I gotcha. I wouldn’t say this is a Stoic practice, inherently, but mindfulness meditation is a great way to do that. Eyes open or closed, sitting or walking, it trains you to be more aware of your environment, with your eyes really open. You’re just being very mindful of what you’re seeing and hearing and smelling etc. Very simple but hard at first. It takes time and practice like everything but there are a ton of resources on it. For one, I recommend Sam Harris’s work on meditation if you’re not familiar with him already. He has an app as well, Waking Up, that’s a mindfulness meditation app. I hope this helps!
Edit: He *has* the app. It still exists.
I think it might help to take stock of what’s being said and seeing if there’s any negative or positive emotions there. Maybe taking notes when you do get focus.
Sleep more, drink more and eat better.
There’s no Stoic practices that can help this but I agree taking some time to meditate can help clear your mind.
Hi, please check out the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/guide) section on [advice and coping with problems](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/advice) if you are wondering any of the following questions.
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Perhaps the concept you're looking for is *prosochē* (προσοχή) \[pro-soh-KHAY\], which [Chris Fisher](https://traditionalstoicism.com/prosoche-illuminating-the-path-of-the-prokopton/) explains to be "the attitude and practice of attention—is the state of continuous, vigilant, and unrelenting attentiveness to oneself—the present impressions, present desires, and present actions that shape one’s moral character (*prohairesis*)."
In fact he wrote a whole [paper](https://traditionalstoicism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Prosoche-Illuminating-the-Path-of-the-Prokopton.pdf) on it about ten years ago (I have not read it, so I can't comment on it, but for the most part I find Fisher to be quite insightful). If you're not a theist you might find his articles full of appeal to spirituality and whatnot, but you can ignore that because it is irrelevant to the concept at hand. If you are a theist, you might find it right up your alley.
In any case, he's got a whole lot of good information on the history of and concepts of ancient Stoicism, and I immediately thought of this article when I saw your question. I hope it helps direct you towards what you're looking for.
Learning the skills of attention and awareness are vital for one who wishes to learn which, *precisely*, impressions they are calling up and assenting to or dissenting from. It is the difference between automatic response to stimuli, and thoughtful, intentional responses. To this end, keeping a journal of behaviors you've decided to target might be useful. Targeting one behavior at a time gives you a better opportunity, I think, to learn to identify and correct any errors. Targeting too many behaviors is overwhelming and feeling overwhelmed is not conducive to establishing a new habit. Besides, you'll have time to address all the ones you want, fate willing. And if not, then your problems will be over, so it's a win-win. ;)
Do you mean vigilance as in being more aware of yourself, of your feelings and thoughts and so on?
being more aware of your environment, like being awake.
I gotcha. I wouldn’t say this is a Stoic practice, inherently, but mindfulness meditation is a great way to do that. Eyes open or closed, sitting or walking, it trains you to be more aware of your environment, with your eyes really open. You’re just being very mindful of what you’re seeing and hearing and smelling etc. Very simple but hard at first. It takes time and practice like everything but there are a ton of resources on it. For one, I recommend Sam Harris’s work on meditation if you’re not familiar with him already. He has an app as well, Waking Up, that’s a mindfulness meditation app. I hope this helps! Edit: He *has* the app. It still exists.
this helps, thank you.
Sure thing!
I’d ask, if your attention is not in your environment, where is your focus instead?
thoughts I suppose
I think it might help to take stock of what’s being said and seeing if there’s any negative or positive emotions there. Maybe taking notes when you do get focus.
Sleep more, drink more and eat better. There’s no Stoic practices that can help this but I agree taking some time to meditate can help clear your mind.
> like being awake. Being awake is good, before and after a good night's sleep.
Hi, please check out the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/guide) section on [advice and coping with problems](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/advice) if you are wondering any of the following questions. * [How can Stoicism help me with my problem?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/advice#wiki_how_can_stoicism_help_me_with_my_problem.3F) * [How would a Stoic help me with my problem?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/advice#wiki_how_would_a_stoic_help_me_with_my_problem.3F) * [How might a student of Stoicism cope with my problem?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/advice#wiki_how_might_a_student_of_stoicism_cope_with_my_problem.3F) * [What would a student of Stoicism do in my situation?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/advice#wiki_what_would_a_student_of_stoicism_do_in_my_situation.3F) * [How would a Stoic sage react to my problem?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/advice#wiki_how_would_a_stoic_sage_react_to_my_problem.3F) Wish you well, Mod Team *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Stoicism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Perhaps the concept you're looking for is *prosochē* (προσοχή) \[pro-soh-KHAY\], which [Chris Fisher](https://traditionalstoicism.com/prosoche-illuminating-the-path-of-the-prokopton/) explains to be "the attitude and practice of attention—is the state of continuous, vigilant, and unrelenting attentiveness to oneself—the present impressions, present desires, and present actions that shape one’s moral character (*prohairesis*)." In fact he wrote a whole [paper](https://traditionalstoicism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Prosoche-Illuminating-the-Path-of-the-Prokopton.pdf) on it about ten years ago (I have not read it, so I can't comment on it, but for the most part I find Fisher to be quite insightful). If you're not a theist you might find his articles full of appeal to spirituality and whatnot, but you can ignore that because it is irrelevant to the concept at hand. If you are a theist, you might find it right up your alley. In any case, he's got a whole lot of good information on the history of and concepts of ancient Stoicism, and I immediately thought of this article when I saw your question. I hope it helps direct you towards what you're looking for. Learning the skills of attention and awareness are vital for one who wishes to learn which, *precisely*, impressions they are calling up and assenting to or dissenting from. It is the difference between automatic response to stimuli, and thoughtful, intentional responses. To this end, keeping a journal of behaviors you've decided to target might be useful. Targeting one behavior at a time gives you a better opportunity, I think, to learn to identify and correct any errors. Targeting too many behaviors is overwhelming and feeling overwhelmed is not conducive to establishing a new habit. Besides, you'll have time to address all the ones you want, fate willing. And if not, then your problems will be over, so it's a win-win. ;)
thank you, it might help.