After years of wanting to build my own website but not knowing where to begin, I finally started Mind & Practice in August 2020.
I’ve been interested in writing since I was a kid, but for a long time I felt like it was just a hobby I’d someday outgrow. After all, why would anyone ever want to read something I had to write?
Was it worth trying, even if not that many people would ever read it? Is it worth starting a mentally-draining hobby on the side of a full-time job with no guarantee of success? For the longest time, the somber answers to these questions made my goal feel like a pipe dream.
Something changed in the spring of 2020. Social distancing meant that my new routine involved spending a lot of time at home. I used the time to catch up on reading and do some online courses that I’d never considered earlier.
This is where Stoicism comes in. I learned about mindfulness and brushed up on productivity during this period, but Stoicism is the main reason I started this website.
Today I’ll finally tell my origin story. I’ll discuss how I started this site and the Stoic concepts that helped me along the way. Maybe my story will get you interested in Stoicism or even motivated enough to tackle one of your own goals.
Stoic Principles
Stoicism is an ancient philosophy that originated in Athens over 2000 years ago. It’s a practical philosophy that promotes mental health and proactivity by having a clear mind and rational thoughts.
Stoicism really comes down to a few core principles like living with virtue, taking responsibility for the life you want and focusing on what you can control. Anything else we should learn to embrace as fate.
Stoicism is a great framework for mindfulness and achieving goals. Today, we’ll focus on the achievement side of this philosophy – how it helps us think clearly and be productive.
The following sections are based on Stoic principles, most of which we’ve already covered in depth in previous articles.
For a primer on Stoicism, learn more about Stoicism in a Nutshell and Being a Modern Stoic.
Following my “Virtue”
The Stoics talked a lot about virtue, they even developed a framework of four Stoic cardinal virtues. They taught that everyone should reflect on wisdom, justice, courage and self-discipline.
When I first started learning about Stoicism, I meditated on the four cardinal virtues and even felt a new connection to the value of kindness.
Reflecting on my virtues
Creativity and learning have always been among my core values. As a kid, I had a lot of creative hobbies like making music, writing stories and general playfulness.
I felt like I wanted to create something in my free time, but I just wasn’t sure what. I ended up meditating for a few months on what I should devote my time to.
As I mentioned earlier, I spent a lot of time learning new things in 2020 and really enjoy the process. Sometimes it just feels a bit pointless when I learn something and I forget it until maybe I remember it someday in the future.
Eventually I thought: “Why not turn knowledge into action and maybe help others learn something practical?” That’s the general idea behind this blog, helping others learn the most valuable thing there is in my opinion: mindfulness. And generally, putting our minds to practice.
I always loved this quote often attributed to Abraham Lincoln:
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.
That quote pretty much sums up the general idea of this site: Learn first, then act better. Mind & Practice.
Taking Responsibility
The Stoics preached that we should take responsibilities for the lives that we want. Rather than victimise ourselves and complain that life isn’t fair, we do take action into our own hands. We do what we can and don’t fixate on the negative. That’s the key to getting things done.
I’ve always wanted to start a business, but I’ve never been sure where to start. I used to shrug it off, as if it wasn’t my time yet – but that my eureka moment was coming.
A few of my friends have founded start-ups. Growing up, that was always my dream but I never knew how to start. I didn’t have a brilliant start-up idea or any unique trade skills. Studying Business and Languages at university, I didn’t feel my fields were the foundation of a company I could or even wanted to start.
I put off thinking about it for years, hoping an opportunity would just fall in my lap. So I trudged along with my 9-5 job and a multitude of hedonic hobbies. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that lifestyle, it just didn’t align with my ideal self.
I’ve always felt that life is too short to not give it my all. There was a discrepancy between who I wanted to be and who I felt I was. Simply put: I didn’t take responsibility for the life I knew I wanted.
Deciding my path
What I was really missing was a clear path. I didn’t know what I was fully capable of or even what I really wanted to do. I felt that if I started a new business or side hustle, there was a big chance I’d just give up and waste the time and energy I put in.
Before I started anything, I needed to think about what I wanted. If I was going to start something new, I needed to have a plan. I scheduled time to think, for Stoic meditation and to take notes in my Bullet Journal.
What I really needed was to get back to the roots of why I wanted to start a business in the first place. So I thought: I want to use my creative skills. And really, all I needed was to find something I would enjoy doing everyday.
At this point, I had a pretty good idea, so I started doing my research. What could I enjoy doing everyday, while creating value? (More on that in the next section.)
Now I generally like to think, I’ll try new things, probably fail most of them, but one day I’ll have what I’m looking for. I doubt it will just magically be handed to me. I have a much better chance if I put in the effort.
Also, I figured I’d build my skills at the same time I take responsibility for the life that I want to live. After all, The Obstacle is the Way.
What I Could Control Everyday
Stoicism teaches us that there are countless things in life that we can’t control. These are things we should not focus on or worry too much about: the weather, other people’s attitudes and actions, the past, the outcomes of our actions. Trust me, the list goes on…
But if we can control anything, it is our own thoughts and actions. You cannot decide whether your business will be successful, but you can work 15 hours a day to put it in the best possible position to succeed. That’s the concept of Gold and Good Luck.
You can’t guarantee your hiking holiday will be rain-free, but you can do your research and hope for the best.
Deciding on The Plan
At first I focused on the research. My idea was to start a website that people would find and that I could perhaps one day monetise. I learned about SEO, niche sites and affiliate marketing.
Eventually I came to the conclusion that my goal should be to write 90 content posts before I even start trying to market it.
I feel there’s a trap in marketing on social media and focusing on vanity metrics like traffic or SEO impressions so early on. I wouldn’t be building a loyal following or using the data for anything yet – just distracting myself from my main objective.
Instead, I will keep it simple for now, focus on one action at a time and build the asset slowly over time. My current plan is to write a few posts every week, so that I’ll have a website at some point with content that people are interested in. This website is a modest start at a future business.
I took the Stoic Dichotomy of Control and found an actionable goal in writing a few posts on mindfulness a week. Now, I funnel that pent-up energy that I used to have left-over from my hedonic hobbies into my writing.
I made a Stoic To-Do list out of my desire to start a business.
Stoicism for Achieving Goals in a Nutshell
I’ve written in previous posts how I got into Stoicism and some of the benefits I’ve experienced so far. This post got pretty meta explaining how Stoicism motivated me to start a website about Stoicism.
By understanding what my most important values are, I realised that I value creativity and learning above nearly anything else. And I’d really be proud if someone read something on this blog that helped them.
I’d spent a long time thinking about starting a business without ever taking any steps towards that goal. Stoicism encouraged me to take responsibility for my life by investing in this website and spending time writing.
Following Stoic practice has also helped me plan the website and motivated me to work on it regularly. By focusing on what I can control, I now aim to write two or three posts about mindfulness and productivity every week.
Rather than worry that I might never achieve anything with this site, I’m happy that I gave it my best shot. I’m not sure I would have gotten this far without learning about Stoicism.
That’s why I’d recommend everyone learn more about Stoicism who hasn’t done so already. It may be an ancient philosophy, but its use is as relevant today as it ever was.
Remember: Learn first, then act better.
Mind & Practice.