The Daily Stoic - Beware Lost Footsteps
Episode Date: January 14, 2026Our feet will always move in the direction of our focus. So look where you want to go. Stay focused on the path, keep moving forward, one foot in front of the other.👉 Support the podcast a...nd go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/🎥 Watch the video episodes on The Daily Stoic YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DailyStoic/videos🎙️ Follow The Daily Stoic Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoicpodcast✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Get Stoic inspired books, medallions, and prints to remember these lessons at the Daily Stoic Store: https://store.dailystoic.com/📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a stoic-inspired meditation
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Each one of these episodes is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of
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Beware lost footsteps.
You know where you're trying to go.
You have a goal you are aiming for.
You're hard at work.
You're doing what you can.
This would be enough to get you there.
Were it not for one thing?
Other people.
Not other people in the sense of what Mark's really.
talks about how they're obstacles and sources of difficulty, but rather that other people are sources
of distraction and envy. If we were the only ones doing what we were doing, there would be clarity and
simplicity. Well, that's not how life works. Seneca talked about how tricky it was to stay on the
path you're supposed to be on when your path is crisscrossed by the paths of so many others.
And worse of all, he says, crisscrossed by people who have no idea where they're going.
Not long ago we spoke of Seneca as a cautionary tale.
He himself was led astray by his peers in politics and power,
and he ended up in a dark and shameful place in Nero service.
We quoted from a song by the band Bears Den,
which has another lyric that makes this point.
Staying on our path will not be easy.
The more we judge ourselves against others,
the more we covet what they have or try to compete with them, the more likely we are to end up lost.
We must find our true north and stick with it.
Our feet will always move in the direction of our focus.
So look where you want to go.
Stay focused on the path.
Keep moving forward, one foot in front of the other.
Ignore the people crisscrossing you.
It's the only way to get where you're trying to go.