For the last seven years, I’ve started the first 21 days of the year with the Daily Stoic Challenge. Twenty-one days of exercises meant to reinforce Stoic principles and help set a course for the year, or even the life, ahead.
I keep a Field Notes journal for every year and every challenge.
On Day 6 of the 2020 Stoic Challenge, the exercise was to write your own Ten Commandments. Not commandments for anyone else. Just words to live by.
That exercise has stuck with me ever since.
My original list started at 16, then became 10. Then five. Five eventually grew back to seven. Seven got whittled back down again.
Today, there are five.
I write them down regularly. In cursive, by hand. I use them as a framework when making tough decisions. And for some reason, I woke up today and decided to share them here.
1. Love your loved ones.
I have a small family and only a few really close friends. I love them with all my heart. I tell them often, and more importantly, I try to show them.
2. Act with discipline.
As a general rule, the path to a healthy and productive life is fairly simple. But that’s the paradox. Simple takes a lot of discipline.
3. Evolve. Change. Adapt.
This one comes with a big dose of impermanence. All that arises passes away. Whether you like it or not, nothing stays the same. So I try to change and adapt with it.
4. Be curious. Be you.
I believe a life well lived is a passionate life. Curiosity, combined with an appreciation for what makes you, you, leads you closer to the truest version of yourself.
5. Make space.
On all levels. Disconnect on a mountain stream to recharge. Or just pause and take a deep breath before responding to something that makes you angry.
This list isn’t perfect. It’s always evolving. It may not work for you, but it works for me.
And maybe most importantly, I have words to live by. Something to come back to when life gets hard or I lose my way.
Five reminders of the person I’m trying to be when I grow up.