Top 5 Stoic Gifts For The Stoics In Your Life

Stoicism is a mindset, a way of living. To get the best out of Stoicism, it needs to be embodied.

Using stoic objects as daily reminders is one of the best ways to do this. Each one of these stoic gifts promotes Stoicism as a practice to the stoics in your life as well as regular people.

So, as you consider what to get your friends and family this holiday season, here are the top 5 suggestions. Each contributes to the dissemination of the Stoic philosophy and may help a new generation of individuals achieve their goals.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Few ancient works have been as influential as the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, philosopher and emperor of Rome (A.D. 161–180). A series of spiritual exercises filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behavior, it remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Marcus’s insights and advice—on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with others—have made the Meditations required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of ordinary readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style. For anyone who struggles to reconcile the demands of leadership with a concern for personal integrity and spiritual well-being, the Meditations remains as relevant now as it was two thousand years ago.

In Gregory Hays’s new translation—the first in thirty-five years—Marcus’s thoughts speak with a new immediacy. In fresh and unencumbered English, Hays vividly conveys the spareness and compression of the original Greek text. Never before have Marcus’s insights been so directly and powerfully presented.

With an Introduction that outlines Marcus’s life and career, the essentials of Stoic doctrine, the style and construction of the Meditations, and the work’s ongoing influence, this edition makes it possible to fully rediscover the thoughts of one of the most enlightened and intelligent leaders of any era.

Memento Mori Medallion by the Daily Stoic

Daily Stoic’s most popular item, the memento mori medallion has been added to the daily carry of thousands as a literal and inescapable reminder that “you could leave life right now.” The front features an interpretation of the three essentials of existence – the tulip (life), the skull (death), and the hourglass (time). The back shows a quote from Marcus Aurelius “You could leave life right now.”

Each coin is shipped in a velvet ring box with an accompanying information card, explaining the practice to anyone receiving the coin. Learn more here.

Amor Fati Medallion by the Daily Stoic

Amor fati (Latin: “a love of fate”) is a mindset that you take on for making the best out of anything that happens: Treating each and every moment—no matter how challenging—as something to be embraced, not avoided. The flame on the front of the medallion is inspired by Marcus Aurelius’s timeless wisdom: “a blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it.” The back features an excerpt of the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s formula for greatness: “Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it….but love it.”

Each coin is shipped in a velvet ring box with an accompanying information card, explaining the practice to anyone receiving the coin. Learn more here.

Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday

“While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive visionary geniuses who remade the world in their image with sheer, almost irrational force, I’ve found that history is also made by individuals who fought their egos at every turn, who eschewed the spotlight, and who put their higher goals above their desire for recognition.” —from the prologue
 
Many of us insist the main impediment to a full, successful life is the outside world. In fact, the most common enemy lies within: our ego. Early in our careers, it impedes learning and the cultivation of talent. With success, it can blind us to our faults and sow future problems. In failure, it magnifies each blow and makes recovery more difficult. At every stage, ego holds us back.
 
Ego Is the Enemy draws on a vast array of stories and examples, from literature to philosophy to his­tory. We meet fascinating figures such as George Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Katharine Graham, Bill Belichick, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who all reached the highest levels of power and success by con­quering their own egos. Their strategies and tactics can be ours as well.
 
In an era that glorifies social media, reality TV, and other forms of shameless self-promotion, the battle against ego must be fought on many fronts. Armed with the lessons in this book, as Holiday writes, “you will be less invested in the story you tell about your own specialness, and as a result, you will be liberated to accomplish the world-changing work you’ve set out to achieve.”

Memento Mori Print by the Daily Stoic

Inspired by our memento mori medallion and the three essentials of existence – the tulip (life), the skull (death), and the hourglass (time), this 11 x 17″ print is letterpressed into thick 100lb French Kraft-Tone stock. Each print is made using the centuries old letterpress technique, stamping each image into the paper to give incredible detail and texture. Learn more here.

Bonus: Stoic Tarot Deck by Bobby Taslimi & Nikoleta Pantechou

In creation of the Stoic Tarot, the ancient wisdom of the great stoics was reinvented in cathartic and captivating artwork.

During one’s journey to fulfillment and happiness, stoicism can immediately resonate. The world we live in can be intimidating, dark and a scary place. Especially when you are faced with failure in a society where failure is seen as a weakness. Stoicism is a philosophy for leadership. It teaches us that, before we try to control events, we have to control ourselves first. Our attempts to exert influence on the world are subject to chance, disappointment, and failure–but control of the self is the only kind that can succeed 100% of the time.

Created by Bobby Taslimi and designed by Nikoleta Pantechou, Stoic Tarot is a deck built around Greco-Roman philosophy and art. The deck is also very inclusive. Whenever you feel the need to explore your inner thoughts and feelings, and have those explained by philosophy, this is the right tarot deck for you. The key characters used in this deck are famous personalities from the dark and middle eras, and the personifications carry a lot of meaning leaving room for interpretation.

With a bit of research on ancient mythology, the great stoics & by using Stoic Tarot’s guidebook, the Stoic Tarot deck can help explain thoughts and situations, and guide you to solve them to feel content, gratified and ultimately wiser with the knowledge of the stoics.

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