What You Think You’re Lacking Is The Problem
The Daily Stoic10 Okt 2018

What You Think You’re Lacking Is The Problem

George Ball, the diplomat and advisor to President Kennedy (one of who David Halberstam would call ‘the best and the brightest’), once observed about Lyndon Johnson that LBJ was hardly disadvantaged by his lack of an Ivy League education. Rather, he said, LBJ suffered from his sense of lacking that education.

That is, LBJ’s insecurity about his deficiency was far worse than any actual deficit that may have existed. Isn’t that how it usually goes? Seneca’s line that we suffer more in imagination than in reality, would indicate that it’s been that way for millennia. But more appropriate on this occasion is that essential insight from Epictetus: It’s not things that upset us, it’s our opinion about them that does. And from Marcus Aurelius too: Choose to feel harmed and you have been, choose not to and you haven’t been.

LBJ was convinced that he had been done an injustice by growing up poor and unable to afford a school like Harvard or Yale. On its face, this was absurd--he still ended up being President--but he carried what we would today call ‘populist rage’ for so long and believed it for so long that it became true. Worse was the result; LBJ was alternately too trusting and too suspicious of those who were more credentialed or smarter than he was. He was harmed by his lack of education...because he harmed himself by believing there was something lacking.

The same is true for us. You’re not lacking whatever you thinking you’re lacking. It’s your opinion that you’re deficient that is far worse than any potential deprivation. You’ve got plenty. You are plenty. Remember that.


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

Episoder(2904)

You Can Get Rid of It | The Present Is All We Possess

You Can Get Rid of It | The Present Is All We Possess

Let go of beliefs…let go of worries. Shed what’s unnecessary. Clear away what’s holding us down.👉 SPECIAL OFFER | Go to dailystoic.com/spring and enter code DSPOD20 at checkout to get 20% off the Spr...

16 Mar 8min

Stoic Advice for the Problems We All Face

Stoic Advice for the Problems We All Face

How should a Stoic deal with bullies? What do you do when someone you love drives you crazy? And how do you stick to your principles when it costs you money? Ryan answers some big questions in this ep...

15 Mar 19min

BONUS | How to Reset Your Life (According to the Stoics)

BONUS | How to Reset Your Life (According to the Stoics)

Ready to write off 2026 already because it didn’t start perfectly? In this episode, Ryan talks about why the Stoics would say that impulse is not just unhelpful, it’s arrogant. Writing off today, this...

15 Mar 14min

A Stoic Test I Didn’t Expect

A Stoic Test I Didn’t Expect

In the span of three days, Ryan found himself in a series of situations that were exciting, surreal, and a little terrifying. The kind of moments where the Stoic ideas suddenly get put to the test.SPE...

14 Mar 35min

Here’s How You Take Back Your Time | Become Dangerously Persuasive With These Books

Here’s How You Take Back Your Time | Become Dangerously Persuasive With These Books

Think of how you spent the last week. Were those seven days as efficient or productive as they could be? 🎥 VIDEO EPISODE | Watch this episode on Ryan Holiday's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.co...

13 Mar 13min

It’s Scary…But In A Good Way

It’s Scary…But In A Good Way

Without change, we stagnate. Our minds grow complacent, ignorant to new ideas. Our bodies grow weak from disuse. We remain stuck.👉 SPECIAL OFFER FOR PODCAST LISTENERS ONLY | Go to dailystoic.com/spri...

12 Mar 9min

What Can You Notice?

What Can You Notice?

There is beauty and peace in noticing. The world is filled with things to see and hear.📚 Books Mentioned: Stillness Is The Key by Ryan Holiday Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton👉 SPECIAL OFFER | Go to dai...

11 Mar 3min

The Day Control Was Taken From Us

The Day Control Was Taken From Us

Most people remember exactly where they were the week of March 11, 2020. Life suddenly stopped. The world went quiet. And for a brief moment, everything about our routines, priorities, and pace of lif...

11 Mar 37min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
e24-podden
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
finansredaksjonen
pengepodden-2
pengesnakk
utbytte
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
rss-sunn-okonomi
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
lederpodden
rss-markedspuls-2
liberal-halvtime
rss-politisk-preik
lederskap-nhhs-podkast-om-ledelse