Marcus Aurelius says “Nowhere you can go
is more peaceful, more free of interruptions, than your own soul. Retreat to consult your own soul and then
return to face what awaits you.” Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor from 161
to 180 AD and is considered as the last of the Five Good Emperors. During his time, he constructed a series of
autobiographical writings known as the Meditations, in which he constantly advocated for finding
stillness in life and while his meditations regularly speak of the importance of waking
up early and seizing the day, he also stressed the importance of taking time to retreat into
oneself and find stillness. Thanks to his journalling, we have a fair
idea of what his evening routine would have looked like and in this video we will be diving
into 7 different things Marcus Aurelius would have done in his evenings and how we can follow
or adapt that routine to our modern day lives. 1. Eliminate external Stimuli
Marcus Aurelius says, “It is in your power to retire into yourself whenever you choose.” It is known that Marcus Aurelius used his
evenings to disconnect. While he is particularly known for his philosophy
advising us to live everyday like it could be your last, he also believed in taking time
to find retreat within his own mind in order to renew himself. He did this in an effort to cleanse himself
from stress or negative feelings by disconnecting from external stimuli and finding value in
looking inward. External stimuli are changes outside the body,
or knowledge that is passed to us through our senses. Today we face constant external stimuli especially
when engaging with people and technology and in order to meet the superfluous demands of
our modern day society, we overcommit and our days have become jam-packed with tasks,
to-dos, meetings, emails, and deadlines. We have lost our freedom and our peace of
mind and even if we work hard to create a work-life balance, it’s inevitable that
we come home feeling exhausted, overworked, and stressed. Our evening routine then typically involves
catching up with social media, watching television, or trying to answer those last minute emails. We need to cut down on these stimuli and declutter
our brain. Hence your evening routine should be time
you spend with yourself. This probably means eliminating many of the
night time activities you’ve gotten used to and replacing them with new ones that will
actually help you disconnect and focus on yourself. It means putting your technology to bed at
least half an hour before you go to bed yourself, and instead seek stillness. This can be as simple as a 5 minute guided
meditation such as a body scan or breathing exercise. Mindfulness meditations help to slow down
an overactive mind and tune into your physical body. This type of meditation can serve as a retreat
within ourselves and the impact of incorporating this into an evening routine can be incredibly
beneficial. Meditation is known to reduce anxiety, improve
mood, and also significantly improve sleep. Your bedtime routine should be a vacation
from the busy world and a retreat into your peaceful self. While indulging in binge watching shows, playing
video games, catching up with friends, or scrolling through social media may feel like
taking a personal break these activities aren’t actually helping you achieve stillness. In fact, they are distracting you from finding
it, and while sleep is important, it’s often not enough to restore you after a busy day. The ultimate relaxing evening routine actually
needs to contain something that allows your mind to switch off. 2. Get some physical Exercise
Marcus Aurelius tells us “It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty
and strength of which his body is capable” Even though Marcus Aurelius lived nearly two
thousand years ago, he understood the importance of physical exercise. He believed that a healthy mind cannot exist
without a healthy body. Stoics believed that even a simple fitness
routine can teach us virtuous life skills such as perseverance, self-improvement, discipline,
overcoming challenges, and building self-confidence. They understood it was more important to exercise
to achieve these skills of self-mastery, rather than for the sake of external approval. Despite what the media might have us believe,
Stoics knew even then that trying to have ‘beach-ready bod’ just to show off rarely
leads to true happiness. We often skip our workout session with excuses
like "I'm too tired." "I have a big meeting tomorrow, so I don't
want to be sore." oh ah "I'm so stressed at work I can't even
think about exercise". While most of us dread exercising for various
reasons, it has too many amazing physical and mental health benefits to ignore it as
a part of your routine completely. Any form of exercise routine - whether you
play a sport or go to the gym is good for you as it releases a flood of feel-good brain
chemicals — known as endorphins — that reduce your stress levels and boost your mood
and if you work out in evenings, it can even help you fall asleep faster, leaving you feeling
refreshed and ready to take on the next day. You can also incorporate the concept of having
a quick mind-cleansing evening walk outside and while walking, notice the air and the
environment that surrounds you. Let your mind shift from ruminating thoughts
of the day to observing the night sky you walk under. By gently moving your body, and taking in
the beauty of the nature around you will help you clear your head from a busy day and prepare
you for a good night’s rest. We should exercise to lead a better life in
accordance with Nature – that is, keeping our bodies ready for when we need them and
keeping them in good working condition. 3. Review your day
According to Marcus Aurelius, “Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability
to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.” The Stoics believed that the two best times
for reflection were in the morning and evening: Prepare for the day ahead by journaling in
the morning and reviewing the day that just passed. Marcus Aurelius wrote his meditations with
the intention of reviewing his own daily life and thoughts to achieve personal clarity. He kept a constant eye on his daily actions
and choices. Stoics emphasized being mindful of your own
actions and stressed the importance of taking time at the end of each day to review what
happened as a way to become more mindful in general. Stoics called this type of mindfulness ‘Attention’
which is meant to bring self-awareness to your actions and whether they are aligned
with your higher self. Some stoics compared this type of daily self-reflection
to pleading your case to a court. You recall and judge your day through taking
the time to self-examine your daily actions and choices and then systematically review
them. This is not meant to be a judgmental practice,
but instead a compassionate review that will guide you into making better choices in the
future. You can incorporate this type of daily review
in your evening routine by setting aside some time before getting into bed to recall the
day you just had. Go through each moment of the day from the
second you woke up to the moment you are in now. Meditate on the various choices and actions
you made: What did you do well today? What emotions did you experience? What parts of your day brought you discomfort? How can you learn from what happened to you
today? What did you not get done today that you wish
you had? Daily reflections serve a critical role in
Stoic philosophy. They help us prepare for the day ahead by
noting what we wish we had gotten around to today. They are also key in assessing whether our
daily actions are in line with the person we actually want to be. For example, while reviewing your day you
may recall an event such as an unpleasant interaction you had over a miscommunication
while buying your morning coffee. You’ll be able to identify how that one
interaction left you feeling uneasy and annoyed. You’ll be able to highlight the time you
spent dwelling on the encounter and how it impacted your mood throughout the morning. You can take time to reflect on how you wish
you’d handled the encounter differently or how insignificant the interaction ended
up being in your day overall. Just by becoming aware of this event the next
time you face a similar situation you can approach it with heightened mindfulness. Setting aside time at night to review your
daily progress is an important step in leading a Stoic lifestyle. It may also serve you as a chance to catch
up on your daily journaling if you were unable to journal in the morning. 4. Contemplate your personal sage
In the words of Marcus Aurelius “Mastery of reading and writing requires a master. Still, more so life” A sage is someone who is considered to be
wise or experienced in a certain field, and who is revered for their wisdom, judgment,
and expertise. For many people this is a role model. Stoics spent time reflecting on their sages
and whether their own actions were consistent with those of their sage. Marcus Aurelius considered the sage to be
someone full of wisdom and knowledge. His sage was Zeno, the founder of Stoic philosophy,
and he would often ask himself ‘What would Zeno do?’. Contemplation of the sage should essentially
be a period of time in the evening where you reflect on your day, or the person you are,
and ask yourself ‘What would your role model do?’. Your role model could be someone you know
or maybe just a concept of an ideal person. It is important to have a clear definition
of this person so that you reflect on whether your actions are in line with your role model. As part of your evening routine take a few
minutes to recall your role model and ask yourself - Did you act as your role model
would? In what ways can you improve tomorrow so that
your life is more in line with your role model? What traits does your role model have that
you saw in yourself today? Incorporating a few minutes in your evening
routine to consider the situations you experienced today and whether you reacted as you believe
your role model would have may boost your awareness in your choices for tomorrow and
make you a better person - the kind of person you admire so deeply. 5. Take a view from above
In the words of Marcus Aurelius “Think of substance in its entirety, of which you have
the smallest of shares; and of time in its entirety, of which a brief and momentary span
has been assigned to you; and of the works of destiny, and how very small is your part
in them” Marcus Aurelius advises us to contemplate
life from ‘the point of view of the cosmos’ or to take ‘a view from above.’ A view from above means taking a zoomed out
perspective of your life and looking at yourself and your day as if you were watching from
a third person's perspective to remove personal emotions and anxieties. It is known that in his evenings, Aurelius
would reflect on his life from the point of view of the cosmos to overcome his own limited
personal perspective. In today’s world, there’s a lot of “noise”. Every time we step out the door we’re presented
with advertising, marketing, news, opinion, and distraction. When we’re not at work, or with our family,
we’re on our phone, or our radio is on, or the TV is on, or on the computer. All of this causes “Mental Burn out” It
is difficult to find space to think, and breathe. Our attention is being captured by apps, games,
videos, and shows and the fact that our attention is often on other things, makes it more difficult
for us to work through our problems, anxieties, stresses and commitments. To help with this, this Stoic exercise of
taking a view from above can be used to lessen the burden of our problems as it shifts our
perspective to a level high above ourselves. You can start by spending some quiet time
in the evening looking at your immediate surroundings and your body, your home and the people you
live with. We start to think about what they feel, how
we relate to one another, what problems, hopes, and fears they might have. Then zoom out to see your own city, and how
everyone who lives around you has a unique life that you know nothing about, they have
hopes, dreams and fears just like you. Then zoom out to view your country, then further,
broadening your perspective to the entire planet, considering all the people on Earth,
all of our lives spread across countries, social classes, races and cultures. Think about what hardships some of the worst-off
people are going through. You can keep zooming out to the solar system,
the universe and to the entirety of existence. When we look at ourselves from above, we see
ourselves not as individuals, disconnected from the things around us, but as part of
a greater whole - A participant in everything around us. Looking at ourselves from the outside helps
us to see ourselves and our concerns more objectively. When we distance ourselves from the worries,
anxieties, and problems we face, we can see them more clearly, less emotionally, and have
a better chance of understanding their causes and solutions. It becomes easier to see things in context. If you are feeling down because someone insulted
you, try this exercise. It is far easier to overcome the emotional
hurdles we experience when we put things into perspective. Bickering and minor disagreements seem silly
in comparison. Many of our problems can dissolve when we
hold them up to the problems of others, or the vastness of space. 6. Spend time with family
Marcus Aurelius tells us “The longest-lived and those who will die soonest lose the same
thing. The present is all that they can give up,
since that is all you have, and what you do not have, you cannot lose.” For Marcus Aurelius, as the day came to a
close, it was time to be around family. Marcus clearly loved his children and his
wife dearly. Even though he was important, famous and extremely
busy, he didn’t ignore them. He would tuck his children into bed at night
and kiss them, he would say quietly to himself, “Don’t rush this. This might be the last time you do this. It’s not guaranteed that either of you will
make it through the night.” He loved them. He cherished this thing in front of him, which
really was the most important thing in his life, and then he said goodnight. He would repeatedly do this - for as long
as he was fortunate enough to live. Stoics used the contemplation of death as
a practice by which to remind themselves of the impermanence of life. Nurse Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who
focused on caring for the terminally-ill, said that one of the most common regrets of
a dying person is they wished they had spent more time with their family. Her patients often complained about missing
out on their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Because of the demands of modern life, families
are spending a little over half an hour of quality time together during the week and
even when families do get together as many as seven in ten parents say the time is spent
in silence in front of the TV because they are busy reading, playing computer games or
simply too tired to talk. Like Stoics, if we regularly contemplate our
death, remind ourselves that there will be a day where we or our kids won't wake up to
enjoy the beautiful chaos of life, we will start making some changes to spend more time
with family, and often tell our children or our family that we love them. Family time is an essential factor that helps
to create strong bonds, love, connections, and relationships among the family members. Spending quality time with family helps in
coping with challenges, instilling a feeling of security, inculcating family values and
filling children with confidence. 7. Prepare for mornings Marcus Aurelius says, “In your actions,
don't procrastinate.” Marcus Aurelius strongly advocated the importance
of waking up early each morning. He did this to create a morning routine that
would take the most advantage of every living moment. Therefore, sleeping was meant to be a restorative
experience and not a time to overindulge in laziness. A morning routine was essential to Aurelius,
however part of this morning routine started even before the morning as he prepared for
the next day the night before. Stoics often prepared for their day by setting
aside time in the morning to rehearse their days. They did this through considering what they
wanted to achieve that day, preparing for different possible outcomes, and reflecting
on themselves. These types of reflections were done by many
Stoics in the morning and as well in the evening. To start, you can prepare the night before
to make waking up as easy as possible. This may mean laying out your clothes for
the next day, packing your bag for work, or having a clear morning routine you stick to. This also means going to bed at a reasonable
time so that you get a good 6-8 hours of sleep. Not only is this beneficial for your health,
it will make waking up a more pleasant experience. Preparing for tomorrow during your evening
routine will not only help you with your morning routine, it can reduce anxiety about the tasks
that lay ahead of you when waking up. If you enjoyed this video, please do make
sure to check out our Stoicism playlist and for more videos to help you find success and
happiness using ancient philosophical wisdom, don’t forget to subscribe. Thanks so much for watching.
