Get Yourself Under Control
The Daily Stoic9 Nov 2018

Get Yourself Under Control

It was Heraclitus--a favorite of Marcus Aurelius--who said that “to be self-controlled is the greatest of excellence.” Isn’t that the truth? It’s why we admire athletes and Navy SEALS and the Civil Rights Activists of the 1950s and 1960s.


To see someone being provoked with horrific language and threatened with bodily violence--only to ignore it. To see someone under incredible pressure and perform despite it. To see someone override their fears and physical limitations in service of their country. This, we know, is self-control par excellence.


The reason we study this philosophy, follow its precepts and practice its exercises, is to develop our own ability to control ourselves. To control our desires, our emotions, our bodies, and our minds. So that under pressure, under threat, under siege, we can be our best selves. We are working to get ourselves under control so that we can be excellent--we can be virtuous--and because we know that self-control is its own form of excellence.


It’s a hard thing to do, and that’s why we admire it.


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

Episoder(2889)

There’s No Excuse For Being Surprised

There’s No Excuse For Being Surprised

Fabius was one of Ancient Rome’s great generals, though he was not the bold, reckless type that usually gets all the attention in history books. No, he was the cautious type. He was strategic and rese...

24 Jul 20193min

Haven’t You Done That Before?

Haven’t You Done That Before?

It is certainly true that people can do some awful things to each other. We hear of a trusted representative who is stealing from their clients. We hear of a man who has been leading a second life, ev...

23 Jul 20192min

What Do You Look Like Angry?

What Do You Look Like Angry?

Getting angry is not a good look. We know this because we see how ugly other people look when they get mad. How childish they seem. How pathetic their gesticulations look, how badly they seem to need ...

22 Jul 20192min

You’re Not That Important

You’re Not That Important

A few weeks ago, a horse at The Preakness threw its jockey right out of the gate and kept running. Like really kept running. It ran the whole race twice! For a few seconds there during its first go-ro...

19 Jul 20193min

This Is Universal

This Is Universal

Traveling—that itch to get away, to hit the road, to see the world—feels like a distinctly modern craze. Yet it was common in Ancient Rome for people to escape the heat and the frenzy of the bustling ...

18 Jul 20193min

Are You Self-Aware?

Are You Self-Aware?

Evan Thomas, in his incisive and humanizing biography of Richard Nixon, asks a penetrating question: How many great men of history were truly self-aware? Nixon surely wasn’t. Bill Clinton, caught red-...

17 Jul 20193min

Nothing Wrong With Nice Stuff

Nothing Wrong With Nice Stuff

Seneca was a very rich man. He had nice stuff. Critics at the time, and ever since, have found this to be indisputable proof of his hypocrisy. How can a Stoic have expensive ivory tables? Isn’t it unp...

16 Jul 20192min

These Things Have No Power Over You

These Things Have No Power Over You

So much has happened in the past. We’ve messed up. We’ve been hurt. We’ve missed opportunities and we’ve embarrassed ourselves. So much can happen in the future, as well. Not only can all those same m...

15 Jul 20192min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

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