3 Stoic Books to Reset Your Mind Before the New Year

Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism.
In today’s episode, we explore a simple but powerful December practice: returning to a few meaningful books as a way to reflect, reset, and prepare for the year ahead. This is a time when many people think about change, but the Stoics approached renewal differently. For them, reflection wasn’t about waiting for January 1st, it was about using this moment, right now, to strengthen the mind and clarify intention.

At the heart of this episode is the idea that reading is not an escape but a form of self-examination. He isn’t urging perfectionism, but pointing us toward small, present-moment choices, the kind of choices this yearly reading ritual helps illuminate.

Here are a few Stoic practices from this episode you can explore in your own life:

• Reflective reading — return to books that ground you, not for new information but to renew your mindset and revisit forgotten insights.
• Preparing the mind early — instead of waiting for New Year’s resolutions, use December as your mental runway to understand why you want to change.
• Examining impressions — pause when you feel pulled toward old habits and ask yourself what belief or expectation sits underneath the impulse.
• Daily philosophical reminders — create your own “handbook” of quotes or ideas that steady you when life becomes noisy.

This episode is a quiet invitation to step back from the rush of the year and reconnect with what matters. The books Benny discusses — Man’s Search for Meaning, Epictetus’ Handbook, and Marcus Aurelius' Meditations are not just texts but companions that sharpen attention, deepen gratitude, and restore a sense of direction. By returning to them, we rediscover that Stoicism is not about cold detachment. It is about remembering who we want to be and choosing to live with clarity, courage, and a bit more kindness toward ourselves.

Listen to the full episode now and discover how end-of-year reflection can transform the way you think, act, and see your life.

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