How to Journal Like a Stoic

“Every night before we go to sleep, we must ask ourselves: what weakness did I overcome today? What virtue did I acquire?” ~ Seneca

Our days are the currency of our lives.

They are a precious asset, the most precious one we have. They are far too valuable to be wasted or taken for granted. Yet, that is exactly what we tend to do. We let our days fly by unnoticed, unappreciated, and under-valued. We get busy and lose the forest for the trees. Days blend into one another. We wonder: “What day of the week is it?” Before we know it, weeks, months, even years fly by in a blur.

What a shame!

But the Stoics had a solution to the problem of our days slipping past us. They taught us that each day should be reflected upon. Each day should be made unique through inspection and examination.

Even before Stoicism came into existence, the Greek philosopher Socrates said:

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

The best path to a life well lived is through self-examination. The the best way to live an examined life is through journaling.

If you’ve never kept a journal before, you may be hesitant at first. Staring at a blank page and wondering what to write can be be intimidating. But it doesn’t need to be that way at all. The Stoic journal technique I recommend as a daily self-examination practice is simple.?It will take no more than 5 minutes to complete and is a great way to end your day. It provides a simple framework for a quick, daily check-in on your progress and helps you live an examined life.

How to Journal Like a Stoic

The Stoic journal technique I recommend has the acronym “GGBBR”. It provides a simple framework to reflect back upon your day and identify what you are grateful for, what you did well, and what you can do better. It helps you live an examined life! And you can use anything to do this journaling technique with, from a simple notebook to an expensive journal.

• Gratitude?— Write down three things that happened today that you are grateful for. Gratitude is a powerful practice that helps you recognize and appreciate the good things in your life.
• Good?—?Write down three things you did well today. Meaning, three things you did today that you are proud of. Ways that you behaved “Stoically.”
• Bad?—?Write down three things you could have done better.?Where did you not behave the way you would like to. This can be the difficult part of the Stoic journaling technique. But it’s a critical part of living an examined life.
• Better?—?How can you do those things better in the future? What will you do differently the next time that situation arises??This is how you start building an instruction manual for yourself on how to live a better life.
• Reflect?— Use this space for general reflection of your day.?What was unique and special about today??What lesson did you learn today? This is your space to write about whatever you wish.

Notes on Your Stoic Journaling Practice

Here are a few tips to get the most out of your journaling practice.

• Do it at Night?— Seneca recommended journaling in the evening, before bed. Journaling is meant to be a reflective practice and the day we completed gives us a “body of work” to reflect upon. We use the Stoic Journaling method to reflect back on our day, inspect it, and give it a special place in the archive of our life.
• Be Honest?— Epictetus tells us:?“Friends, the school of a philosopher is a hospital. When you leave, you should have suffered, not enjoyed yourself.”?Ok, Epictetus might be a little extreme here. We don’t have to suffer, but our journal should be an honest self-examination of our day.
• Be Kind?— Even though your are doing an honest self-examination, do it with a spirit of kindness towards yourself.
• Use Pen and Paper?— Everything we do in life is digitized in a website or app. But keeping a journal is best done with good old-fashioned paper and pen. The process of physically writing makes our examination more tangible, more personal, and more soulful.

If you’re not careful, your days will fly by unnoticed, until one day you wonder in regret: “Where did the time go?” Don’t let that happen to you. Make the most of your precious days.

Today is a great day to start living an examined life.

And there is no better way to live an examined life than through keeping a Stoic journal.