Coaching practices for Marcus Aurelius Attention
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Marcus Aurelius Attention, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I’m never actually in what I’m doing
- I’m never really doing the thing I’m doing
- This one problem has swelled up to fill my entire field of vision, like it’s the only thing in the world
- I know who I’m going to deal with today
- I react before I’ve even decided to
Practices that may help
- Do the task in front of you, fully
Treat each present action as if it were your last, with full attention and no half-measures.
Meditations, as Marcus Practiced It - Give full attention to the present action
Do what you are doing completely — not while managing the past or planning the future.
The Stoic Discipline of Action - Meditations, as Marcus Practiced It
Meditations was Marcus Aurelius’ private journal — a set of self-directed exercises for keeping his judgment steady while running an empire: writing to himself, rehearsing the day’s difficult people, separating events from his opinions about them, and remembering how small and brief it all is. The strongest evidence for these is their direct line into cognitive behavioral therapy and into expressive-writing and self-distancing research. - Place it in the scale of the whole
Set your problem against the size of the universe and the brevity of all human time.
Meditations, as Marcus Practiced It - Premeditate the difficult people
Each morning, expect to meet the ungrateful, the arrogant, and the dishonest — and pre-decide your response.
Meditations, as Marcus Practiced It - Prosoche — the practice of attention
Maintain constant, vigilant attention to your own thoughts, judgments, and impulses as they arise.
Pierre Hadot’s Spiritual Exercises - Account for what you owe others
Regularly recall, by name, the people and gifts that made you who you are.
Meditations, as Marcus Practiced It - Return to the present as the only moment of action
Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus all return to the same point: you can only act now — stop deferring life.
Philosophy as a Way of Life - Retreat to the inner citadel
When the world presses in, withdraw into your own mind — the one place no one can occupy.
Meditations, as Marcus Practiced It - Act as a rational social animal — remember your dual nature
Before acting, check both: is this rational (consistent with reason and reality)? And is it social (does it serve others)?
The Stoic Discipline of Action
Related concerns
- Meditations As Marcus Practiced It At Work
Meditations was Marcus Aurelius’ private journal — a set of self-directed exercises for keeping his judgment steady while running an empire: writing to himself, rehearsing the day’s difficult people, separating events from his opinions about them, and remembering how small and brief it all is. The strongest evidence for these is their direct line into cognitive behavioral therapy and into expressive-writing and self-distancing research.
- Meditations As Marcus Practiced It When Overwhelmed
Meditations was Marcus Aurelius’ private journal — a set of self-directed exercises for keeping his judgment steady while running an empire: writing to himself, rehearsing the day’s difficult people, separating events from his opinions about them, and remembering how small and brief it all is. The strongest evidence for these is their direct line into cognitive behavioral therapy and into expressive-writing and self-distancing research.
- Meditations As Marcus Practiced It With My Partner
Meditations was Marcus Aurelius’ private journal — a set of self-directed exercises for keeping his judgment steady while running an empire: writing to himself, rehearsing the day’s difficult people, separating events from his opinions about them, and remembering how small and brief it all is. The strongest evidence for these is their direct line into cognitive behavioral therapy and into expressive-writing and self-distancing research.
- Meditations As Marcus Practiced It With My Team
Meditations was Marcus Aurelius’ private journal — a set of self-directed exercises for keeping his judgment steady while running an empire: writing to himself, rehearsing the day’s difficult people, separating events from his opinions about them, and remembering how small and brief it all is. The strongest evidence for these is their direct line into cognitive behavioral therapy and into expressive-writing and self-distancing research.
- Marcus Aurelius Difficult People
Each morning, expect to meet the ungrateful, the arrogant, and the dishonest — and pre-decide your response.
Premeditate the difficult people
- Marcus Aurelius Impediment Action
When something blocks your intended action, ask what virtuous response the obstacle itself calls for.
Treat each obstacle as an opportunity for the discipline of action
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