Start or end your day with an honest self-inventory.

I will keep constant watch over myself and – most usefully – will put each day up for review. For this is what makes us evil – that none of us looks back upon our own lives, We reflect upon only that which we are about to do, And yet our plans for the future descend from the past. Seneca, Moral Letters, 83.2

The Stoics like Seneca, practiced a daily review of their lives.

They asked themselves questions such as:

1. What bad habit did I curb today?
2. Were my actions just?
3. How can I improve?
4. How am I better?

What if, at the end of each day, you took up your journal and answered these questions about yourself?

Marcus Aurelius kept a journal like this. We call it “Meditations.”

Anyone who reads Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations might be confused. He did not intend it to be a book of instruction for everyone.

Instead, Meditations is an honest review of himself – for his personal clarity in how he was living his life.

Was he living up to his personal life goals?

Where was he achieving?

Where was he failing?

These are the same questions we can ask ourselves and record in our journals.

You can do this in the morning or evening.

In the morning, start your day by reviewing yesterday and then using this as a jumping board for goals for yourself today. Or, at the end of the day, use it for an honest review.

Consciously recall yesterday or today and be totally honest with yourself. What brought happiness, and what didn’t?

Keeping a journal in this way is not meant to only record your failings. It’s also a record of your progress. Write down quotes that are helping you or what you need to work on. Record your thoughts and feelings as you answer the questions.

Your journal will be your friend – your honest friend.

Be honest about the down times and celebrate the victories.

By doing this daily, you can escape doing what Seneca warned us of. Why are we evil?

Because “none of us looks back upon our own lives, We reflect upon only that which we are about to do, And yet our plans for the future descend from the past.”

Let your future descend from the daily progress you are recording for yourself.

Writing these things helps us remember them.

Throughout the day, we can remind ourselves of our words from last night or this morning.

Writing it embeds it in our minds and souls.

Have any of you ever tried this?

I have, and it’s eye-opening in a good way. You realize where you need to change while seeing your progress. It feels good!

Let me know in your comments whether you’ve done this and what the results have been.

You can use the questions above as a starting place.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

© Fleda Wright-Bennie 2025. All Rights Reserved.

Graphics by Author using https://creator.nightcafe.studio/creation/