The Daily Stoic24 Mai 2019

It’s Not As Unfortunate As It Seems

Things we didn’t want to happen happen to all of us. A business deal falls through. A grade comes back that we didn’t expect. A person we care about leaves us. Our instinct is to call these events unfortunate.

Which makes sense. It’s fortunate when you get what you want, it’s unfortunate when, for whatever reason, you don’t. Right?

Marcus Aurelius proposed a different way of looking at things. Instead of telling ourselves that we’re unfortunate because our expectations were disappointed, we should do the opposite:

“No it's fortunate that this has happened and I've remained unharmed by it -- not shattered by the present or frightened of the future. It could have happened to anyone. But not everyone could have remained unharmed by it.”

To a Stoic, we’re only harmed when our character is affected. We’re only harmed when we let go of what we believe in or when we drop our own standards. It might not be desirable to lose money or a friend, to fail at something or to be criticized, but how does that make us unfortunate? We haven’t been deprived of our ability to respond. Our character remains intact.

There’s no rule that says you have to freak out about this or shattered by it or that you have to start getting anxious about the future. No, you’re still in control. You’re still you.

That’s very fortunate.

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

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(2985)

This Is Inseparable From Living a Good Life

The four Stoic virtues are not supposed to be pursued in isolation. Instead, they come together under the idea of virtue itself.📚 Pre-order The Four Virtues Boxed Set: https://dailystoic.com/virtuesb...

13 Mai 3min

The Stoic Code General Mattis Lives By

General Jim Mattis has spent his life proving that philosophy is not just for the classroom. In today’s episode, Margaret Hoover interviews General Mattis, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, and Ryan a...

13 Mai 28min

BONUS | Ryan Holiday Responds to Daniel Radcliffe

In a recent interview, Daniel Radcliffe talked about the book "How To Hide an Empire" which has been one of Ryan's favorite reads lately. Here are some of his takeaways.You can grab a copy of How To H...

12 Mai 8min

No, This Is The Mission | Kindness Is Always The Right Response

You thought you were supposed to be doing this. You thought your job was to do that. But then what happened? Life happened. Stuff happened. Other people happened.📕 Pick up a copy of the 10th Annivers...

12 Mai 8min

It Can Change Everything | A Real-Life Example of How to Build a Coaching Tree

Great leaders don’t just build winning teams, they build people who can go on to lead without them. In today’s episode, Ryan talks about the idea of “growing a coaching tree” and what it means to crea...

11 Mai 25min

We Owe It All To Them | What Marcus Aurelius Learned From His Mother

In honor of Mother’s Day, Ryan talks with Donald Robertson about the powerful influence Marcus Aurelius’ mother had on his life and philosophy. Even though Stoicism is usually talked about as a philos...

10 Mai 13min

Rock Bottom, Recovery, and Starting Over at 40 | Jon Gustin

Jon Gustin got sober at the beginning of 2023, but as he explains in today’s episode, getting sober was not the end of the struggle. It was the beginning of finally facing everything he had spent year...

9 Mai 22min

The Stoic All the Stoics Admired

Cato’s life was his philosophy, and the Stoics never stopped looking to his example. In today’s episode, Ryan explores why Cato the Younger became one of Stoicism’s most admired figures, and what his ...

8 Mai 30min