The Daily Stoic - Just Keep Going | Solve Problems Early

Episode Date: June 9, 2023

The Stoics accepted that life could be cruel and random. They knew people were stupid and annoying. They did not deny that death was ever present.You might think the result of these beliefs was a dark and dour worldview. Certainly, many critics of the Stoics have registered that–or potential fans of the Stoics have turned away after a few passages of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations or Epictetus’ writings.Regardless of how realistic they might have been in their assessment of the world, the Stoics were, on the whole, not despondent.---And in today's Daily Stoic excerpt reading, Ryan discusses why it is so important for us to solve problems when they arise, rather than waiting for them to grow to an unmanageable size.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. Welcome to the Daily Stoic podcast. On Friday, we do double-duty, not just reading our daily meditation, but also reading a passage from the Daily Stoic. My book, 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance in the Art of Living, which I wrote with my wonderful collaborator, translator, and a literary agent, Stephen Hanselman. So today, I will give you a quick meditation from the Stokes with some analysis from me, and then we'll send you out into the world to turn these words to works.

Just keep going. The Stoics accepted that life could be cruel and random. They knew people were stupid and annoying. They did not deny that death was ever present. And you might think that the result of these beliefs was a dark and dour worldview. Certainly, many critics of the Stoics have registered that, or potential fans of the Stoics have turned away after a few passages of Marcus Aurelius' meditations or epictetus' writings. Regardless of how realistic they might have been in their assessment of the world, the Stoics were

on the whole not despondent. They worked hard at their jobs. They created beautiful art. They went to the theater. They got married. They tried to make a positive difference in the lives of the people around them. You want to call Marcus Aurelius resigned and pessimistic? The guy buried six of his children and he continued to get out of bed each morning. This is a statement of profound hopefulness and meaning, as well as fortitude and character. Whatever it is, whatever you're going through, whatever it's forced you to understand about this thing called life. Well, it is not at odds with the ability, with the need to just keep going, to put one foot in front of the other to do your best to make a tiny contribution. The Stoics managed. So, can you?

Life can get you down. I'm no stranger to that. When I find things are piling up, I'm struggling to deal with something. Obviously, I use my journal, obviously a turn to stosism, but I also turn to my therapist, which I've had for a long time and has helped me through a bunch of stuff. And because I'm so busy and I live out in the country, I do therapy remote, so I don't have to drive somewhere. And that's where today's sponsor comes in. Toxbase makes it easy to find a therapist that you like. It's convenient. It's affordable. By doing everything online, Toxbase makes getting the help you want easy and affordable So why wait and talk space can help with any specific challenge you might be facing

That's why it's the number one online therapy platform with license therapists and over 40 specialties It's secure and private and in network with most major insurers as a listener of this podcast You can get 80 bucks off your first month with ToxBase and you go to ToxBase.com. So, to match with a license therapist today, go to ToxBase.com. So, to get 80 bucks off your first month and show your support for the Daily Stoic, that's ToxBase.com slash Stoic. Solve problems early. This is the June 9th entry from the Daily Stoic. Today's quote is from Seneca Moral Letters 116. There is no vice which lacks a defense, none that at the outset isn't modest and easily intervened. But after this the trouble spreads widely. If you allow it to get started you won't be able to control it when it stops.

Every emotion is at first weak. Later, it rouses itself and gathers strength as it moves along. It's easier to slow it down than to supplant it. Publilius Sirus, he was a Roman slave and a stoic philosopher. He said, rivers are easiest to cross at their source. And I think that's what Senka means too. The raging waters and deadly currents of a bad habit, ill-discipline chaos dysfunction. Somewhere they began as no more than a slight trickle. Somewhere they are a placid lake or a pond, even a bubbling underground spring. What would you rather do, nearly drown in a dangerous crossing in a few weeks across now?

Well, it's still easy. It's up to you. You know, there's that expression you nip it in the bud. That's what I think. I'll give you a somewhat of a personal example. I am not an addict in the sense that I am in recovery, but I find that it's just about anything I do, I can do compulsively tend to do compulsively

and can very easily develop an unhealthy relationship with. So people ask me like, what did the stoic say about drinking or drugs? Do you do those things? And I don't. I don't do them exactly because the stoics forbid them or that they're, that I specifically have a problem abusing them.

I just know it's a slippery slope for me, it's a road better not gone down by me. So I nip it in the butt, I just sort of have a bright policy. I don't really drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs, I just don't do it, I keep it away. It's easier for me now, like, you know, I sometimes joke, I, people, I was like,

I don't really like the taste, because I don't. I don't enjoy the taste of let's say alcohol. And people go, oh, it's an acquired taste. And I go, but yeah, knowing myself, getting over that hurdle is not gonna put me in a better position now. Now I have the instinctive, almost childlike aversion to it, and I want to keep it that way. Because once I get over it, that buffer is not there anymore. So I like to joke, I don't do acquired tastes.

The point is, not doing the things at all, not putting myself in a position where I can abuse or do them to excess has been quite beneficial to me. Another way to think about this would be like, what's the person that really pisses you off? Or what's the subject matter that you find when you talk to your parents about is always a source of conflict or argument? Maybe just steer clear of that altogether,

right? In the way again, like a gambling addict doesn't go to Las Vegas Cross the things early Knit them in the bud early notice the warning signs notice the grumbling Notice the aversion and listen to that listen to that voice head it off at the pass, right? Solve it in advance, put yourself in a position where you don't need superhuman willpower, where you don't need strength and perseverance and the inner citadel. You don't need that stuff. That's what I think the Stoics are talking about. And to me this is a nice definition of temperance, moderation, sort of having a sense of self-awareness.

What you can do, what you can't do, who you are, how you're wired, think about it that way, and then make your decisions accordingly. And if some people think that's weird or lame or unusual or you're missing out on fun, you know, that's their issue. You know yourself, you know what you should be thinking about, what you know you should be doing, the decisions you can make to put yourself in a position to be successful and choose and act accordingly. Hey, prime members, You can listen to the Daily Stoic early and ad free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and ad free with Wondery

Plus in Apple podcasts. Ah, the Bahamas. What if you could live in a penthouse above the crystal clear ocean working during the day and partying at night with your best friends and have it be 100% paid for? FTX Founder Sam Bankman Freed lived that dream life, but it was all funded with other people's money, but he allegedly stole. Many thought Sam Bankman Freed was changing the game as he graced the pages of Forbes in Vanity Fair. Some involved in crypto saw him as a breath of fresh air from the usual Wall Street buffs with his casual dress

and ability to play League of Legends during boardroom meetings. But in less than a year, his exchange would collapse. And SBF would find himself in a jail cell with tens of thousands of investors blaming him for their crypto losses. From Bloomberg and Wondering comes Spellcaster, a new six-part docu-series about the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of FTX and its founder, Sam Beckman-Freed.

Follow Spellcaster wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, prime members, you can listen to episodes Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. you