Five ways philosophy can actually change your life

Tim Boerkamp, Founder & Philosophy Writer at Examined Mind, a platform for practical philosophy, walks us through five ways philosophy can actually change your life

In a world flooded with information, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, and harder than ever to think clearly. We move fast, react quickly, and are expected to make decisions under constant pressure. In the midst of all this, philosophy can seem irrelevant: abstract, outdated, or reserved for scholars debating metaphysics.

But that’s a misconception. Philosophy isn’t just about big ideas, it’s a toolkit. A way to think more clearly, choose more deliberately, and live more intentionally.

The question is: how do you actually use it? Here are five ways philosophy can move from theory to action, and change your life in the process.

1. Make time to think

Thinking might not sound like action. But the kind of thinking philosophy encourages – sustained, honest, inward – is anything but passive.

Socrates believed the first step toward living well was examining your life. That meant asking better questions, especially when the answers were uncomfortable. He saw reflection not as a luxury, but a civic and moral responsibility.

Michel de Montaigne took that further. His essays weren’t written to prove a point, they were a practice of thinking out loud. Writing, for him, was a way to understand himself better, especially in a world full of noise and contradiction.

This kind of reflection still matters. Whether you’re leading a team, managing a crisis, or just trying to make a good decision, clarity starts with creating space to think.

2. Write to clarify your mind

If thinking is where philosophy starts, writing is often how it takes shape.
Journaling is one of the most practical tools we have.

It forces clarity. It reveals patterns. It helps us spot the difference between what we believe and how we behave.

Seneca used letters, written like advice to a friend, to reflect on mortality, anger, and resilience. Søren Kierkegaard filled notebooks with raw, searching entries not meant for anyone else. Both found clarity by writing their way through doubt.

Today, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a diary, a blog, or your phone’s notes app. What matters is taking the time to reflect, and being willing to tell yourself the truth. Writing doesn’t have to be polished or profound. It just has to be honest.

3. Turn insight into action

Reflection and journaling help us figure out what we should do. The hard part is doing it.

That’s where philosophy sharpens. Epictetus, a Stoic born into slavery, taught that the only thing truly in our control is how we respond to life. “Don’t explain your philosophy,” he wrote. “Embody it.” For him, wisdom wasn’t about feeling better, it was about becoming stronger through action and self-discipline.

Friedrich Nietzsche raised the stakes even more. He urged people not just to act, but to become who they truly are – to break from the crowd, question their assumptions, and create meaning for themselves. It’s a terrifying kind of freedom, but also a path to authenticity.

The demand to act applies whether you’re navigating a personal crisis, making a tough ethical call at work, or simply trying to live in line with what you believe. Philosophy doesn’t just help you know what’s right, it pushes you to do it.

4. Build habits that reflect your values

Once we act, the challenge is to keep going. Change, after all, isn’t a moment. It’s a pattern.

Marcus Aurelius knew this. His Meditations weren’t polished philosophy, they were daily reminders. Notes to himself. Stay patient. Be just. Focus on what you can control. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was consistent. He showed up, every day.

Alasdair MacIntyre, a modern philosopher, argued that virtue isn’t a list of ideals, it’s a practice. We become honest or courageous not by thinking about honesty or courage, but by acting that way, over time, in real life.

That’s how philosophy becomes character: through repetition, routine, and rhythm.

5. Surround yourself with reminders

Ideas fade over time, even the best ones. A breakthrough thought, a meaningful quote, a personal insight, all of it can slip away in the noise of daily life.

That’s why reminders matter. They help you hold on to the perspective you’ve chosen, especially when it’s inconvenient or uncomfortable.

Plato’s cave is one of those. It’s not a manual, it’s a metaphor. A way to stay alert to illusion, to ask what we’re missing in the shadows. It sticks because it’s not just intellectual, it’s visual, emotional, even spiritual.

David Hume understood this well. He believed that emotion anchors memory, that the ideas we truly carry forward are the ones that move us, not just the ones we understand.

Sometimes philosophy is just a phrase on your desk. A tattoo. A ritual before you speak. A moment of pause before you respond. Those details matter. They help turn philosophy into action, and then into habit.

In the end, that’s the point. Philosophy isn’t meant to stay in books or lectures, it’s meant to be used. Philosophy only stays abstract if you let it. The moment you do something with it – think, write, act, repeat – it becomes part of your life.