The Daily Stoic21 Nov 2019

How To Concentrate Like a Roman

There is so much on our plate. We have emails to respond to. Calls to make. There is that meeting in a couple hours. The folks we met with yesterday are waiting on an answer or a decision we promised we’d make. Twitter beckons. So do our hopes and dreams.

And yet as many directions as we find ourselves pulled in, it’s safe to assume that Marcus Aurelius was under even more tension. Make no mistake: The ancient world was not some quiet, peaceful place. It too was filled with crises and distractions, gossip, and ambitious goal-setting. All the temptations we face today have their analogs in the past—plus things were scarier, deadlier, and more precarious.

So we should listen to the command that Marcus gave himself after one of those trying days, when he was struggling to stay focused. “Concentrate every minute like a Roman— like a man—” he wrote, “on doing what’s in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with justice.”

And he wasn’t just chiding himself to do some impossible thing. There was a method to this concentration, he said. What was it? Do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life. (That’s the power of Memento Mori). The key, Marcus said, was to not let your emotions override your mind and to give yourself a strong purpose (aimlessness is an enabler of distraction).

You can do that. You have the power to concentrate like a Roman. You can know how to do this thing in front of you. You can treat it right. And most important, you should. Because it may well be the last thing you do in your life.

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

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(3123)

The Moment Ryan’s Italy Trip Went Sideways

Ryan thought running 50 kilometers through Rome would be the hard part of the family trip to Italy but he was wrong. In today’s episode, he shares how the rest of the trip went completely off the rail...

6 Sep 30min

The Stoic Reminders Hiding All Over Rome

In Rome, Ryan could barely go for a run without passing a place connected to Stoic history. In today’s episode, he shares moments from his family trip, from visiting the places where the Stoics lived ...

5 Sep 30min

Don’t Let It Keep Slipping Away | The Philosopher's School Is A Hospital

It’s already Labor Day weekend. What happened? 📘 The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday: https://store.dailystoic.com/🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | h...

4 Sep 6min

What Ryan Holiday Would Ask Marcus Aurelius

If Ryan could sit down with Marcus Aurelius and ask him one question, it wouldn’t be about Meditations or Stoic philosophy. In today’s episode, Ryan poses the question to Professor William O. Stephens...

3 Sep 19min

You Need To Hit The Road

It might even be easy to use some of the Stoic teachings to tell yourself that travel is exotic, or even frivolous. But it isn’t. It’s essential.📚 The Four Virtues Boxed Set: https://dailystoic.com/v...

3 Sep 2min

You Fought The Wall and the Wall Won | When Self-Discipline Becomes a Vice

“Why should we get angry at the world,” Marcus Aurelius writes, “as if the world would notice?”Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/🇺🇸 USA d...

2 Sep 17min

BONUS | 7 Books AI Can't Replace

In this bonus episode, Ryan shares seven books that will help you think more clearly, use AI wisely, and become harder to replace.🎥 WATCH THIS EPISODE | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeBuZjNq8u0📚 ...

1 Sep 5min

As Above, So Below | How Seeing Earth From Space Changes You (with Astronaut Mark Kelly)

We need to take a step back from problems, arguments, and frustrations. To look at the bigger picture. Watch the full episode with Senator and Astronaut Mark Kelly here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

1 Sep 8min