This is How Dumb Anger Is
The Daily Stoic15 Loka 2019

This is How Dumb Anger Is

Seneca wrote eloquently about how absurd the need to “get even” is. No one would think to return a bite to a dog or a kick to a mule, he writes, but when someone hurts us or pisses us off, that’s exactly what we do. We smile and laugh at this clever analogy. He’s right, we think, no one would bite a dog.

Except anger actually does do stuff that dumb to us all the time—or worse! Who hasn’t thrown a television remote that wasn’t working or smacked a vending machine that took your money? Who hasn’t banged on their keyboard when it froze or kicked a child’s toy across the room after painfully stepping on it in the middle of the night? Who hasn’t shouted obscenities at their headphones when your hand gets caught in the cord and you accidentally rip them off your head while walking through an airport or getting into a car? Who hasn’t had to resist the urge to throw their smartphone in the ocean or their golf club into a lake when these objects refuse to do what you have directed them to?

If there weren’t plenty of reasons to be suspicious of anger already, the fact that it compels you to try to physically punish inanimate objects is a pretty good one. The fact that, in anger, we often break or damage our own property—essentially punishing ourselves to send a message to something that by definition cannot receive it—tells us everything we need to know about anger.

Mainly, that it’s blinding, that it’s hard to control, and that it’s shamefully stupid.

So avoid it as much as you can.


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

Jaksot(2892)

The Most Misunderstood Philosopher of All Time | Diogenes Expert Inger Kuin

The Most Misunderstood Philosopher of All Time | Diogenes Expert Inger Kuin

Diogenes wasn’t a Stoic… but without him, the Stoics don’t exist. His life was so bold, so uncompromising, and so brutally honest that it reshaped the entire philosophical world the Stoics inherited. ...

19 Marras 202537min

Are You Having Trouble With These Changes? | Practice Letting Go

Are You Having Trouble With These Changes? | Practice Letting Go

Culture has changed. Technology has changed. Work has changed. Politics have changed. The environment has changed. You think these changes could have been prevented. Yet what you’re forgetting is that...

18 Marras 20258min

It’s Nothing Without This | Judge Not, Lest...

It’s Nothing Without This | Judge Not, Lest...

People are weak. People are scared. People are afraid to go for what they want. It has always been thus.📚 Books mentioned:Courage is Calling by Ryan HolidayThe Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday 👉 Support ...

17 Marras 20258min

Make Stoicism Your Anchor in Chaos (Ryan Holiday Live at FreedomFest)

Make Stoicism Your Anchor in Chaos (Ryan Holiday Live at FreedomFest)

We should fight, as Marcus Aurelius says, to be the person philosophy tried to make us. In this episode, Ryan shares why deciding to live with virtue can completely transform your life.🎟️ Come see Ry...

16 Marras 202522min

Mark Manson: “I Didn’t Realize How Out of Control I Was.”

Mark Manson: “I Didn’t Realize How Out of Control I Was.”

What’s the point of achieving success if you’re burned out, lonely, or exhausted? In today’s episode, Ryan sits down with Mark Manson (bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k) to tal...

15 Marras 202540min

This Is The Part To Love | "I Spent 6 Years Researching The Most Elusive Trait In The World"

This Is The Part To Love | "I Spent 6 Years Researching The Most Elusive Trait In The World"

It seems insensitive to even suggest that someone “love” their fate. How are you supposed to love a breakup? Love that you buried someone? Love that you lost your business?🎥 Watch this episode on The...

14 Marras 202521min

BONUS | Where Service Meets Stoicism — U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Joe Byerly & Ryan Holiday

BONUS | Where Service Meets Stoicism — U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Joe Byerly & Ryan Holiday

In this bonus episode, Ryan sits down with his friend and collaborator, Joe Byerly, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, writer, and host of From the Green Notebook. The two talk about the overlap be...

13 Marras 20251h 8min

There’s No One Stupider Than An Angry Person | Ask Daily Stoic

There’s No One Stupider Than An Angry Person | Ask Daily Stoic

There’s even a famous old saying: Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make angry.🎟️ Come see Ryan Holiday LIVE: https://www.dailystoiclive.com/Seattle, WA - December 3, 2025 San Diego, CA - Feb...

13 Marras 202518min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
mimmit-sijoittaa
rss-rahapodi
psykopodiaa-podcast
herrasmieshakkerit
rss-rahamania
taloudellinen-mielenrauha
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
rss-sami-miettinen-neuvottelija
rahapuhetta
juristipodi
lakicast
rss-h-asselmoilanen
rss-startup-ministerio
rss-seuraava-potilas
rss-paasipodi
rss-draivi
rss-sisalto-kuntoon
rss-bisnespaiva
rss-myynnilla-on-asiaa-kert-kenner