Epictetus, Discourses, 2.5-4.5
"The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control."
Serenity Prayer: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
These are two quotes that are important and central to stoic way of thinking. We should focus throughout the day on things that are completely in our control, and the best way to start is by practicing throughout the day identifying choices we have that are in our control. When you start practicing stoicism, you might not be able to identify each decision throughout the day, but as you find opportunities, they will stick with you and you will build on it.
An example would be being stuck in traffic. Once you are already in that position, you are unable to easily 'unstuck' yourself, unless you just leave your car, but then you may have other issues to deal with that frustrate you! What you can do is make that time more productive by listening to an audio book or podcast of whatever is interesting to you whether its self help, fiction, or business/school related. This is the something you have a choice to make, and only you. Also this will help if you think what you could do in the future to not be in that position, like leaving earlier to later for whatever task you have (I know sometimes this is not an option), but you get my point.
Another example I've been using myself is when I'm waiting for something/someone, or in a long line. I've realized once I'm in that spot I need to be there for whatever reason, and instead of getting upset about the person being late, or the line being longer that expected, I read on my iBooks. I know most of us have other social media also, but I feel always positive after spending that time reading and learning about something new or a current book I'm reading, it makes me feel like I've been more productive that going through my Facebook feed.
Starting back with blog, planning to do more daily small updates instead of large articles! So stick with me!