The Daily Stoic Book Review: How I Am Using It In the New Year

January is a great time of year to create a good reading habit for the year. Personally, I am in the process of creating a reading list that so that I can work my way through so many books that I have collected over the years.

But there is one book that I have already started that has become part of my daily morning routine. It is called The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday.

If you practice meditation or reflection on a daily basis – this book offers a daily dose of thought provoking insights that are based on the three basic principles of Stoicism:

• controlling our perceptions
• directing our actions
• and using our will to find the wisdom to deal with all that life throws at you.

Why I Like This Book

The Daily Stoic is basically a book of 366 short, bite sized, daily meditations. Each one is about a page and a half long and is titled with the day, the month, and the title of the content. So, after a brief introduction, you begin the book with the read for January 1 – which incidentally is titled “Control and Choice”

The reading begins with an insightful quote and then a succinct discussion of the topic at hand.

I love this format for a few reasons.

First, the reading is quick and does not require a big time commitment from you, the reader. I like to read the book in the quiet of the morning and take a few minutes to reflect on the message and how it relates to my thoughts, actions, and the happenings in my own life.

Second, I like that each reading has an associated date s that I can jump back in if I fall out of practice for a day, a week, or even a month.

This will actually be my second year going through this book and I feel like I could actually go through the whole thing again each and every year.

What is Stoicism?

To be honest, I had never really heard about stoicism before picking up this book (pardon my ignorance).

But right at the beginning of the book – the author summarizes the philosophy as this:

The philosophy asserts that virtue (meaning, chiefly, the four cardinal virtues of self-control, courage, justice, and wisdom) is happiness, and it is our perceptions of things — rather than the things themselves — that cause the most of our trouble. ~ The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living page 3.

The Message In Stoicism that Hits Home

The most important message in this book for me is the fact that there are simply things in life that we cannot control. However, we can control how we respond – our actions, our emotions, and the processing of our circumstances.

For a recovering perfectionist like me – this is something that I need to hear every day. It helps me to broaden my perspective and become more empathetic.

What This Book Is Not

If you are looking for a deep dive into the principles of Stoicism – this is not the book to find it.

For sure, The Daily Stoic has peaked my curiosity into Stoicism as a whole. But the book itself is a daily quote followed by an easy to read interpretation of the thought of the day.

I may look into more in depth books on this topic to read in the future.

Part of My Morning Routine

As I mentioned before, I have incorporated a daily reading from this book into my morning routine.

I typically read it on my Kindle Scribe. With the new 5.17.2 software update I can take handwritten notes right on the page – and I have so many thoughts that I want to jot down as I go through this book.

But you can also get read it on a Kindle Paperwhite or get the paperback or hardcover version of the book – whichever works better for you – and take notes in a journaling notebook.

If you are looking for more self growth books here are 3 guided mindfulness books to include in your morning routine.

Give The Daily Stoic a Try

I have found the daily readings in The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living to be an important part of my mindfulness practice.

One of my goals for the new year is to focus on my health – both my physical and mental well-being and I feel that this book is a useful tool to help me accomplish that end.

Happy Reading!