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Stoic Self-Monitoring With Example

This document provides a Stoic self-monitoring record sheet to help users record their thoughts, feelings, and actions during challenging situations. It encourages noting early signs of troubling emotions and whether the situation causing them is within or outside of one's control. Three examples are given of how to use the sheet by recording a situation, associated feelings and thoughts, level of control, and actions taken. The examples illustrate how using the sheet can help users recognize what is and isn't within their power and focus on controlling only their responses, leading to more beneficial outcomes and insights during reflection.

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steppenwolf88
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
91 views

Stoic Self-Monitoring With Example

This document provides a Stoic self-monitoring record sheet to help users record their thoughts, feelings, and actions during challenging situations. It encourages noting early signs of troubling emotions and whether the situation causing them is within or outside of one's control. Three examples are given of how to use the sheet by recording a situation, associated feelings and thoughts, level of control, and actions taken. The examples illustrate how using the sheet can help users recognize what is and isn't within their power and focus on controlling only their responses, leading to more beneficial outcomes and insights during reflection.

Uploaded by

steppenwolf88
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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STOIC SELF-MONITORING RECORD SHEET

Use this sheet to record your thoughts, actions, and feelings in challenging situations. As soon as you notice
troubling emotions or desires arising (called “passions” in Stoicism), pause and take a step back from the initial
“impression” (or thought) underlying them. Then ask yourself whether the thing you’re becoming upset about is
actually under your control (“up to you”) or not. Also try to record your actions, their consequences, and whether
they were actually beneficial or not.

Below is an illustrative example which shows how to do the sheet and also how useful Stoic self-monitoring can
be!

Date/Time Feelings Thoughts Control Actions


Briefly describe the (Passions) (Impressions) Is this “up to you” Were they
situation. Include early- Particularly those or not? beneficial?
warning signs. causing feelings.
1. Driving to work, Annoyed That’s so Not up to me at I swore under my
car blocking my Early sign, inconsiderate! Don’t all breath, just got me
way to get onto clenched teeth, they realise they are upset, did no good
roundabout “should” blocking me!
2. Interview Anxious, worried “What if they ask me What they ask Decided not to
tomorrow “What if thoughts” questions I cant isn’t up to me. worry but instead to
Feeling tense answer?” However I can spend half an hour
Image of myself prepare for the researching the
looking stupid interview company which was
useful
3.Don't get a reply Sad They obviously aren’t I can't make Dwelt on it for a
to my email to Concerned about as interested in the everyone like me while which made
friend friendship friendship as me I can't control me feel worse
They don’t like me what other people Then remembered
do this Stoic
I can control my monitoring and just
response. let it go “what will
be, will be”

Let's look at the three example entries above in a bit more detail.

In the first example the writer now realises that his angry thoughts about the other driver was about
what is not "up to me" and it wasnt beneficial, it did no good, just got him upset. This entry can feed
into the evening Stoic meditation where we reflect on what we have done well and less well. The
writer would reflect that next time they felt the first impulse to get upset about a driver, they would
remind themselves that what the driver did was not under his control and so would not get upset
about it.

The second example is about anxiety and illustrates how a lot of it can be about what we can't control
- so no point worrying about it. However I can control how much preparation I do, so that's where I
should focus my energy. In this case doing the entry helps me change what I do, so in my evening
meditation I can say "job well done".

The third example is about sadness, and this is a more mixed example. The writer does ruminate for
a while, but then realises that this is pointless and is able to let it go.
STOIC SELF-MONITORING RECORD SHEET

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