Let Us Argue With Reality No More
The Daily Stoic5 Marras 2018

Let Us Argue With Reality No More

So much of what we do as a society could be described as arguing with reality. Turn on cable news and you’ll find talking heads screaming at their upset viewers about how whatever has happened as part of the story of the day is “Just not normal!” Look inside most businesses, especially legacy businesses, and you’ll see otherwise smart and capable individuals putting everything they have into not reading the writing on the wall, into denying the obvious change and transformation happening in the world around them. It’s almost as if their jobs are dependent on them not concluding what is obviously true, and insisting otherwise.


We all spend countless hours of our finite lives talking about whether things are fair, whose fault they are, whether they should be as they are. As if that changes what they are. As if reality and truth are up for debate.


This lyric from Foster the People is worth remembering always:


Well an absolute measure won't change with opinion

No matter how hard you try

It's an immovable thing


Our opinions can’t alter the inalterable. Don’t waste time trying to move the immovable. That’s the essence of Stoicism isn’t it? Of course, Marcus Aurelius and Seneca and Epictetus believed we still had a lot of agency in our lives, that there was still plenty of room for us to maneuver and achieve and affect change. They just accepted there were some things we could not change.


That’s right. There are things outside our control. Today we’re going to accept them without argument. We’re not going to spend one minute fighting or arguing or adding opinions on top of them.


“There is a truth,” Foster sings, “I can promise you that.” And we’re going to make the most of it.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jaksot(2883)

Why You Do This Work

Why You Do This Work

There is an element of this philosophy that is a lot of work. You do all this reading. You do your morning and evening journaling. Maybe you attend meetup groups or even have pursued an advanced degre...

29 Elo 20182min

There Is Always Something To Be Grateful For

There Is Always Something To Be Grateful For

One of the most stunning things about Anne Frank’s diary is how indefatigably happy it is. One might expect that her journal, which she kept from 1942 to 1944, as her family hid from the Nazis in an A...

28 Elo 20183min

Why You’re The Luckiest Person In The World

Why You’re The Luckiest Person In The World

“It’s unfortunate that this happened,” Marcus says in one of his imaginary dialogs. Then he corrects himself: “No. It’s fortunate that this has happened and I’ve remained unharmed by it--not shattered...

27 Elo 20182min

How To Make The World A Better Place

How To Make The World A Better Place

The line from George Bernard Shaw was that “all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” He isn’t wrong. The reasonable man bends himself to the world, because he insists to himself that the world i...

24 Elo 20182min

Everything Hangs By A Thread

Everything Hangs By A Thread

One of the most misleading things about our world today is the increased sense of comfort we feel. Yes, on average planes crash less. Yes, diseases have been cured. Yes, infant mortality rates have ma...

22 Elo 20182min

Here’s Why Worry Is Pointless

Here’s Why Worry Is Pointless

Humble people worry less than the arrogant. Why is that? Because they aren’t so conceited as to think they have any idea (or control over) what may or may not happen. The poet Rilke put it well: “Life...

22 Elo 20182min

It Helps To Be A Little Deaf

It Helps To Be A Little Deaf

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was given a little piece of advice on her wedding day by her mother in law: "In every good marriage, it helps sometimes to be a little deaf." Ginsburg would say she applied it to h...

17 Elo 20182min

Be Tough On Yourself and Understanding To Others

Be Tough On Yourself and Understanding To Others

Remember that Stoicism isn’t about judging other people. It’s not a moral philosophy you’re supposed to project and enforce onto the world. No, it’s a personal philosophy that’s designed to direct you...

17 Elo 20181min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
mimmit-sijoittaa
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahapodi
pomojen-suusta
rss-rahamania
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
juristipodi
rss-myyntikoulu
rss-seuraava-potilas
rss-draivi
sijoitusovi-podcast
rss-lahtijat
rss-startup-ministerio
herrasmieshakkerit
rahapuhetta
bakkari-tarinoita-tapahtumien-takahuoneista
lakicast
rss-h-asselmoilanen
rss-turha-edes-yrittaa