The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks

Send us a textStoicism can at first appear rather paradoxical. We are told the external world is not within our control and that we should focus all of our energy on our inner world. But where do goals factor in? How do we focus on becoming a better Stoic and becoming a better person? This is what this audio is all about. The Stoics were not against setting goals, but they did warn against aiming at goals that create unnecessary suffering and heartache. In this guided visualization, I walk you through the Stoic approach to setting and attaining your goals. The Stoic goal-setting method will do two things: Increase the chances of you attaining your goal Reduce unnecessary suffering as you progress toward it🔥 🧰  Free SPQR Stoic Reset Kit — 5-min audio + 1-page protocol to stop anxiety spirals fast. → stoichandbook.co/toolkit

Send us a textI used to suffer from very intense anxiety for the better part of a decade. That quest led me down many rabbit holes of personal development and philosophy that I otherwise would have missed. Now I help people work with difficult emotions using what I’ve learned, with an emphasis on Stoicism. Anxiety is crippling and somewhat inescapable in the modern world.The mainstream media purposefully make us worry, advertisements increase our performance anxiety and health anxiety, and social media does not make it easier to socialize in the real world. In today’s audio lesson, I begin by sharing the 4 scientific models we use for understanding the cause of anxiety. When you learn these, for the first time you’ll have some idea of what’s going on and how to fix it. After that, I explain the 3 core Stoic interventions for overcoming our anxiety.For those who want to go deeper… 🔥 🧰  Free SPQR Stoic Reset Kit — 5-min audio + 1-page protocol to stop anxiety spirals fast. → stoichandbook.co/toolkit

Send us a textI was recently asked to give a Stoicism talk by Peter Limberg on The Stoa. This episode contains that entire talk. But before I get into the workshop description… I just want to give a shout-out to Peter, who hosts regular epic workshops and discussions by fascinating thinkers, for free. Peter describes The Stoa as follows:"The Stoa is not a school, think tank, clinic, or commune, and it is definitely not a f*****g YouTube channel. The Stoa is a stewarded daemonic fire—on an obscure hill in the noosphere—serving as a beacon to find the others. It is a surprise, for those who have become weary of the endless pressure to know. It is also a portal, to a new world. A world that you might have stopped believing in, but have always been secretly longing for."— Peter LimbergIn my workshop, I reveal the system I use for both myself and my students in Askesis to learn Stoicism. Introducing The 4885 System...Stoicism is quite large, and life is messy. Knowing when to apply Stoicism, how to apply it, and what to focus on is tricky. I call this the complexity problem. To overcome that problem, I’ve devised the 4885 System. It’s broken down as follows: 4 Skill Categories 8 Critical Skills 8 Core Principles5 Learning Methods When these are all combined and integrated, Stoicism becomes embodied—and this is the goal… embodied Stoicism. Not just concepts. The more visually inclined, you can also watch the video here with slides.🔥 🧰  Free SPQR Stoic Reset Kit — 5-min audio + 1-page protocol to stop anxiety spirals fast. → stoichandbook.co/toolkit

Send us a textJust a quick note to let you know that The Stoic Handbook podcast is available on Spotify and all other major podcast platforms.  Here you can hit follow and get notified whenever a new lesson or meditation gets released. 

Send us a textIn today’s Stoic Handbook podcast, I explain my approach to dealing with difficult relationships. Difficult relationships are a source of suffering in many of our lives, and the Stoics were aware of this. Marcus’ Meditations was filled with notes to himself suggesting that he be tolerant and compassionate with others. This is a famous example: When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they cannot tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own - not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are obstructions.— Marcus AureliusIn my personal, Stoicism-inspired approach, I use a 3-code system: Code Yellow = Misaligned Relationships Code Orange = Troubled Relationships Code Red = Toxic RelationshipsEach level of a difficult relationship requires a different approach. What will work with a misaligned relationship could spell disaster for a truly toxic one. I hope this guide helps, and if you have any questions, I’m always happy to provide further clarity on any of the ideas.🔥 🧰  Free SPQR Stoic Reset Kit — 5-min audio + 1-page protocol to stop anxiety spirals fast. → stoichandbook.co/toolkit

Send us a textIn today’s Stoic Handbook podcast I discuss one of my favorite Stoic quotes: “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”– Marcus AureliusI’m really inspired by this quote, and it brings up a lot of ideas related to the cultivation of self-discipline and overcoming approval addiction. As I explain in the lesson, I find the distinction between “would” vs. “could” to be both a reality check and a motivational device to help us pursue what is most meaningful. 🔥 🧰  Free SPQR Stoic Reset Kit — 5-min audio + 1-page protocol to stop anxiety spirals fast. → stoichandbook.co/toolkit

Send us a textI am a longtime practitioner of martial arts, but my greatest love is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The depth of this practice has truly transformed the way I relate to my body, my “self” and the world around me. But most importantly it has shown me how to learn, and I am fascinated by the overlap between Stoicism and martial arts training. In this episode, I discuss some ways Stoicism can be learned much more efficiently if you approach it more like a martial art than a theoretical framework. 🔥 🧰  Free SPQR Stoic Reset Kit — 5-min audio + 1-page protocol to stop anxiety spirals fast. → stoichandbook.co/toolkit

Send us a textIn this Stoic lesson, I break down Stoic philosopher Epictetus' views on emotions and more specifically, how we can navigate our emotions in an oftentimes cruel and chaotic world. Even though the advice here is simple, it is arguably the most important principle in all of Stoic philosophy. Further reading:https://www.stoichandbook.co/no-event-is-disturbing-or-bad/🔥 🧰  Free SPQR Stoic Reset Kit — 5-min audio + 1-page protocol to stop anxiety spirals fast. → stoichandbook.co/toolkit

Send us a textI recently read one of the best Buddhist meditation books I’ve ever come across. The book is The Mind Illuminated. The author of this book, John Yates, aka Culadassa, has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and over 50,000 hours of meditation practice in the bank. It’s the kind of book that exudes expertise on every page. In the appendix of TMI, Culadassa shares a technique called “The Daily Mindful Review,” which is the best method he has ever discovered for increasing mindfulness in daily life. I went ahead and adapted this to add Stoic elements, and the result is what I consider to be the most powerful guided reflection I’ve ever created. Do this daily, and you will be astounded about the changes you make in the next 30 days. Those changes will include: More mindfulness Less heaviness Better decisions Drastically better relationships Improved habits More compassion And the list goes on… 🔥 🧰  Free SPQR Stoic Reset Kit — 5-min audio + 1-page protocol to stop anxiety spirals fast. → stoichandbook.co/toolkit

Send us a textIn today’s podcast, I explain my approach to learning and why I don’t believe reading books is optimal for truly integrating ideas into our life. Books can be a part of our approach to learning, but only when you already have the framework to make the most from them.If you are not intentional with your reading, you end up merely exposing yourself to ideas without integrating them with your life. 🔥 🧰  Free SPQR Stoic Reset Kit — 5-min audio + 1-page protocol to stop anxiety spirals fast. → stoichandbook.co/toolkit