Big Idea Daily | The Daily Stoic
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366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Livingby Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman |
“Of all the people only those are at leisure who make time for philosophy, only they truly live. Not satisfied to merely keep good watch over their own days, they annex every age to their own. All the harvest of the past is added to their store. Only an ingrate would fail to see that these great architects of venerable thoughts were born for us and have designed a way of life for us."SENECA |
BIG IDEA #1
Stoicism 101: The #1 Thing to Know
FROM THE BOOK“The single most important practice in Stoic philosophy is differentiating between what we can change and what we can’t.
What we have influence over and what we do not. A flight is delayed because of weather—no amount of yelling at an airline representative will end a storm. No amount of wishing will make you taller or shorter or born in a different country. No matter how hard you try, you can’t make someone like you. And on top of that, time spent hurling yourself at these immovable objects is time not spent on the things we can change.
The recovery community practices something called the Serenity Prayer: ‘God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’ Addicts cannot change the abuse suffered in childhood. They cannot undo the choices they have made or the hurt they have caused. But they can change the future—through the power they have in the present moment. As Epictetus said, they can control the choices they make right now.
The same is true for us today. If we can focus on making clear what parts of our day are within our control and what parts are not, we will not only be happier, we will have a distinct advantage over other people who fail to realize they are fighting an unwinnable battle.”
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Brian's Notes
The book is a year-long guide of 366 daily meditations on Stoic wisdom.
That’s from January 1st. Day 1.
The first thing we need to understand about Stoicism is THIS—the practice of seeing what’s within our control and what is not. And then, of course, training ourselves to stay focused on what is within our control rather than getting caught up trying to control that which is outside of our control.
Guess what?
Ultimately, the only things within our control are the choices we are making right.this.moment.
Hence, the focal point of Stoicism is beautifully captured in the Serenity Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
How’re you doing with that?
P.S. Here’s the quote from Epictetus’s Discourses that Ryan is reflecting on in the passage above: “The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own.”
P.P.S. Another cool facet of this book is the fact that Ryan’s co-author, Stephen Hanselman, produced original translations of each of the 366 wisdom gems shared in the book.
Big Ideas
01: STOICISM 101
02: WANT TRANQUILITY?
03: Q: LATEST/GREATEST?
04: GET KNOCKED DOWN?
05: 2 ESSENTIAL TASKS IN LIFE
“If there’s a central message of Stoic thought, it’s this: impulses of all kinds are going to come, and your work is to control them, like bringing a dog to heel. Put more simply: think before you act. Ask: Who is in control here? What principles are guiding me?"RYAN HOLIDAY |
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