The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks

Your first jiu-jitsu class can expose how little your toughness helps. Going back takes a different kind of courage.

Jon Friedland joins me to explore what training can teach us about Stoicism. We discuss competition nerves, judging a performance without clinging to the result, and why a black belt can leave someone's ego bigger than before. Jon explains how he keeps learning after nearly thirty years on the mats.

One question from the conversation stayed with me: what advice would you give someone else in your position? Jon uses it when he's stuck under pressure and struggling to see an option.

Jon is the founder and head instructor of Neutral Ground Academy and the author of Jiujitsu Stoic.

Jon’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jon_friedland/
Neutral Ground Academy: https://www.ngmke.com/about-us/jon-friedland/
Jon’s book: https://jiujitsustoic.com/
Jiujitsu Stoic on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKLX73Y5
Free 7-Day Stoic Challenge: stoicchallenge.co
The Stoic Vault: stoicvault.com

How do you stay yourself around someone who keeps drawing you into conflict?

In this recorded Stoic masterclass, I work through five practical moves: expect difficulty, notice the hook, drop the rope, make your boundary a behaviour, and look honestly at your own patterns. We also map the inner citadel: what belongs to you, and what was never yours to control.

The session distinguishes everyday friction from harmful and dangerous relationships, then offers exercises you can use before, during and after a difficult interaction.
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The Stoic Vault: stoicvault.com

You can get better at handling difficulty and still forget to enjoy your life.

This half-hour Stoic talk explores six habits for practising joy, including the seven-second control check, the View from Above and the Joy of Enough. It also covers a 24-hour virtue experiment, obstacle training and a morning-and-evening routine.

Choose one habit from the session and give it a place in your day. There's no need to turn all six into another list of things you're failing to do.
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Marcus Aurelius expected to be knocked off balance. His advice was to come back quickly and treat every return as training. This short Stoic practice is for the moment after you’ve snapped or started spiralling.

The Reset uses SPQR as a modern memory aid: Stop, Pause, Question, Reframe. Take one breath, check the story you’re telling yourself, and look at what’s actually here and what your part is. Try one Reset today and record whether you came back.

This is episode two of One Passage. Passage: Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.11, translated by George Long.
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How do you make a decision when you might be wrong? Philosopher Massimo Pigliucci joins me to explore critical thinking and scepticism in everyday life.

Drawing on his book How to Be a (Happy) Skeptic, Massimo explains how the ancient sceptics and Cicero approached uncertainty. We discuss degrees of confidence, how much evidence a decision needs, and why an open mind still needs a way to act.

You’ll hear how to examine a belief you hold strongly, argue for a view you disagree with, and distinguish scepticism from self-doubt. We also explore relationships, meaningful work, unsolicited advice and helping children think for themselves.

Try this after listening: choose one belief you hold strongly. Ask how confident you are, and what gives you that confidence.

Watch the interview: https://youtu.be/VSDxXsN2aC8
Massimo’s book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/806907/how-to-be-a-happy-skeptic-by-massimo-pigliucci/
Figs in Winter: https://figsinwintertime.substack.com/
Massimo’s website: https://massimopigliucci.net/

Go well.
Free 7-Day Stoic Challenge: stoicchallenge.co
The Stoic Vault: stoicvault.com