As we said yesterday, the last two years have been an ordeal—an almost Biblical test of all of us, individually and collectively. In 165 AD, Marcus Aurelius and Rome were struck with a plague. It had been brought from the East by soldiers but it soon overwhelmed the country—bodies piled up in the streets, the economy was devastated, civic institutions crumbled.

Like all such trials, Marcus Aurelius decided to see this as a test. Would he be made better or worse by what had happened? Would he practice the virtues of courage, justice, temperance or wisdom? Or the vices of fear and selfishness, ignorance and recklessness?

And so it goes for us. We were tested. Now it’s worth evaluating: what were the results? Yesterday, we spoke about the tangible stuff—how many books did you read, what habits did you form, how did you adapt and adjust your routine for this new world? Today it’s worth looking at the more important metrics—your character.

Marcus Aurelius, writing during the Antonine Plague, talked about how a pandemic could take your life…as well as destroy your character. Well, how did yours do? Did you fall prey to conspiracy theories? Were you safe, or stupid? Did you get addicted to the news and outrage, or did you take care of your community as best you could? Did you take your frustrations out on your family? Did you lose your compassion for others, or did it grow?

Perhaps you’re lucky to say that no one you know has died in this terrible pandemic. But sadly, all of us know people who were made worse by it. They started drinking again. They became radicalized politically. They became selfish or cruel. Perhaps you did that.

Well, this is why the Stoics stopped and reflected, why they journaled, why they turned constantly back to their philosophy. So they could improve, so they could protect their character, so they could assess their decisions and adapt when necessary. You must do the same. You must look inward. You must examine yourself critically.

You must journal on this prompt: the last two years have been a test—have they made me a better person or a worse person?