← The Daily Stoic
Loading summary
Transcript3 lines
- [00:00]
A
Foreign. Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast where each day we bring you a Stoic inspired meditation designed to help you find strength and insight and wisdom into everyday life. Each one of these episodes is Based on the 2000 year old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. Help you learn from them to follow in their example, and to start your day off with a little dose of courage and discipline and justice and wisdom. For more visit Dailystoic.com. We have always done this. The ancient world was very different from ours, obviously. They had different technology, they had different customs, different gods, different lifespans. And yet they were also tantalizingly similar to us, just as the people in the distant past must have seemed tantalizingly similar to them. In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius observes that even in the bygone days of Vespasian or Trajan, people did the exact same things they were doing in his marrying, raising children, getting sick, dying, waging war, throwing parties, doing business, farming, flattering, boasting, distrusting, plotting, hoping others will die complaining about their own lives, falling in love, putting away money, seeking high office and power, he writes. What's remarkable is how people are doing the exact same thing in the modern world too. And this list goes on. Things you did today people did a thousand years ago, maybe even 5,000 years ago, they decided to take the scenic route. They talked baby talk to their dog. They arrived late, anxiously. They stayed up late reading or talking. They were short with their children. They gossiped about a mutual friend. They fretted about their parents. They got caught up in a project and forgot to eat lunch. They they caught a vain look in the mirror. They pinched fat on their belly. They got in an argument, they got a song stuck in their heads. This is what we do. This is what it means to be human. Some of it is good and some of it is better to resist. But it's the rhythm of life, the bleeding of eras, one into the other. No change, just repetition. Just foolishness and greatness all side by side. So the next time you feel exasperated, annoyed, joyful or curious, remember countless generations before you felt exactly the same way. And we are all participants in this ancient, eternal human dance. Different eras, same steps. I'm recording this on a Monday, and Monday is our grocery store day. In our family. I usually pick my kids up from school and we go over to Whole Foods, get all our groceries for the week. Although here very shortly we're going to go over there to get our Thanksgiving turkey because they've got a bunch of great options. Turkeys start at $1.49 a pound if you have prime with organic birds at $2.99 a pound and they only carry no antibiotic ever. Turkeys that will bring quality to your table at a great price. Whole Foods has great everyday prices on all your Thanksgiving essentials. Whether you celebrate with a massive family or just a few close friends, everything they sell has high standards to help you shop with confidence. Enjoy so many ways to save on your Thanksgiving spread at Whole Foods Market. Thanks to Toyota Trucks for sponsoring this episode. When I bought my ranch in 2015 out here in Basto County, I drove my car about halfway down the dirt road that we live on. Thought this isn't going to work. Stopped, parked it walked the rest of the way home, borrowed my wife's car, drove into Austin and bought a truck. What I bought was a Toyota Tacoma. And this truck wasn't just transportation getting me to and from my house. It unlocked a whole different style of living for us, not just on the ranch, but in our little Texas towns. There were places I could go now that I couldn't go before, especially out here in the piney forests, through the fields and on the unpaved roads like the one that I lived in. We got to go deep into the Hill country's wild beauty. We've driven all the way out to East Texas. We've driven it across the country. And by we, I mean not just my wife, but both my kids, who I drove home from the hospital in that truck. Toyota trucks are built for those who understand that the best adventures happen when you're willing to veer off course, because you never know when you'll end up on a Toyota Adventure Detour. And of course, this is stoicism, too, because every detour, every obstacle is an opportunity. But it's helpful if you can handle the difficulty inherent in that. If you've got the resilience and the right companion to make it wherever the road takes you, discover your uncharted territory. Learn more at Toyota Adventure Detours Balance the books of life daily One of the reasons we journal is as a way of gathering up life's experiences, its insights, its frustrations, its unexpected struggles and triumphs, and more. And in all of this, we are making a reckoning of our progress on life's way. Seneca, whose father in law was in charge of keeping the books on Rome's granary, liked the metaphor of balancing life's books each day. Rather than postpone, our impulse, each day should be to bring things as much as Possible to completion. Why? Because we never know what tomorrow might bring. Epictetus, too, would tell his students that the important thing was that they had begun. Begun to practice, to learn, to get better. So give yourself some credit this week for the journey that you're on, and reflect on how far you have come and how far you have left to go. And we have three quotes, two from Seneca, one from Epictetus. Seneca says, let us prepare our minds as if we'd come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life's books each day. Life's greatest flaw is that it is always imperfect and a certain portion of it is postponed. The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time. And that's from moral letters 101. And then Seneca, and he's writing this to his father in law. He says, believe me, it's better to produce the balance sheet of your own life than of the grain market. He says this on the shortness of life. And then Epictetus says, I am your teacher, and you are learning in my school. My aim is to bring you to completion unhindered, free from compulsive behavior, unrestrained, without shame, free flourishing and happy looking to God in things great and small. And your aim is to learn and diligently practice all of these things. Why then don't you complete the work? If you have the right aim, and I have both the right aim and the right preparation, what is missing? The work is quite feasible. It is the only thing in our power. Let go of the past. We must only begin. Believe me. And you will see. I was thinking about this idea of keeping life's books with the fact that I just finished my daily Stoke journal. And I know some of you have been on that path with me as well. So as I cracked open a fresh one, that was pretty cool. And I'm about to finish my one line a day journal. So I've been doing it every day. And just to have that finished is like an incredible, cool experience. And to think of the reflection that went into this. And so, you know, when we talk about journaling, it's not just a sort of a cathartic thing. It's not just a moment of stillness in the morning or the afternoon or whenever you happen to do it. To me, the power of it is that it is recording your progress as you go. When I look at some of the things that I wrote five years ago, when I think about what I was going through five years ago, Right. I just, I am proud of myself for the work that I have been putting in on myself. There's a great line. It's not in today's entry, but Epictetus says, he says some people delight in improving their farm. Me, I delight in my own improvement day to day. And I think that's what the Journal is really capturing, is that day to day improvement, that work that I've been putting in and listening to this podcast is a little bit of work. Your journaling is a little bit of work. The reading you're doing is a little bit of work. The conversations you're having with a spouse or a friend or in the Daily Stoke Life group, that's a little bit of progress. And all of this, it might not seem like much as you're doing each individual thing, but as George Washington liked to say, many Mickles make a muckle. Or as Zeno said, the well being is realized by small steps, but it's not a small thing. And so as we chip away at this stuff, as we make a little bit of progress, it might not feel like much today or in the moment, but cumulatively it is adding up. It is taking you somewhere. And that is not to be underrated. And yeah, when I did the journal, I didn't know how it would work. I didn't have this kind of daily journaling practice like prompt based. But it's been a wonderful addition to my routine and I've heard from so many people who've had the same experience. And anyways, it's been wonderful and I hope you can do more than just follow along with the podcast, but you can grab a version of it yourself. Hey, it's Ryan. Thank you for listening to the Daily Stoic podcast. I just wanted to say we so appreciate it. We love serving you. It's amazing to us that over 30 million people have downloaded these episodes in the couple years we've been doing it. It's an honor. Please spread the word, tell people about it. And this isn't to sell anything. I just wanted to say thank. You.
- [10:57]
B
All the games you loved growing up are on the App Store. Looking to spark some friendly competition with friends and family. No matter where you're at. Turn your phone into the ultimate game night. You can bankrupt your brother in Monopoly. Go shout out hilarious clues to family and heads up. Challenge your best friend to a game of Uno, or get on a lucky streak in Yahtzee with Buddy Stice. Discover tons of classics you already love. It's all the laughter and connection of game night. Right in the palm of your hand. So what are you waiting for? Relive the games you grew up with now on iPhone. Search for your favorites on the App Store and let the games begin.
- [11:39]
C
Kay Jeweler's Black Friday sale is on. Now's the time to get up to 50% off Black Friday deals. With savings this big, you can get gifts for everyone on your list. Plus, if Black Friday lines aren't your thing, skip em at Kaye. You can buy online and pick up in store or get free shipping right to your home. This holiday season, unwrap love and savings with Kay. Exclusions apply. See kay.com exclusions for details.