Marcus Aurelius

29/09/2026

What if the goal isn’t to get rid of anxiety?

Sometimes the harder we try to eliminate anxious feelings, the more power we give them. Often a better question is: What kind of person do I want to be, even while I’m feeling anxious?

My latest Stoic Mind lesson, free on Substack, explores how Stoicism and modern psychology converge on this idea: stop organizing your life around avoidance and start acting in accordance with the qualities you value.

We’ve designed these lessons to be interactive, with polls and discussion prompts throughout. Paid subscribers also get guided audio exercises and downloadable worksheets.

How to Find Strength in Your Own Character

Lesson 4 of The Stoic Mind Miniseries

15/09/2026

When you’re anxious, it can be surprisingly hard to see how to handle your own situation, even when you’d know exactly what to tell a friend facing the same problem. When asked what the easiest thing was, the philosopher Thales replied: "To advise another person." When asked what the most difficult thing was he replied: "To know yourself."

In my new lesson of The Stoic Mind, I explore a practical Stoic technique for closing that gap: imagine how a wiser, more resilient person would cope with the same situation, then mentally rehearse responding in a similar way yourself.

Epictetus told his students to ask, “What would Socrates or Zeno have done under these circumstances?”

The lesson shows how to turn that ancient idea into a practical coping method for anxiety: focusing on what you can control, tolerating uncomfortable feelings, and choosing your response more wisely.

The written lesson is free to read and share. Paid subscribers also get a 23-minute guided audio exercise, Stoic Modelling Worksheet, and printable Coping Model Reference Guide.

How to Cope Wisely with Anxiety

Lesson 3 of The Stoic Mind Miniseries

11/08/2026

You don’t just feel anxious. You also think anxious.

And although some anxious thoughts arise automatically, you don’t have to treat them as facts.

The Stoics called this “withholding assent”: learning to pause before turning an initial impression into a firm conclusion about reality.

Join us today for Lesson 1 of The Stoic “Mind: How to Detach from Anxious Thoughts.”

Lesson 1 of The Stoic Mind Miniseries

29/07/2026

Anxiety often feels like it is caused by events. The Stoics claimed it is shaped, to a greater extent than we normally assume, by our judgments about events.

I’ve just launched "The Stoic Mind", a short free of charge Substack miniseries containing five Stoic techniques for managing anxiety. Lesson 1 begins with learning how to detach from anxious thoughts.

Start with the introduction below:

Five Stoic techniques for managing anxiety, taught one at a time, starting in two weeks. Here's what to expect.

21/06/2026

Signed copies of my books at the local bookstore, for anyone who wants one!

18/06/2026

Watch my live conversation with Prof. Massimo Pigliucci about ancient Greek Skepticism, Cicero, , therapy, and the limits of knowledge.

A recording from Donald J. Robertson's live video

19/03/2026

Signed some copies of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor at Indigo Books in Brossard. They're available in the store if you want one.

07/03/2026

24/01/2026

📺 Check out my latest discussion with Chris Williamson on the Modern Wisdom podcast, where we talk about Stoicism, CBT, and how to deal with Anxiety.

Donald Robertson is a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, an author and an expert on ancient philosophy.Why are we so anxious in the safest time in human h...

17/01/2026

Nearly a thousand people have now rated/reviewed my biography of Marcus Aurelius on Goodreads. (Available in print, ebook, and audiobook editions.) Did you enjoy it? Let me know what you thought.

Experience the world of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius a…