Author road · 12 Stations · 12 days · Mind & Psychology › Confidence
Think with William B. Irvine's tools
12 Stations through Irvine's two books, from the Stoic practices of loss, control and effort to meeting setbacks as tests, ending in a short Stoic routine of your own.
We connect two books by William B. Irvine: the practical Stoic techniques of A Guide to the Good Life, then The Stoic Challenge's method for setbacks, which treats each one as a test of calm and resourcefulness. The order is a teaching order designed by BookYol, not the author's own.
The road, station by station
01Rehearse the loss before it comes
~5 minfrom A Guide to the Good Life
Today’s Station — start →
02Sort what is up to you before you spend any energy
lockedfrom A Guide to the Good Life
03Aim at your effort, not the scoreboard
lockedfrom A Guide to the Good Life
04Choose a small discomfort on purpose
lockedfrom A Guide to the Good Life
05A setback arrives twice
lockedfrom The Stoic Challenge
06Treat the setback as a test
lockedfrom The Stoic Challenge
Milestone
The Stoic tools, in use
One loss has been rehearsed, one stressful situation sorted, one outcome rewritten as effort goals, one small discomfort chosen, and one real setback met with a test sentence, with the cost of your reaction written down.
07Name the test in the first five seconds
lockedfrom The Stoic Challenge
08The same setback, a different frame
lockedfrom The Stoic Challenge
09Pass the test without beating the setback
lockedfrom The Stoic Challenge
10Practise on the small tests
lockedfrom The Stoic Challenge
11When the test is a hard one
lockedfrom The Stoic Challenge
12A Stoic routine for an ordinary week
lockedfrom The Stoic Challenge
Milestone
Destination: a Stoic routine of your own
Your routine fits on one card: a morning minute of rehearsing loss, a test sentence and cue for the day, and a three-line evening review. It has run for a week, and at least one real setback has been met with composure and a workaround.