every morning <\/a>we have to work out what we will do today, whether we feel like working, whether it makes sense, and whether we are motivated enough, we spend an enormous amount of energy negotiating with ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA Stoic routine can look entirely ordinary. I get up, do what needs doing, work, rest, read, and do it all again the next day. There is no need to experience every day as an epic struggle for success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone obsessed with success asks, \u201cHow can I achieve more?\u201d A Stoic asks, \u201cHow can I do what is in front of me today well?\u201d The first looks at the result. The second looks at the action that leads to it. And the result, after all, lies partly beyond our control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can write a book, paint a picture, prepare a project, have a conversation, or do our jobs. What we cannot guarantee is that the book will become a bestseller, someone will buy the painting, we will receive praise, a customer will choose our product, or an audience will love us. Stoicism allows us to say: my task is to do my part well. The rest is not up to me. That is extraordinarily liberating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Art of Moderation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Someone might point out that Emperor Marcus Aurelius did not climb from the bottom to the top of the social ladder: he was born into wealth. He therefore had time to instruct others. An ordinary person who wants to get somewhere has to do a little worrying and figuring out how to earn money and exercise some control over themselves and others. That is true. Yet common sense reminds us that if we invest in education and keep our expectations of life and other people in proportion, we should have little reason to complain<\/strong>. Provided, of course, that our health holds up.<\/p>\n\n\n\nResearch on well-being shows that once our income exceeds 10,000 Polish z\u0142oty, further increases no longer substantially affect our happiness. Marcus Aurelius\u2019s Meditations<\/em> is not a guide to acquiring more power. That alone suggests that power is not essential to a satisfying life.<\/p>\n\n\n\nInstead, Meditations<\/em> records a continual effort to remind himself: practice moderation, carry out your duties, do not worry about other people\u2019s opinions, remember that everything passes, respond sensibly, and do not let someone else\u2019s behavior rob you of your self-control. There is a beautiful paradox here. A man with enormous power reminds himself that he cannot control the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStoic Inspiration on Screen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Groundhog Day<\/em> (directed by Harold Ramis, 1993) offers inspiration for finding our authentic selves and remaining true to them through a Stoic outlook. We can read it as an instructive story about the transformation of a man absorbed in his own wants.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAt first, Phil Connors wants above all to possess, acquire, control, and get his own way. The endlessly repeating day deprives him of any escape from himself. Only when he stops focusing exclusively on his own interests does he begin to experience the same reality differently. Interestingly, the outside world barely changes. The person does. That is a distinctly Stoic structure. You cannot always change a situation. You can change the way you take part in it. And that creates room for new possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Good Life Without \u201cSuccess\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n In Perfect Days<\/em> (directed by Wim Wenders, 2023), Hirayama follows a very simple routine: work, music, a book, a bath, sleep, another day. From the outside, his life may seem devoid of ambition. But the film asks: does a life have to be spectacular to be good? It certainly stands in contrast to today\u2019s culture of achievement. We do not constantly need a promotion, a bigger apartment, a bigger bank balance, more prestige, or a larger audience. Far more than that, we need work done well, relationships, time, quiet, an interest in something meaningful, and a steady rhythm.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPaterson<\/em> (directed by Jim Jarmusch, 2016), meanwhile, is a film about creative routine. Its protagonist drives a bus and writes poems. He is not a celebrity. He does not obsessively build a personal brand. Instagram reach does not concern him. Nor does he make a performance of being an \u201cartist.\u201d He simply works, observes, writes, goes home, and does the same thing the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\nArt does not need constant success. It needs someone who sits down to work every day. Fate will decide<\/strong>, however we understand it, whether fame, prestige, and money follow. If they do not, we will not feel that we have wasted our lives. We will still have done something that mattered to us and gave our lives meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStoicism Does Not Mean Giving Up Ambition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Stoicism, however, does not celebrate passivity. A Stoic can be highly ambitious.<\/strong> They may want to start a company, write a book, paint a picture, become a doctor, win a competition, or earn money. The distinction lies elsewhere. Ambition says: I want to achieve this. Stoicism adds: I will work toward it, but my sense of self-worth cannot depend on whether I achieve that exact result.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA Stoic does not have to be poor, because Stoicism does not say that money is bad.<\/strong> Money is an external thing. It can be useful, but it should not determine who we are. We can therefore have money and still be Stoics. The problem in today\u2019s world is the belief that we must have money to feel that we have worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n