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The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks

Jon Brooks
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You've read the books. You know what Marcus Aurelius would do. But when life gets hard, the philosophy disappears. This podcast is for people who want to close the gap between knowing Stoicism and actually living it. New episodes every Monday.

  1. 13 APR

    Why the Stoics Never Needed Willpower

    Watch the full video of this episode here. -- You've quit every hard goal for the same reason — and it's not lack of willpower. The Stoics figured this out 2,000 years ago. Instead of fighting discomfort with more discipline, they asked a single question that bypasses the willpower battle entirely. In this video I walk through the Stoic framework of virtue, vice, and the "indifferents" — and the one question from Epictetus that replaced willpower in my own life, including the 12-pound cut I'm currently on. You'll learn: - Why discipline is a finite resource and willpower always loses - The Stoic distinction between good, bad, and indifferent - The single question that reframes hunger, hard conversations, and difficult training - How to turn discomfort into material for character instead of an enemy to defeat - The preferred indifferents caveat — why the Stoics weren't masochists

    14 min

  2. 10 APR

    Stoic Morning Practice: Stop Dreading Day Before It Starts

    Some mornings the dread arrives before the alarm. A tightness in the chest, a list already forming, a quiet resistance to the day ahead. This guided Stoic practice meets you there — not with forced optimism, but with honest preparation. You'll practise the ancient Stoic technique of premeditatio malorum: facing what you're afraid of before it has power over you. Not to make yourself anxious — to take the charge out of it. When you name what you're dreading, it shrinks.

    7 min

  3. 30 MAR

    When the World Feels Unjust (A Stoic Response)

    Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Vzg67EtqNK8 Most people hear "focus on what you can control" and think Stoicism means stop caring about everything else. That's not what it means — and it might be one of the most misunderstood ideas in the entire philosophy. It starts with a Marcus Aurelius line that most people skip: "You can commit injustice by doing nothing." This isn't an invitation to detach. It's a call to show up. Three Stoic approaches for responding to injustice without losing yourself: premeditatio malorum (pre-rehearsal of what's coming), redirecting anger into one concrete act of kindness, and a daily question — "what is within my power right now?" Practical Stoicism for anyone who cares about the world and refuses to look away. This video was inspired by a question from a member of our Stoic Vault community.

    12 min
  4. Discipline Is a Skill, Not a Trait (5 Stoic Moves)

    24 MAR

    Discipline Is a Skill, Not a Trait (5 Stoic Moves)

    Start here: If you want to build a consistent Stoic practice — not just listen to one — I made a free 7-day challenge. One short audio lesson per day, one practice to try. No fluff. stoicchallenge.co --- I used to think discipline was a character trait — like height or eye colour. Some people had it. I didn't. That story is comfortable. And it's complete rubbish. The Stoics didn't treat discipline as willpower. They treated it as a set of five trainable skills that get stronger with reps and weaker with neglect. In this episode I walk through each one, using some of the best lines Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Seneca, and Musonius Rufus ever wrote on the subject. The five moves: decide before the moment arrives, do before you discuss, guard what you let in, train in small frictions, and pause before you react. Each one is something you can practise starting tonight.

    14 min
  5. 91% of Goals Fail — A Stoic Philosopher Explained Why 2,000 Years Ago

    16 MAR

    91% of Goals Fail — A Stoic Philosopher Explained Why 2,000 Years Ago

    Start here: If you want to build a consistent Stoic practice — not just listen to one — I made a free 7-day challenge. One short audio lesson per day, one practice to try. No fluff. stoicchallenge.co --- Most resolutions fail because they're built wrong — not because you lack willpower. Epictetus figured out why 2,000 years ago. In this video I break down three tests from Stoic philosophy that expose whether your goal is real or just fantasy dressed up with good intentions: Control, Cost, and Consistency. Then I take six of the most common resolutions — get fit, save money, get promoted, be happier, quit social media, read more — and show you exactly how each one fails and what the Stoic fix looks like. At the end there's a simple scoring system you can use right now to test whether your goals will actually stick.

    18 min

  6. 14 MAR

    Stoic Morning Energy Boost: 5 Minutes To Wake Up Ready

    Some mornings you don't need calm — you need to wake up. This 5-minute Stoic practice is built for the mornings when your body is out of bed but your mind hasn't followed. You'll move through five rounds of power breathing to flood your system with energy, then a short visualisation of yourself moving through the day ahead with purpose and presence. No easing in. No extended relaxation. Just a sharp, deliberate start. The anchor is a line from Seneca: we don't lack time — we waste it. This practice makes sure you don't waste the first five minutes. Stand if you can. Press play before your phone gets a chance to set the tone. For best results, use this on sluggish mornings for 30 days. It works fastest when it becomes the thing you reach for before caffeine.

    4 min

  7. 10 MAR

    Your Opinions Aren't Observations — They're Demands

    Start here: If you want to build a consistent Stoic practice — not just listen to one — I made a free 7-day challenge. One short audio lesson per day, one practice to try. No fluff. stoicchallenge.co --- You form hundreds of opinions a day. About the news, about your colleagues, about the person in front of you in the queue. They feel automatic — like seeing. But they're not observations. They're tiny laws you're writing inside your own skull. And then you have to enforce them. Marcus Aurelius buried one of his best lines in Book Six of the Meditations: "It is in your power to have no opinion about a thing — and not to be disturbed in your soul." In this episode I unpack what that actually means in practice — not suppressing your reactions, but noticing the gap between an impression and a judgment, and choosing not to legislate. You'll walk away with one question to ask yourself this week when an opinion forms: Does this need legislating?

    9 min

  8. 3 MAR

    "Remove Desire Entirely" — What Epictetus Actually Meant

    Go deeper in the Stoic Vault: stoicvault.com --- You read that line in the Discourses and your brain goes straight to cravings. Appetites. The stuff you're ashamed of. But that's not what Epictetus meant — and the real meaning is more useful than any advice about willpower. In this episode I break down the Greek word orexis, explain why it has nothing to do with food or your phone, and walk through the three levels most people get stuck on: the demand, the indifference, and the preference with reservation. Only one of them is Stoicism. I also share a personal story about driving to pick up my son on a difficult morning — and how I caught myself staking my entire peace on outcomes I couldn't control. Includes a practical exercise you can try today: one question to ask yourself the next time a plan falls through.

    10 min
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About

You've read the books. You know what Marcus Aurelius would do. But when life gets hard, the philosophy disappears. This podcast is for people who want to close the gap between knowing Stoicism and actually living it. New episodes every Monday.

Information

  • Creator
    Jon Brooks
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    214
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks
  • Show Website
    The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks
  • Provider

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