Finally, principles become durable through practice. Stoics used premeditatio malorum—imagining foreseeable obstacles—to choose responses in advance. If–then plans (“If I am criticized, then I will ask one clarifying question”) channel intention into behavior. Brief evening reviews, which Marcus models by examining his day, convert experience into learning. And when stakes rise, returning to a simple rubric—Is it true? Is it just? Is it within my control?—keeps action deliberate. Thus, through small, repeated choices, virtue is not merely claimed but crafted. [...]
