The Daily Stoic - It’s Always Going To Be One-Sided
Episode Date: February 4, 2026It’s always been a dilemma: Why should I be honest when no one else seems to be? Why should I play by the rules when others are so visibly breaking them? Why should I be respectful or kind ...or fair when nobody else is?📕 Grab a signed copy of Right Thing, Right Now by Ryan Holiday | https://store.dailystoic.com/👉 Support the podcast and 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, designed to help bring those four key stoic virtues,
courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom into the real world.
It's always going to be one-sided.
You think this is new, that the other side lies, that the other side doesn't play fair,
that the cheaters seem to get ahead?
Talk to Cato, who lived in a time where elections were literally bought and sold by huge bribes.
Talk to Rutilius Rufus, whose reward for not being corrupt
as the governor of Asia was being brought up on charges of corruption and convicted.
It's always been a dilemma.
Why should I be honest when no one else seems to be?
Why should I play by the rules when others are visibly breaking them?
Why should I be respectful or kind or fair when nobody else is?
Well, the stoic answer here is twofold.
One, because that's the only thing you control.
And two, because you prove them right when you discard your principles.
In fact, as Marks really said in meditations, this is really the only way we can be harmed when we let the actions of others affect our character.
This thing that you signed up for, being a person of virtue, was never promised to you as a path to success.
No one ever said it was the ideal strategy for politics or business.
No one ever said it was the better end of the bargain.
But you know what it is?
It's a way to live with yourself.
It's a way to keep yourself from being sucked in and degraded the way that a more flexible person would be.
It's a way to be good, even in bad times.
As I say in right thing right now, being honest, holding yourself to account can hold you back, sure, but it also holds you back from shame.
Honesty prevents you from having to keep secrets or hoping you don't get exposed.
We need more catoes. We need more Rutilius Rufus. We need you to be you, which is,
to say good and honest and principled, committed, willing to do the right thing, even when the right
thing is the losing thing. And by the way, if you want a signed edition of Right Thing right now
or any of the books in the Virtue series, we've got them on sale for the holidays. Just go over to
store.dailystoic.com and grab that and I will link to it in today's show notes.