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The following Plan of Life Following the Early Stoics is from the Cave’s

The Best of the Early Stoics: The Lives, Writings & Teachings of the Early Stoics.

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As with any other plan, a plan of life is made to accomplish many goals or possibly just one significant goal. In the case of the “Plan of Life Following the Early Stoics,” the goal is happiness in terms of a life lived in agreement with nature and in accord with reason and virtue. The following plan consists of the most significant goals and practices inspired by early Stoic philosophy.

“You, O Zeno, made self-sufficiency your rule, letting go of empty riches. With gravity of deportment—venerable, revered—you discovered a manly doctrine. And with foresight you contended by means of a deliberate plan, the mother of fearless liberty.”—Zenodotus the Stoic

1. Practice philosophy. Think-observe-do. Remember: the goal of philosophy is to think well (logic), in order to observe the nature of things, including human beings, well (natural philosophy), in order to do well or be happy (ethics).

2. Guard your mind. Cultivate your intellect in order to guard your mind. Just as a wrestler acquires moves and trains so as to avoid being thrown in a match, you should learn to reason well and practice sensible thinking so that you will not be thrown in life. Listen and learn from the wise so that you too may be wise.

3. Be truthful. Try never to hold mere opinions. Be willing to declare, “I don’t know.” Withhold assent when necessary. The goal is knowledge—not merely the vapory appearance of knowledge. Ignorance is not bliss. Cling to the truth.

4. Observe nature in order to live in agreement with nature. Know that by some mind or law the cosmos is graspable by your senses and intelligible to your mind. Know, therefore, that in some manner the cosmos makes rational sense. Accordingly, discover and be confident in your place in the great scheme of things—both in the whole and in the part. In all things, live in harmony with nature. Most of all, be human!—which is to be rational.

5. Live according to reason. Recognize the beneficial role of reason in human life. When natural impulses present themselves, allow reason to shape them skillfully—from natural lumps of clay to noble objects of art. Free from negative passions or emotions, permit the leading part of your soul (the hēgemonikon) to guide you. Like a well-walled city, manage your life with reason.

6. Live according to virtue. Know that living in agreement with nature and by means of reason is to live in accord with virtue. Be convinced that virtue is the only good, that vice is the only evil, and that things indifferent are truly indifferent. Exercise yourself in practical wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice, as well as the subordinate virtues.

7. Judge well. Assent well. Practice dealing with sensations and presentations, particularly those that arouse harmful passions or emotions that are contrary to reason—envy, annoyance, anger, lust, fear, and the like. Understand that passions are judgments; they are decisions. When in doubt, withhold assent or judgment. Wait. Ask yourself the following questions: “What is the alternative?” “Do I need to feel this way?” “How else can things be?” “In what other way can I look at things?”

8. Evaluate well. Learn the true rather than the apparent value of things. Do not give things a distorted value. Know what is good (the beneficial—virtue and things associated with virtue); know what is bad (the harmful—vice and things associated with vice); and know what is indifferent (that which neither contributes to happiness nor to unhappiness). Do not confuse the good with the indifferent. Of indifferent things, recognize that some are preferred (things that are in accord with nature and have value) and some are rejected (things that are not in accord with nature and have no value). Practice letting go of preferred indifferents and embracing some non-preferred or rejected indifferents.

9. Freely accept your life. In order to be free, voluntarily choose to follow the wagon of fate. Bravely bow to destiny. Stand firm in your station. Do what must be done.

10. Do your duty. Determine what is appropriate and do it. Generally speaking, your duty is to be virtuous—to follow reason in conformity with nature. Specifically, your duty is revealed by who you actually are and your actual circumstances—your relationships, where you live, what you do, and so on. Play your role well—the one you’ve been given, the one you’re playing right now. Be social. Cultivate friendship. Care for others as you care for yourself—and know that when you care for others, you arecaring for yourself.

11. Remember the Cynics. Keep in mind that according to the Stoics, the Cynic way of life is “a shortcut upon the path of virtue” and so “a shortcut leading to happiness.” Therefore, as the Cynics would do, reduce your desires, practice endurance, develop self-control, strive for self-sufficiency, and live simply.*

12. Call on and admire God. Knowing that your life and your mind is a participation in the life and mind of God, the active principle in the cosmos, look to God for direction in all things—God, “the origin and leader of nature,” the one who guides all things with “the universal rational principle that moves through all things.” Ask God to “deliver all human beings from mournful ignorance.” With awe and full of admiration, hymn God’s law—for “there is no greater honor prize than to hymn the universal law."

*To learn more about the ancient Greek Cynics, read the Cave’s

The Best of the Cynics: The Lives, Writings & Teachings of the Ancient Cynics.