Finally, steadiness is not stubbornness. A good lighthouse adapts its range and timing to weather; so should we. The Stoics advise guarding the ruling principle—“keep the directing mind straight,” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations—yet they also adjust to what reality affords. When a day blows you off course, ask: Does the thought still serve? If yes, recommit; if not, refine the wording until it guides without grinding. A true beacon is a compass, not a cage. [...]
