The Daily Stoic Summary

Wherever a person can live, there one can also live well;

• Abraham Lincoln is the most renowned politician of his time. Even at a profession like that, he was able to be compassionate, humble, open-minded and purposeful.
• Principles and pragmatism are not at odds. Whether you live in the white house or in a jail or in a closed-minded small town, you can live well if you choose to. Plenty of other have! It's your principles that govern your way of life.

Do now what nature demands of you. Get right to it if that's in your power. Don't wait for the perfect timing.

• There is plenty that you could do right now, today, plenty of small steps, were you to take them, would help move things forward.
• Don't excuse yourself from doing them because the conditions aren't right or because a better opportunity might come along soon. Do what you can, now!
• And when you've done it, don't overblow the results and always keep it in perspective. Shun both excuse and ego, before and after.

Don't tell yourself anything more than what the initial impressions report.

• It's been reported to you that someone is speaking badly about you. This is the report - the report wasn't that you've been harmed. I see that my son is sick - but not that his life is at risk.
• So always stay within your first impressions, and don't add to them in your head - this way nothing can happen to you.
• As Nietzsche put it, "to stop courageously at the surface" and see things in plain objective form.

I try to implement at least a few things from a non-fiction book that I read. Here are a few I try to implement from the book The Daily Stoic:

• Cold Showers
• It's Ok To Not Know Everything
• Luck And Prepara
• Do, but Not To Impress Someone

There's this ideology about being prepared to withstand any difficult situations and one way is to get used to hardship.

I take at least 1 cold shower in a month.

This may seem easy but consciously choosing to do so is where it is difficult. It also let's you appreciate the comforts we take for granted so easily.

There are few other suggestions in the book to try walking on barefoot for a day, try living out of ₹50 - ₹100 (about a dollar's worth money) for a day.

It is impossible for a person to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows.

Have accepted the fact that I didn't know about many things at work and life in general.

It is humbling and that's the reality too, we don't know about many things in life. When we accept this we give room to learn.

“Of all people only those are at leisure who make time for philosophy, only they truly live. Not

satisfied to merely keep good watch over their own days, they annex every age to their own. All

the harvest of the past is added to their store. Only an ingrate would fail to see that these great

architects of venerable thoughts were born for us and have designed a way of life for us.”

—SENECA

Some of us are stressed. Others are overworked. Perhaps you’re struggling with the new responsibilities of parenthood. Or the chaos of a new venture. Or are you already successful and grappling with the duties of power or influence? Wrestling with an addiction? Deeply in love? Or moving from one flawed relationship to another? Are you approaching your golden years? Or enjoying the spoils of youth? Busy and active? Or bored out of your mind. Wisdom from the Stoics that can help. 

“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own . . .”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.5.4–5

Everything lasts for a day, the one who remembers and the remembered.

~Marcus Aurelius

You can take the bite out of any tough situation by bringing a calm mind to it. By considering it and meditating on it in advance.

The following little reminder sums up the three most essential part of Stoic philosophy worth carrying with you every day:

1. Control your perceptions

2. Direct your actions properly

3. Willingly accept what's outside of your control

That's all we need to do.

The Stoics remind us that there really is no such thing as an objectively good or bad occurrence. Situations require our participation, context and categorization in order to be "bad".

Our reaction is what actually decides whether harm has occurred. If we raise our voice because we feel we’re being confronted, naturally a confrontation will ensue.

But if we retain control of ourselves, we decide whether to label something good or bad.

Marcus Aurelius was reminded that no matter how much he conquered, no matter how much he inflicted his will on the world, it would be like building a castle in the sand—soon to be erased by the winds of time.

Eventually, all of us will pass away and slowly be forgotten. We should enjoy this brief time we have on earth—not be enslaved to emotions that make us miserable and dissatisfied.

Most people resist the idea of a true self-estimate, probably because they fear it might mean downgrading some of their beliefs about who they are and what they’re capable of.

As Goethe’s maxim goes, it is a great failing “to see yourself as more than you are" and it is equally damaging to “value yourself at less than your true worth.”

We underestimate our capabilities just as much and just as dangerously as we overestimate other abilities. Cultivate the ability to judge yourself accurately and honestly. Look inward to discern what you’re capable of and what it will take to unlock that potential.

• Art of Acquiescence - to accept rather than fight every little thing
• In Stoicism, instead of accepting what happens, we must enjoy what has happened - whatever it is.

No matter how much preparation, no matter how skilled or smart we are, the ultimate outcome is in the lap of the gods. The sooner we know that, the better we will be.

• However, actions still play an important role because you miss 100% of the shots you do not take.
• Even when we fail, we become more resilient and wiser, which increases our chances even further as we strive and work harder.

amor fati : love everything that happens to you to take away something from every bad situation. your lamenting over things will not bring them back.

eg. after thomas Edison's factory caught fire and started burning his son was very shocked but thomas told his son to call his mother and her friends because she may not get the chance to see this kind of huge flame. and next day he started rebuilding that because it was exciting and challenging for him