How To Be A Stoic Re-read, Chapter 14, Practical Spiritual Exercises, Week 15

“Admit not sleep into your tender eyelids till you have reckoned up each deed of the day large – how have I erred, what done or left undone? So Start, and so review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad.” – Epictetus

I have read and re-read the opening quote from Epictetus several times. I interpret the quote as a call for daily retrospectives. This is a practice that I do both personally and professionally. The word “try” reflects a lack of perfection and a requirement that I continue to work on the practice. Chapter 14 of How To Be A Stoic is all about continuing to learn and practice.

I view this chapter in two related chunks. The first is a summary of Stoicism’s basic framework identified in the first 13 chapters. Pigliucci uses the framework in the second chunk to lay out a set of practices to instill stoic virtues and principles. While the author uses the phrase “spiritual exercises” in the title, the exercises are practical approaches to behavior change rather than metaphysical. As I have digested this book and learned about Stoicism, I have found that the practices extolled in this book are just good approaches to living and dealing with people. Some may interpret it as metaphysical but I do not.

As I planned the re-read of this chapter, my original intent was to highlight a few of the practices but as I read the text a second time I decided that a better approach to this chapter was to dive into the idea of why a daily habit of performing a rotating set of practices was valuable. I shifted my plan to “a how how-to and why” rather than recounting the practices.

When I was young my parents often told me that practice makes perfect. I heard that phrase several million times when I was learning the piano. As time progressed, perfect was not a bar I approached. Van Cliburn (a great American pianist) never looked over his shoulder based on my playing BUT the more I played the more I progressed. I took more away from the idea of practice than I did from the piano. To this day, I know where middle C is on the keyboard, where my fingers start, and I can read music (at least I think I can). The physical act of practicing created patterns in my mind so that these “things” became second nature. This is the idea that Piggaluci is trying to impart by suggesting daily exercises. Rarely is it sufficient to read a book or hear a bit of theory and have a new behavior emerge perfectly formed and indelibly fixed in your mind. Repetition and use are generally required to establish new patterns and pathways in your mind – hence the daily repetition the author suggests. I would add reflection and external feedback to the author’s suggestions. The concept of reflection whether a part of the Shewhart Cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act), OODA Loop, or agile retrospective is crucial. Acting without regard to the outcome will result in mayhem in the long run. Pure introspection is rarely enough to navigate the nuances of the real world hence the need for mentors and coaches. This is a reason that performers (of all types) have coaches and teachers. The Agile Coaching Code of Ethical Behavior (code of ethics) calls for all Agile Coaches to engage with a peer group and to have mentors. Feedback keeps behavior on track by providing boundaries and helping to interpret gray areas.

I am using the 12 exercises suggested by the author to help ingrain Stoic virtues and principles. My approach is old school. I have written each practice on a 3×5” index card. I begin by shuffling the deck and then pulling a card every morning. I get through the “deck” about once every two weeks…I seem to miss a day here and there.

I look forward to the day when I don’t need the daily prompt to remind myself of the impermanence of things or to otherize events. It will come.

Next week’s installment will include closing thoughts and a decision on the next book in the re-read series. There is still time to suggest ideas.

Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along)

Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts

Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path

Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey

Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not

Week 5: Live According To Nature

Week 6: Playing Ball With Socrates

Week 7: God or Atoms?

Week 8: It’s All About Character

Week 9: A Very Crucial Word