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(2884)

When Are You Going To Be Free?

When Are You Going To Be Free?

Most of us tell ourselves that we’re putting up with ill-treatment or keeping our mouths shut about our beliefs because we’re working on something big. We tell ourselves that we’re slogging away in th...

17 Jan 20192min

How To Respond To Crazy People

How To Respond To Crazy People

One suspects Marcus Aurelius was referring to a particularly frustrating person, some opponent who just would not, or could not, get the message, when he wrote:“You can hold your breath until you’re b...

16 Jan 20192min

Don’t Be Distracted By Darkness

Don’t Be Distracted By Darkness

There’s no question that depressing things happen in this world. They always have and always will. People lie, cheat, steal. Envy, avarice, selfishness—it’s all out there. And it’s hard to miss. It’s ...

15 Jan 20192min

The Civil War Inside Each One Of Us

The Civil War Inside Each One Of Us

Martin Luther King Jr. was fond of using the American Civil War as a metaphor, not just to explain the divisive political landscape, but the divide within each person. Just as there was a North and So...

14 Jan 20193min

This Is What Karma Looks Like

This Is What Karma Looks Like

There is a simple proposition at the heart of classical Christianity: if you are a good person and do good works on Earth, when you die you will enter the Kingdom of Heaven and know the full bounty of...

11 Jan 20193min

The Great Equalizer

The Great Equalizer

The author Michael Malice has a running gag: whenever a celebrity dies he posts a meme that says RIP but is a photo of a similar looking but a very different (and very alive) celebrity. It’s partly a ...

10 Jan 20192min

If It’s Not Simple, It’s Bullshit

If It’s Not Simple, It’s Bullshit

There’s not much in Stoicism that’s particularly groundbreaking: Focus on what you can control. Be a good person. Manage your emotions. A lot of the famous Stoic quotes are pretty basic too: Epictetus...

9 Jan 20192min

Find A Point!

Find A Point!

Peter Barton’s beautiful memoir, Not Fade Away: A Short Life Well Lived, takes readers along a man’s search for meaning when he’s forced to confront mortality. Struggling for a reason to persist amid ...

8 Jan 20193min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

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