Coaching practices for Marcus Aurelius Difficult People
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Marcus Aurelius Difficult People, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I know who I’m going to deal with today
- There’s this one person who gets right under my skin, and I’ve started to see them as just an obstacle, almost less than human
- This one problem has swelled up to fill my entire field of vision, like it’s the only thing in the world
- I keep landing in one of two ditches
- The noise and demands of everyone around me get inside my head until I have no peace anywhere
Practices that may help
- 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 - See the shared humanity in difficult people
When someone frustrates you, remind yourself they are part of the same rational whole — and act from that.
Sympatheia — the Stoic Practice of Universal Interconnection - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - Write to yourself, not for an audience
Keep a private record of philosophical self-argument, not a performance or a diary.
The Stoic Daily Review - Write to yourself (the Meditations method)
Keep a private notebook where you argue yourself back to your own principles, in your own words.
Meditations, as Marcus Practiced It - Treat each obstacle as an opportunity for the discipline of action
When something blocks your intended action, ask what virtuous response the obstacle itself calls for.
The Stoic Discipline of Action
Related concerns
- 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
- Meditations As Marcus Practiced It During A Big Change
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.
- Meditations Marcus Aurelius Practice
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 Marcus Aurelius Summary
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.
- Rational Animal Marcus Aurelius
Before acting, check both: is this rational (consistent with reason and reality)? And is it social (does it serve others)?
Act as a rational social animal — remember your dual nature
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.