a circle of light. This circle represents affection towards ourselves. The circle expands to family and close friends and expands to encompass the human race. This task challenged me to show compassion and empathy to those who are frustrating me, as to include them in the circle, I had to show them affection. This idea differed widely from my original perception of Stoics as cold and unemotional. Instead, Stoics believe that we are all one organism and should have rational relationships.
To practice self-discipline, I chose to run a mile at the gym every day. While running benefits my health, I aimed at improving my mental strength through Stoic ideals. I regularly work out, so running is not difficult, although I often walk the mile or run half a mile. To run a mile every day requires strong mental focus, as I do not enjoy running. The mind is stronger than the body, so while running every day is difficult for me, it was often my mind telling me I could not, and my body followed this thought process. From Tuesday-Saturday, I ran a mile in under 10 minutes successfully. This also made me appreciate that I have a body that allows me to run and use my legs, as others are not as fortunate. Even the simple activity of running is an accomplishment. Overall, the week was interesting, and mostly helped me examine my control in situations.