- Premeditatio malorum
- Memento Mori
- Dichotomy of Control: “Some things are up to us and others are not. Up to us are opinion, impulse, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is our own action. Not up to us are body, property, reputation, office, and, in a word, whatever is not our own action.” (Epictetus, Handbook 1)
- Examination of Impressions and Assent Control (Prosoche)
- The Reserve Clause: When forming a plan include a conditional phrase like “If God wills it” or “As long as I can maintain my character”.
- Embracing challenges as training (Obstacle is the way): If your goal is to display an excellent character, then any obstacle or challenge you face becomes an opportunity to do that. This makes challenges not something you passively endure, but something you grow from.
- journaling: a Stoic will monitor their ethical progress. What gets measured gets managed, and the Stoic measures their ability to live up to Stoic ideals.
- a view from above
- contemplation of the ideal man
- self-retreat into your own mind
- Premeditation of Adversity (Praemeditatio Malorum)
- Voluntary discomfort