• Athena
  • Posts
  • Seneca’s Grounding Rituals

Seneca’s Grounding Rituals

And how to give feedback when you're furious

Our aim at Athena is to give you your time back so you can spend it in the ways that matter most.

In each issue of our newsletter you’ll get unique delegation tips.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up for free here.

Seneca’s Grounding Rituals

Rome, AD 60.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca commands a fortune worth billions in today's money. Marble villas, countryside estates, a seat beside Emperor Nero.

He has everything.

Yet this billionaire philosopher runs two strange monthly rituals that seem contradicting.

First: "Poverty days"

Seneca strips away every comfort.

Hard mat, coarse bread, laborer's clothes.

He asks himself: Is this what I feared? If voluntary discomfort feels manageable, actual loss can't break him.

Second: Nightly self-audits

When the house goes quiet, Seneca replays his day.

→ Where did anger waste time?

→ When did ego cloud judgment?

→ What is one concrete fix for tomorrow?

Both rituals serve the same purpose: keeping resources as tools, not masters.

The poverty days prove he can survive without privilege. The nightly reviews catch bad habits before they harden into character flaws.

How to implement his system:

  • Quarterly resilience test: Tackle one major project with stripped-down resources

  • 3-part evening audit: One win, one mistake, one adjustment for tomorrow

Accumulating power is easier than staying free from its grip.

That takes daily practice.

Feedback When Furious

You're staring at your screen, fuming. The deliverable is three days late and missing half of your clearly outlined requirements from the kickoff meeting. Worse, it's from your assistant, someone you trust deeply.

We've all been there. No one can make you mad like the people closest to you.

"Right Speech" is a practical framework borrowed from Buddhist philosophy that helps transform heated reactions into helpful guidance.

When you feel irritation rising, pause for a mental check:

  1. Is this true? Are you responding to facts or assumptions?

  2. Is this constructive? Will your words help them improve or just make you feel better?

  3. Is this timely? Should you wait until emotions settle?

  4. Is this kind? Does it address behavior without attacking the person?

This approach isn’t just philosophical, it's practical. Many of the highest-performing professionals instinctively communicate similarly under pressure:

  • Athletes shift frustration into specific corrections. Watch how they respond after mistakes – they focus immediately on the correction, not the emotion.

  • Pilots use mental checklists and clear protocols, staying calm in turbulence.

  • Surgeons give precise, blame-free instructions even in life-or-death crises.

Next time your blood boils and you’ve started to type out an email that would make Gordon Ramsay blush, pause for ten seconds and run through these questions.

Your feedback will land more clearly and you'll actually solve the problems…instead of creating new ones.

What'd you think of this issue?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.