History offers few better examples of someone preparing for a major life transition than Marcus Aurelius.
Chosen at a young age to one day "assume the purple," he spent his youth not chasing power but studying philosophy — reading, writing and thinking about what it meant to live well and rule wisely.
When he finally took the throne, Marcus faced nonstop crises: war along the northern front, a devastating plague, political betrayals and financial strain. Yet through it all, he remained disciplined, steady and unusually unpretentious for a man with absolute authority. His private writings reveal why. He relied on an ancient philosophy to stay centered, constantly reminding himself of what he could control, what he couldn’t, and how small even the Roman Empire looked from the vantage point of the clouds.
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Your step into retirement isn’t as history-shaping, but it’s every bit as life-shaping. And like Marcus, most people feel a complicated mix of anticipation and uncertainty as they approach a moment that will reorder their days, their identity and their sense of purpose.
When you’re standing on the edge of a major transition, it can help to look backward before looking forward. The 2,000-year-old philosophy Marcus practiced — Stoicism — was designed precisely for moments like this.
"A Stoic doesn’t control what happens, but focuses on how they respond to what happens," said bestselling author Ryan Holiday. Born in ancient Athens and refined in imperial Rome, Stoicism taught people how to stay steady when life refused to follow a plan.
What makes Stoicism so enduring is that its advice is both timeless and adaptable, offering a framework for navigating everything from relationships to leadership — and yes, even the sometimes messy, emotional, financially complex realities of retirement.
As you step into your next chapter, here is some ancient wisdom worth taking with you.
Stoicism: Control what you can, let go of the rest
There’s a famous moment in Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations where he admits to himself that he cannot control what unfolds beyond his reach, whether on the battlefield or the Senate floor. What he can control, he reminds himself, is his judgment, his reactions, and his next decision. "You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength," he writes.
Research shows how easily anxiety rises when people feel pushed by forces they can’t control. According to US Bank’s 2025 Wealth Report, most Americans (76%) feel in control of saving for retirement. Yet that confidence doesn’t quiet deeper worries. Eighty percent still fear the cost of retirement, and more than half feel powerless over the economy, politics or the markets.
Melissa Caro, CFP® and founder of My Retirement Network, sees this firsthand. "Some people panic at volatility and want to pull back at exactly the wrong time," she says. "Others are so afraid of spending down their savings that they barely touch what they’ve built."
She encourages clients to redirect their attention toward what’s actually controllable: withdrawal timing, rebalancing rules, spending guardrails, cash buffers and clarity around what "enough" truly means for their situation.
Research supports this focus on behavior. A Texas Tech University paper shows how personality and psychological characteristics play a major role in how successfully retirees manage withdrawals. Characteristics linked to responsible financial decision-making, such as confidence and emotional steadiness, were associated with more sustainable withdrawal patterns, whereas traits tied to anxiety or impulsiveness were associated with higher spending and a greater risk of depleting savings.
Practice premeditation — plan for the hard stuff
Stoics were not pessimists; they believed that imagining adversity reduces its emotional sting and increases our sense of agency.
Premeditatio malorum, Latin for "premeditation of evils," is a Stoic mental exercise of vividly imagining potential future hardships (like loss, illness, betrayal or failure) to build mental resilience, reduce fear and appreciate the present, rather than dwelling in dread.
Seneca captured this when writing, "It is better to conquer grief than to deceive it."
Today’s retirees face their own set of predictable, if uncomfortable, possibilities: longevity risk, widowhood, market shocks, adult children needing help, caregiving responsibilities or simply the identity shift that comes with leaving a long career.
Some challenges arise from good fortune. Among non-smoking couples age 65, for instance, there is roughly a 73% chance that at least one spouse will live to 90, according to J.P. Morgan Asset Management research. And while longevity is a gift, it also requires more planning: more health care costs, more lifestyle decisions and more years of portfolio withdrawals.
Mitchell Kraus, CFP® and co-founder of Capital Intelligence Associates, sees denial as the biggest obstacle. "Prepare for aging with confidence rather than denial," he says. "Plan around health, caregiving and mobility scenarios before you’re forced into quick decisions."
Long-term care is one of the clearest examples. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates roughly 70% of Americans aged 65 and older will need some form of it. Yet few talk openly about what that would look like or how they want those decisions handled.
Caro believes one missing ingredient in many retirement conversations is a frank discussion about dependence. "At some point, someone else may need to help with finances or medical decisions," she says. "Lining up powers of attorney, ensuring accounts are accessible and talking through who steps in and how is crucial."
Build a life of meaning, not distraction
One of the most striking Stoic ideas is that a good life depends on purpose, not pleasure. The ancients distinguished between hedonia — fleeting enjoyment — and eudaimonia — a life of meaning, contribution and character.
Retirement often mirrors this distinction. One study found that retirement can increase a person’s sense of purpose, but only when they intentionally reshape how they spend their days.
Katrina Soelter, CFP® and financial adviser at Equalis Financial, approaches this like a philosopher, asking clients, "What’s most important to them? Where have they long wanted to spend more time but weren’t able to? What will they look back on in 15 years and be grateful they did? And what would they not want to see?" From there, she says they "work backwards to sort out the money, structure, family needs and sense of purpose."
Research reinforces the importance of this work, finding that people who feel their lives are filled with worthwhile activities may experience healthier aging, stronger social relationships and better use of their time.
Kraus echoes this perspective. "Retirement is not a single event — it’s a long transition with multiple chapters," he says. "The goal is to shift from a mindset of 'What am I losing?' to 'What am I growing into?'"
Practice voluntary simplicity and temperance
The Stoics also prized simplicity. They weren’t ascetics, but they believed that too many possessions, too many obligations and too many desires weighed the mind down.
Seneca put it bluntly: "It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor."
Retirement can tempt people into both directions: the desire to expand their experiences and the need to pare back what no longer matters. A lighter financial and personal life often creates more flexibility, not less. In fact, researchers have found that people feel happier and more satisfied when adopting simpler lifestyles.
This can mean downsizing a home, streamlining spending, decluttering, reducing lifestyle creep or simply cutting out activities that drain more than they give.
It can also mean simplifying finances. "I recommend simplifying the number of accounts — for both investments and cash flow — so it’s easier to keep track of what’s going on," Soelter says.
Remember impermanence — life will change again
The Stoic philosopher Epictetus wrote openly about imagining his children’s mortality as he put them to bed — not to provoke despair, but to remind himself to savor the present and prepare for life’s inevitable turns. This practice belonged to a broader Stoic tradition known as memento mori ("remember, you will die"), a reminder that life is finite and that clarity often comes from recognizing its limits.
Stoics confronted impermanence not to dwell on sadness but to sharpen their appreciation for whatever time they had. As Seneca lamented, "It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it."
Modern research echoes the ancient insight. Studies show that contemplating mortality, in measured and healthy ways, can increase gratitude, promote prosocial behavior and even improve psychological well-being.
Yet when it comes to preparing for the future, avoidance is far more common than acceptance. More than half of Americans have no estate plan at all, according to Trust & Will’s 2025 Estate Planning Report.
Retirement demands looking at impermanence with clear eyes. Priorities will shift; health will change. The sooner those realities are acknowledged, the easier it becomes to make intentional decisions about how to spend your time, use your money, and care for the people who matter most in the years ahead.
Marcus Aurelius returned to this theme throughout his life. "You could leave life right now," he wrote. "Let that determine what you do and say and think."
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