Here is a Pleasure You Can Have Anytime
The Daily Stoic26 Joulu 2019

Here is a Pleasure You Can Have Anytime

The Stoics did not reject worldly pleasures. They rejected the reckless ones. The dangerous, ephemeral ones. The Stoics were not afraid of joy. They just wanted to earn it.

Epictetus loved to quote Socrates: “Just as one person delights in improving his farm, and another his horse, so I delight in attending to my own improvement day by day.”

Delight! Not a word you’d expect from Epictetus, but there it is. And to be found in such an unexpected way. Not in material things. Not in a hobby. But in oneself—in improving oneself.

We can imagine Marcus Aurelius actually having fun while writing his Meditations, because he was attending to his own development. The same goes for Seneca as he did his crazy philosophical practices, whether it was diving into a freezing fountain at the beginning of the new year or living frugally to prepare himself for changes in fortune. Cato took real pleasure in challenging himself—to walk barefoot and bareheaded, to sleep on the ground with his soldiers, to dress simply and to work hard.

And so can you. We can become our own hobby. We can become our own source of satisfaction. The economy determines what we can do professionally, but no one can stop us from working on ourselves personally. Nor can anyone or anything take away the pleasure we earn by getting better day by day.

This is just one of the reasons we’ve set up our New Year New You Challenge, which starts in just six days. Now’s your chance to commit to attending to your own improvement in 2020 and to experience the joy and rewards that come from challenging yourself.

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

Jaksot(2868)

 If You Only Read a Few Books This Year, Read These

If You Only Read a Few Books This Year, Read These

Most people don’t read that many books, maybe a few a year at most. So if you’re only going to read a couple books this year, the decision of which ones you choose becomes really important.In today’s ...

15 Helmi 13min

11 Stoic Rules For Love

11 Stoic Rules For Love

Love isn’t just an emotion. It’s not just a feeling that hits you out of nowhere. It’s an action, something you can practice and something you can get better at. And while philosophy might not seem li...

14 Helmi 24min

This Kindles the Soul | Why You Can't Ignore What's Happening

This Kindles the Soul | Why You Can't Ignore What's Happening

Marcus Aurelius said that if you ever found anything better in life than courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom—the four virtues—it must be an extraordinary thing indeed. Which raises the question: ...

13 Helmi 15min

Do Not Delay | Dan Harris & Ryan Holiday on The Pursuit of Wisdom

Do Not Delay | Dan Harris & Ryan Holiday on The Pursuit of Wisdom

Life has a way of stripping all our reasons bare, of humbling our plans and assumptions. We must live, as Marcus Aurelius said, as if death hangs over us. Because it does.👉 Listen to the full convers...

12 Helmi 13min

There’s a Rhythm. There’s a Rhythm.

There’s a Rhythm. There’s a Rhythm.

It can feel like everything is falling to pieces. It can feel like you’re lost. It can feel like there’s no hope, no way forward, nothing to do. But that’s just because you’ve gotten rattled.👉 Suppor...

11 Helmi 2min

Stephen Greenblatt: Why “This Time Is Different” Is Always Wrong

Stephen Greenblatt: Why “This Time Is Different” Is Always Wrong

Why do the same patterns keep showing up in completely different centuries? In this episode, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Stephen Greenblatt joins Ryan to discuss how power, fear, ego, and insecur...

11 Helmi 55min

You Have to Fight for It | Is There A Dark Side To Stoicism?

You Have to Fight for It | Is There A Dark Side To Stoicism?

It would be wonderful if the world was naturally just, if people were automatically good, always doing the right thing. But of course, they don’t. 📕 Read more stories that will inspire you to live wi...

10 Helmi 26min

You Are Responsible For How They Make You Feel | Watch Over Your Perceptions

You Are Responsible For How They Make You Feel | Watch Over Your Perceptions

At the core of Stoicism is the idea that our emotions are our responsibility. No one can make us frustrated. No one can offend us either, Epictetus said, not without us being complicit in the taking o...

9 Helmi 8min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
psykopodiaa-podcast
mimmit-sijoittaa
rss-rahapodi
rss-draivi
rss-lahtijat
oppimisen-psykologia
rss-rahamania
rss-porssipuhetta
rss-seuraava-potilas
taloudellinen-mielenrauha
rss-inderes
rss-h-asselmoilanen
rss-bisnesta-bebeja
rss-paatos-podcast-suomen-kovimmat-paatoksentekijat-2
rss-paasipodi
rss-viisas-raha-podi
rss-sami-miettinen-neuvottelija
kasvun-kipuja
rss-bisnespaiva