Stoic Journal — Template
Use this daily — morning section before the day starts, evening section before sleep. Modeled on the practice found in Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, Epictetus’s Enchiridion, and Seneca’s letters. The point is building virtue and resilience through daily rehearsal, not just recording events.
- Date: [FILL: YYYY-MM-DD]
1. Morning — Premeditatio Malorum (Premeditation of Adversity)
What could go wrong today? Naming it in advance removes its power to surprise.
- [FILL]
2. Morning — Dichotomy of Control
Split today’s concerns into what is and isn’t up to me (Epictetus’s core distinction).
| Within my control (judgments, effort, response) | NOT within my control (outcomes, others’ opinions, external events) |
|---|---|
| [FILL] | [FILL] |
| [FILL] | [FILL] |
Where will I place my effort today, given this split? [FILL]
3. Evening — Seneca’s Three Questions
From Seneca’s On Anger, practiced nightly:
- What bad habit have I cured today, or what fault have I checked? [FILL]
- What did I do wrong today? [FILL]
- What could I have done better? [FILL]
4. Virtue Check
Rate how well I embodied each cardinal virtue today (1-5) and note the moment that best shows it.
| Virtue | Rating (1-5) | Moment that shows it |
|---|---|---|
| Wisdom (sound judgment, seeing clearly) | [FILL] | [FILL] |
| Justice (fairness, duty to others) | [FILL] | [FILL] |
| Courage (facing difficulty, speaking truth) | [FILL] | [FILL] |
| Temperance (self-control, moderation) | [FILL] | [FILL] |
5. Tomorrow
One virtue to focus on tomorrow, and why:
[FILL]
Reference: Dichotomy of control — Epictetus, Enchiridion Ch. 1. Evening review — Seneca, On Anger III.36. Four cardinal virtues — wisdom, justice, courage, temperance — the core Stoic virtue framework.
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