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Journal Like a Stoic: A 90-Day Stoicism Program to Live with Greater Acceptance, Less Judgment, and Deeper Intentionality
Bring Stoicism to your daily life with this guided journal based on the teachings of great Stoic thinkers. Explore why leaders, artists, and athletes have relied on these principles to achieve success for thousands of years.
While Stoicism offers age-old wisdom, it is hardly a relic of the past. Today, people from all corners of the globe look to Stoicism to find solace, curb reactivity, and achieve their greatest ambitions. In Journal Like a Stoic , Stoicism researcher and expert Brittany Polat, PhD, provides 90 days of journaling for the modern Stoic to ground themselves as they deepen their self-exploration, find discipline, cope with grief, or simply seek change (or to endure it). Whether you’re coming to Stoicism for the first time or returning to its guidance, this course will support your path to fulfillment with practical, empathic wisdom that’s endured for millennia.
While Stoicism offers age-old wisdom, it is hardly a relic of the past. Today, people from all corners of the globe look to Stoicism to find solace, curb reactivity, and achieve their greatest ambitions. In Journal Like a Stoic , Stoicism researcher and expert Brittany Polat, PhD, provides 90 days of journaling for the modern Stoic to ground themselves as they deepen their self-exploration, find discipline, cope with grief, or simply seek change (or to endure it). Whether you’re coming to Stoicism for the first time or returning to its guidance, this course will support your path to fulfillment with practical, empathic wisdom that’s endured for millennia.
224 pages, Paperback
Published November 22, 2022
44 people are currently reading
167 people want to read
About the author
Brittany Polat
9 books20 followersI strongly believe that anyone who is willing to reflect carefully on life can make progress toward inner peace and contentment. That's why I write about Stoic moral psychology and philosophy. My Ph.D. is in applied linguistics, where I studied the psychology underlying second language development. In my current writings, I apply my lifelong interest in human nature to living a philosophical life.
In 2021 I joined the Modern Stoicism team, which is dedicated to studying the benefits of Stoicism and sharing it with people around the world. I also co-organized Paths to Flourishing, the historic first conference on Stoicism and women. And I co-created Stoicare.com, an online hub for medical professionals, teachers, parents, and everyone who cares.
In 2021 I joined the Modern Stoicism team, which is dedicated to studying the benefits of Stoicism and sharing it with people around the world. I also co-organized Paths to Flourishing, the historic first conference on Stoicism and women. And I co-created Stoicare.com, an online hub for medical professionals, teachers, parents, and everyone who cares.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 18, 2022
I stumbled upon the study of Stoicism just over a year ago and found it intriguing but when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I got more serious about it. Having a good grasp of what I can and cannot control became very important. Now that I'm cancer-free, I've gotten away from studying but Journal Like a Stoic is helping me to get back into the groove.
The book is broken down into two parts: first, a brief history of the philosophy so the reader is prepared for the more hands-on bits in the second part, the actual journaling prompts. I was happy with the amount of history given - not a tremendous amount - because my real interest is the journaling. Was not disappointed with the prompts, for sure. Polat shares quotes and background and then lays out the prompts which helps to keep it all in context. And don't skip around! These are meant to be tackled in order.
Now that I've gone through with reading it all, I'm ready to get down to business with the writing and reflecting bits.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
The book is broken down into two parts: first, a brief history of the philosophy so the reader is prepared for the more hands-on bits in the second part, the actual journaling prompts. I was happy with the amount of history given - not a tremendous amount - because my real interest is the journaling. Was not disappointed with the prompts, for sure. Polat shares quotes and background and then lays out the prompts which helps to keep it all in context. And don't skip around! These are meant to be tackled in order.
Now that I've gone through with reading it all, I'm ready to get down to business with the writing and reflecting bits.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
February 16, 2023
A thought provoking, introspective journey. The older I get, the more I embrace the fundamental importance of journaling and taking a pulse on how I am feeling, especially in times when things feel a little out of control.. After taking time to work through and reflect on the exercises in this book, I realized how much more stoic I've become in recent years and how freeing it is been for me. I also enjoyed and appreciated historical references and the quotes from the ancient stoics.
January 26, 2026
A superb guide that challenged me to dig deep.
September 17, 2022
This is a day-by-day book meant to help you take stock of your life and be happier and more intentional on the daily, all as guided by Stoic (in the classical sense of the word) philosophy. Polat lays out a brief history of Stoicism and 90 days of journaling prompts, 2 (or so) per day, each relating to a quote by a great Stoic philosopher.
The prompts themselves are thought-provoking and useful, but I found that the day-by-day aspect of this program was slightly overwhelming, and, as an adult with ADHD, difficult to stick to, even with her tips for consistency at the beginning. If you're a neurotypical person whose brain can focus on and follow through on something for longer than, say, 24 hours, you might get a lot out of this. As it is, me having the attention span of maybe three goldfish put together when not hyperfixating, it just didn't work. That's not to say that the book is bad, because it's not - just that these sorts of exercises (do daily ones) are not necessarily ones that work for my brain. It is what it is.
But if you're interested in growing yourself and Stoicism as a philosophy, I'd check it out. Thank you to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
The prompts themselves are thought-provoking and useful, but I found that the day-by-day aspect of this program was slightly overwhelming, and, as an adult with ADHD, difficult to stick to, even with her tips for consistency at the beginning. If you're a neurotypical person whose brain can focus on and follow through on something for longer than, say, 24 hours, you might get a lot out of this. As it is, me having the attention span of maybe three goldfish put together when not hyperfixating, it just didn't work. That's not to say that the book is bad, because it's not - just that these sorts of exercises (do daily ones) are not necessarily ones that work for my brain. It is what it is.
But if you're interested in growing yourself and Stoicism as a philosophy, I'd check it out. Thank you to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
October 22, 2025
I have read a few books on Stoicism this year and was excited to be offered an ARC copy of Brittany Polat's Journal Like a Stoic, in the hope that it would offer me the opportunity to apply aspects of the philosophy more readily to my own life. Unfortunately, I found the journaling program overall to be more frustrating than helpful.
Each of the 90 prompts begins with a quote from famous Stoics such as Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. I loved the quotes and am hoping to follow up by reading Aurelius' Meditations shortly. However, Polat's brief "translation" or "explanation" of each quote, leading into the writing prompts, was often very cutesy or overly generic, and seemed more to be searching for a sound-bite dynamic instead of adding clarity. I think these author paragraphs would have been much more helpful and enlightening if they were about twice the length and used language or tone similar to her brief background on Stoicism located in the first chapters of the book.
While I found some of the journal prompts inspiring and helpful, I more often found myself struggling to respond to questions either because I didn't fully understand what was requested, or because they appeared impossible. An example of the former was when the reader was asked to "write about the interaction between wise discernment, or wisdom, and fate. How do they relate to one another." I believe this prompt would have been understandable to a long-term student of Stoicism, but not to a beginner. And, this is a situation where more explanation from the author about the Stoic viewpoints and the associated quotes related to each of these entities would have been helpful. An example of the latter problem was when the reader was asked to rewrite a conversation/reaction/disagreement from the other person's point of view. How is this possible when we are not that other person and we have no idea what their life or thoughts have entailed up until the moment of our interaction?
There were also several repeat prompts. The ones appearing most often included setting a timer and then writing what came into your mind during the period of reflection, and the above-mentioned rewriting something from another person's point of view.
So, I enjoyed the brief overview of Stoicism, the quotes before each prompt, and some of the prompts themselves. But, overall, while I believe the concept of learning to practice Stoicism through journaling is a very good idea, I do not believe this particular book is the best example for curious beginners.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Each of the 90 prompts begins with a quote from famous Stoics such as Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. I loved the quotes and am hoping to follow up by reading Aurelius' Meditations shortly. However, Polat's brief "translation" or "explanation" of each quote, leading into the writing prompts, was often very cutesy or overly generic, and seemed more to be searching for a sound-bite dynamic instead of adding clarity. I think these author paragraphs would have been much more helpful and enlightening if they were about twice the length and used language or tone similar to her brief background on Stoicism located in the first chapters of the book.
While I found some of the journal prompts inspiring and helpful, I more often found myself struggling to respond to questions either because I didn't fully understand what was requested, or because they appeared impossible. An example of the former was when the reader was asked to "write about the interaction between wise discernment, or wisdom, and fate. How do they relate to one another." I believe this prompt would have been understandable to a long-term student of Stoicism, but not to a beginner. And, this is a situation where more explanation from the author about the Stoic viewpoints and the associated quotes related to each of these entities would have been helpful. An example of the latter problem was when the reader was asked to rewrite a conversation/reaction/disagreement from the other person's point of view. How is this possible when we are not that other person and we have no idea what their life or thoughts have entailed up until the moment of our interaction?
There were also several repeat prompts. The ones appearing most often included setting a timer and then writing what came into your mind during the period of reflection, and the above-mentioned rewriting something from another person's point of view.
So, I enjoyed the brief overview of Stoicism, the quotes before each prompt, and some of the prompts themselves. But, overall, while I believe the concept of learning to practice Stoicism through journaling is a very good idea, I do not believe this particular book is the best example for curious beginners.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 26, 2025
This book serves as a diary that enables readers to incorporate Stoicism into their daily lives. It is based on the teachings of the great Stoic thinkers of ancient times. These teachings remain a valuable strategy for managing various human emotions and responses to the challenges of contemporary life. The book includes an introduction and a chapter on understanding Stoic philosophy. The author divides the journal into three areas: examining our inner voice (days 1-30), the path to acceptance (days 31-60), and living virtuously (days 61-90). Each day, a Stoic principle is explained, along with concrete tools for applying it to daily life through reflective writing exercises. Its structure allows for gradual and steady progress in applying Stoic philosophy. In my case, I took it very slowly. I started on August 11, 2024, and completed the first session (day 30) on December 10, 2024. I worked on the second session from January 1, 2025, to May 3, 2025. I completed days 61 to 90 from May 6 to July 24, 2025. It's an excellent introspective exercise. My goal now is to read it all every six months to reinforce what I've learned and what I'm applying every day. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
March 1, 2023
Worth 5 stars in my opinion. I would consider myself a regular writer at this point. Journaling is something close to my heart as a practicing Stoic. This Journal is a good opportunity to take a good look at yourself, and choices.
The Journal is a once a day - 90 day course in essence. Littered with useful topics, and full bodied quotations. It encourages you to stay disciplined, and write everyday. I was lucky to receive a copy at the beginning of the year, and I'm well through my copy at the moment.
If you want to learn more about yourself, with some Stoic literature thrown in, this is the Journal for you. I like the idea of being able to choose what to write about for the day and Brittany leaves you with an opportunity to do so, creating multiple options to focus on.
Bonus points for good line spacing, and plenty of room to write down any other thoughts you may want to disclose. 10/10.
The Journal is a once a day - 90 day course in essence. Littered with useful topics, and full bodied quotations. It encourages you to stay disciplined, and write everyday. I was lucky to receive a copy at the beginning of the year, and I'm well through my copy at the moment.
If you want to learn more about yourself, with some Stoic literature thrown in, this is the Journal for you. I like the idea of being able to choose what to write about for the day and Brittany leaves you with an opportunity to do so, creating multiple options to focus on.
Bonus points for good line spacing, and plenty of room to write down any other thoughts you may want to disclose. 10/10.
December 31, 2022
Interesting introduction to the world of Stoic philosophy -- not a deep dive. The journal begins with a brief history of Stoicism to prep the reader for the second part of the book, the journal. The journal prompts typically consist of quotes and background info, then ask the reader to reflect and answer specific questions. I have not completed all 90 days but find it fascinating -- a glimpse into the distant past and the issues raised by philosophers like Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius that are then applied to our very modern lives and concerns. This is a very practical, hands-on way to apply Stoic principles to our daily lives. I am very interested to see how my journaling evolves over the 90 days.
March 25, 2023
The book was okay, just not for me I guess. I was looking for a book that would help me with the actual process of journaling, and this wasn't it. I tried making entries in the book itself but it seemed that every other day (or less) I absolutely couldn't think of any responses to the questions. After a few weeks I couldn't finish it. But by then I had written entries in it so couldn't donate it to the library. Instead I tore the written-on pages out, shredded them, and threw the rest of the book away. I went back to my Moleskine - I guess I don't need that much help with journaling after all.
November 15, 2023
This isn’t the first book I’ve read on Stoicism, but it’s the first one that helped me understand it better, and I can’t thank the author, Dr Polat, enough!
We’ve got 90 days of journaling prompts that are separated into three categories/courses:
A: Examining The Inner Critic,
B: The Road To Acceptance,
C: Living With Virtue.
To be complete transparent, I did not do all of the journaling exercises, and I did not do one each day. But you know why? I just wanted to keep on reading and then “get back to it later because this is so interesting”. Sooo in my books, that’s a win! BUT!! I WILLLLL do these prompts, I promise!
We’ve got 90 days of journaling prompts that are separated into three categories/courses:
A: Examining The Inner Critic,
B: The Road To Acceptance,
C: Living With Virtue.
To be complete transparent, I did not do all of the journaling exercises, and I did not do one each day. But you know why? I just wanted to keep on reading and then “get back to it later because this is so interesting”. Sooo in my books, that’s a win! BUT!! I WILLLLL do these prompts, I promise!
October 25, 2025
This book needs to be re-titled. When you first read what this book is supposed to be about, it is comes across like you are going to dive deep and change your writing and your thinking. In actuality, it's a bunch of quotes, a summary of the quote, and then a journal prompt. Instead of being called Journal Like a Stoic it should be called Journal Prompts for when you are Stuck. There is way too much generalization and too many topics. The author should have picked one topic and then did a deep dive to really help the reader get better at that topic. If you need journal prompts, this would be fine, but you don't need to spend money on a book to get journal prompts.
November 9, 2025
I found this to be useful especially for someone who already knows the fundamentals of Stoicism and is looking for some practice to start journaling. I can't say that the book gave any insights of its own, more the process it supports might bring personal insights.
The prompts are very short and always start with a quotation from a famous stoic with a very brief lesson. Then she gives to potential prompts to get you going. The right page is left blank so that you can journal in the book.
The prompts are very short and always start with a quotation from a famous stoic with a very brief lesson. Then she gives to potential prompts to get you going. The right page is left blank so that you can journal in the book.
Read
December 20, 2025I’ve liked keeping the pages clean, so my kids can contemplate the prompts in a few years. If you resent all the writing integrated, remember that the point of it is to clarify to yourself, so if some deep thinking does more of that for you, I wouldn’t be steamed about the layout itself. Overall, I think the book’s a nice palate cleanser. It doesn’t change interplays of emotion or experience, but it helps you release attachment to it, whether the agenda is your own or that of another.
November 15, 2022
To say I enjoyed this book is somewhat of an understatement. I enjoyed and appreciated the writing prompts. They are thoughtful, purposeful, and clear. If you are wishing to learn a great deal about Stoicism, you may want to consider supplementing this book. This book is more about Stoicism in practice. It's possibly my favorite journaling book. I highly recommend it.
June 11, 2023
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own."
I did 6o days worth of journaling, and I found it very insightful. I do love stoic teaching and find it really helps with my mindfulness. I suffer from anxiety and found nightly journaling very therapeutic and relaxing.
I did 6o days worth of journaling, and I found it very insightful. I do love stoic teaching and find it really helps with my mindfulness. I suffer from anxiety and found nightly journaling very therapeutic and relaxing.
October 4, 2025
This 90 day journaling exercise takes us from self-pity to productivity and from anxiety to action. Insightful questions and blank pages give us room to examine dozens of areas in our daily life. The concepts are just what we need in today’s self-absorbed world to make our own values and goals come alive.
June 10, 2024
Started this as a way to keep myself accountable in year 2 of my sobriety. Loved the prompts and there were a couple that really helped me do some work for my therapy sessions. Def forgot some days but really liked it!
July 3, 2025
deep inner journey , essential for those who wish to find themselves and their own purpose
June 13, 2023
I don't know how much I believe that Stoicism is a good philosophy to live by. To find out, I would have to know enough information to start evaluating.
This Journal did a great job of introducing the philosophy without getting lost in weeds of "Who's who", listing people who followed Stoicism, I don't care that something worked for someone else, I need it to work for ME. So I was attracted to a journal, as its going to be more personal that the histories I've seen online before.
The first portion of the book is background of how the philosophy developed. I can see why this is included, it explains why the philosophy is what it is. The majority of the page count is journal pages, 90 prompts with a page-and-a-half of writing space (I have the ebook, so I'm using an old notebook).
The prompts get more complex throughout the 90-days, so going in order is recommended. For example, the idea of "you are in control of your thoughts" comes up a few times, but with different focus and context.
Highly recommended book for anyone interested in Stoicism and needs a place to start.
**I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This Journal did a great job of introducing the philosophy without getting lost in weeds of "Who's who", listing people who followed Stoicism, I don't care that something worked for someone else, I need it to work for ME. So I was attracted to a journal, as its going to be more personal that the histories I've seen online before.
The first portion of the book is background of how the philosophy developed. I can see why this is included, it explains why the philosophy is what it is. The majority of the page count is journal pages, 90 prompts with a page-and-a-half of writing space (I have the ebook, so I'm using an old notebook).
The prompts get more complex throughout the 90-days, so going in order is recommended. For example, the idea of "you are in control of your thoughts" comes up a few times, but with different focus and context.
Highly recommended book for anyone interested in Stoicism and needs a place to start.
**I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
December 13, 2022
Stoicism is a philosophical approach that teaches the ability to cope with life and its difficulties through ethical principles rooted in nature. It teaches the ability to deal with self-destructive emotions and behaviours, from ancient teachers like Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius.
It is organized like a 90 day course with a quote from one of these ancient philosophers, a question or situation to reflect upon, and room to journal and work through the issues. Of course as it is a digital copy, I obtained my own journal.
Taking time to deeply think about my own thinking patterns, beliefs and behaviours, and then journaling about it has proved to be extremely helpful. The teachings and beliefs of the Stoics are really meaningful to me and feels right - it works and bring a meditative peace. It is quite helpful to have an approach to restore peace and acceptance in the mind. If this sounds like something you are looking for, then I can highly recommend this journal.
It is organized like a 90 day course with a quote from one of these ancient philosophers, a question or situation to reflect upon, and room to journal and work through the issues. Of course as it is a digital copy, I obtained my own journal.
Taking time to deeply think about my own thinking patterns, beliefs and behaviours, and then journaling about it has proved to be extremely helpful. The teachings and beliefs of the Stoics are really meaningful to me and feels right - it works and bring a meditative peace. It is quite helpful to have an approach to restore peace and acceptance in the mind. If this sounds like something you are looking for, then I can highly recommend this journal.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews