Marcus told himself that no matter how often he'd fallen short, he could return to his principles in any moment. You are never locked out by yesterday. The morning you wasted, the promise you broke, the habit you slid back into, none of it bars the next good choice. The Stoics didn't expect to be perfect. They expected to keep coming back, again and again, like learning an instrument. Each return is the practice. So if today already feels like a mess, you haven't run out of chances. The next breath is a fresh start, and so is the one after that. Begin again, gently.

Inspired by the old idea of character over reputation. Written by Ugo Charles.