Using journaling to master impulse control

Executive overview

Every generation watches its icons age out — athletes, politicians, authors — and eventually faces the same exit. This mirrors our own brief peak and decline. The Stoics named this clearly: we are not exempt, and remembering it should sharpen our priorities.

Journaling is the practical tool. Writing out anger, frustration, or reactive impulses before acting on them creates space to decide — and often dissolves the need to act at all.

The journal is where impulses go to be examined, not suppressed.

Memento mori and the procession of people leaving the stage

• Marcus Aurelius observed life as a procession of people having their moment, then exiting
• Athletes age out in a compressed, visible version of what happens to everyone
• The 15 minutes of fame of a celebrity mirrors our own brief professional peak
• Watching peers retire or die is a reminder: we are not exempt
• The right response is presence and perspective — be here now, enjoy it while it lasts

Impulse control as a Stoic practice

• Epictetus: pay special attention to impulses — ensure they serve the common good and match actual worth
• Marcus Aurelius: you have power over your mind, not outside events
• You did not control what happened; you do control which impulses you follow in response
• Journaling externalises impulse — write it out before you act on it
• Anne Frank: "paper is more patient than people" — the page absorbs what people cannot

How to use the journal for impulse control

• Write down what's upsetting you and who caused it
• Examine your reaction: what did you say, what did you feel, did it help?
• Say the thing you want to say — on the page first
• Often you'll find you haven't fully worked it out yet, or that once written, you're done
• Impulse control doesn't mean stuffing it down; it means processing it somewhere that isn't other people