Stop Expecting This | Cultivate Indifference
The Daily Stoic26 Feb 2024

Stop Expecting This | Cultivate Indifference

At this point, you should have a pretty good understanding of human nature. That’s why we read history after all (and if you don’t, we suggest this reading challenge). You’ve met people—you’ve seen what they do. People lie. People take the easy way out. People chase the wrong things.

Not always, not all people, but most people, most of the time.

Yet here you are, perpetually shocked and disappointed. Perpetually upset and resentful.

Cato, it was said by Cicero, seemed to forget that he didn’t live in Plato’s Republic but in the “dregs of Rome” (more on this in Lives of the Stoics). Cato seemed to be pretty regularly surprised that everyone wasn’t as committed to virtue, wasn’t as disciplined about that commitment as he was. There was even a saying that folks he was disappointed often said to excuse themselves: “We can’t all be Catos.”

One of the great lines from the Stoics was “not to expect figs in winter.” Cato could have done a better job of that. We could all do a better job at this. Most people have not even heard of Stoicism, let alone committed to it. Most people just do what they want in the moment, what’s easiest in the moment. Most people are not trying to live up to any kind of standard.

So why are we expecting them to be anything other than what they are? Why are we surprised or disappointed? We don’t have to relax our standards but we can certainly lower our expectations.


✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

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

Avsnitt(2957)

You Can Choose Right Now | The Portable Retreat

You Can Choose Right Now | The Portable Retreat

Someone has to take control. That someone is you. LAST CHANCE 👉 The Spring Forward Challenge starts TODAY! Go to dailystoic.com/spring and enter code DSPOD20 at checkout to get 20% off the Spring Fo...

20 Mars 9min

Break Through While You Still Can | Ask Ryan Holiday

Break Through While You Still Can | Ask Ryan Holiday

Just as seedlings must break through soil, we must break through our comfortable patterns. Nature doesn’t stay dormant forever—and neither should we.1 DAY LEFT 👉 Go to dailystoic.com/spring and enter...

19 Mars 12min

This Is How We Get Death Wrong

This Is How We Get Death Wrong

You’ll never get to live what has been lived again. So why are you rushing? 2 DAYS LEFT 👉 Go to dailystoic.com/spring and enter code DSPOD20 at checkout to get 20% off the Spring Forward Challenge! ...

18 Mars 3min

Why You Can’t Focus (And How to Fix It in 25 Minutes)

Why You Can’t Focus (And How to Fix It in 25 Minutes)

You’re tired. You’re frustrated. You can’t focus. You’re busy all the time, but somehow it feels like nothing’s actually getting done. And that only makes it worse. More anxious. More scattered. More ...

18 Mars 25min

Stoop and Build ’Em Up | Stronger Stoics Together

Stoop and Build ’Em Up | Stronger Stoics Together

Failure. That's life. Then what?👉 EXCLUSIVE DEAL FOR PODCAST LISTENERS | Go to dailystoic.com/spring and enter code DSPOD20 at checkout to get 20% off the Spring Forward Challenge! Challenge yourself...

17 Mars 22min

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 Mars 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 Mars 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 Mars 14min

Populärt inom Business & ekonomi

framgangspodden
varvet
rss-jossan-nina
rss-svart-marknad
badfluence
svd-tech-brief
uppgang-och-fall
avanzapodden
bathina-en-podcast
rss-borsens-finest
rss-kort-lang-analyspodden-fran-di
rss-inga-dumma-fragor-om-pengar
rss-dagen-med-di
tabberaset
24fragor
kapitalet-en-podd-om-ekonomi
dynastin
kvalitetsaktiepodden
rikatillsammans-om-privatekonomi-rikedom-i-livet
lastbilspodden