Jon High

Sr. Product Manager | Creator of a knowledge hub for PMs | Writing Simply Stoicism

[Jon High @thejonhigh]

I replaced my 3AM anxiety questions with these 10 Stoic ones.

Here's how it transformed my mental clarity 👇

[Jon High @thejonhigh]

@destraynor @UnrollHelper save thread

[Jon High @thejonhigh]

How to be a Stoic PM:

Morning: Review what you can control
Day: Make decisions from a neutral frame
Evening: Extract lessons without judgment

Repeat until you're running product instead of letting product run you.

[Jon High @thejonhigh]

Most Product Managers get this wrong:

They try to control:

- Market conditions
- Competitor actions
- User expectations

Instead, control:

- Your communication
- Your decision process
- Your response to challenges

One breaks you. One makes you.

[Jon High @thejonhigh]

@iamkylebalmer team

[Jon High @thejonhigh]

Remember:

"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."

- Marcus Aurelius, speaking to every PM who's trying to control the uncontrollable

[Jon High @thejonhigh]

Every PM's worst nightmare:

- Unrealistic timelines by leadership
- Sales saying that the feature "exists"
- Stakeholders asking for "just one more thing"

Two ways to handle this:

1. Freak out and meltdown
2. Handle it like a Stoic

Here's the Stoic response 🧵

[Jon High @thejonhigh]

Want to be a better, less stressed PM?

Start with Stoic principles:

-Face reality courageously
- Act decisively with imperfect info
- Expect and accept human nature
- Learn from every experience

[Jon High @thejonhigh]

The best PMs don't have better market conditions.

They just have better responses to chaos and ambiguity.

'You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.'

- Marcus Aurelius (The OG Product Manager—an empire is a product?)

[Jon High @thejonhigh]

As a PM, you're responsible for outcomes but can't control most variables affecting them.

This is precisely why every Product Manager needs to study Stoicism.

Focus on what you control, accept what you don't.

That's the only path to maintaining your sanity as a PM.