The Daily Stoic Summary 2024 - Deepstash

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The Daily Stoic Summary

About The Daily Stoic Book

From the team that brought youĀ The Obstacle Is the WayĀ andĀ Ego Is the Enemy, a beautiful daily devotional of Stoic meditationsā€”an instant Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestseller.

Why have history's greatest mindsā€”from George Washington to Frederick the Great to Ralph Waldo Emerson, along with today's top performers from Super Bowl-winning football coaches to CEOs and celebritiesā€”embraced the wisdom of the ancient Stoics? Because they realize that the most valuable wisdom is timeless and that philosophy is for living a better life, not a classroom exercise.

The Daily Stoic offers 366 days of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright Seneca, or slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, as well as lesser-known luminaries like Zeno, Cleanthes, and Musonius Rufus. Every day of the year you'll find one of their pithy, powerful quotations, as well as historical anecdotes, provocative commentary, and a helpful glossary of Greek terms.

By following these teachings over the course of a year (and, indeed, for years to come) you'll find the serenity, self-knowledge, and resilience you need to live well.Ā 

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The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday, Stephen Hanselman
Pragmatic and Principled - Day 1

Pragmatic and Principled - Day 1

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.

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Start where the world is - Day 2

Start where the world is - Day 2

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.

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Stick with just the facts - Day 3

Stick with just the facts - Day 3

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.

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My Takeaways - The Daily Stoic

My Takeaways - The Daily Stoic

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

58

Cold Showers

Cold Showers

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 ā‚¹50 - ā‚¹100 (about a dollar's worth money) for a day.

51

It's Ok To Not Know Everything

It's Ok To Not Know Everything

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.

55

Time for Philosophy

ā€œOf 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.ā€

ā€”SENECA

119

A Philosophical Life

Some of us are stressed. Others are overworked. Perhaps youā€™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.Ā 

113

Control and Choice

ā€œThe 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 . . .ā€

ā€”EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.5.4ā€“5

134

On Being Remembered

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

~Marcus Aurelius

38

Taking The Bite Out Of It

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.

39

The Big Three

The Big Three

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.

46

The Real Source of Harm

The Real Source of Harm

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 weā€™re being confronted, naturally a confrontation will ensue.

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

123

The Smoke and Dust of Myth

The Smoke and Dust of Myth

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 sandā€”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 earthā€”not be enslaved to emotions that make us miserable and dissatisfied.

121

Accurate Self-Assessment

Accurate Self-Assessment

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 theyā€™re capable of.

As Goetheā€™s maxim goes, it is a great failing ā€œto see yourself as more than you are" and it is equally damaging to ā€œvalue yourself at less than your true worth.ā€

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 youā€™re capable of and what it will take to unlock that potential.

113

PICTETUS

"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 ā€¦"

PICTETUS

20

SENECA

ā€œHow many have laid waste to your life when you werenā€™t aware of what you were losing , how much was wasted in pointless grief, foolish joy, greedy desire, and social amusementsā€” how little of your own was left to you. You will realize you are dying before your time!ā€

SENECA

18

Accepting What is

  • 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.

8

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

Amor Fati [A love of fate]

It's not just accepting,

it's loving everything that happens.

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

7

Binding our wishes to what will be

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.

3

LUCIUS SENECA

ā€œIt's not that we have little time, but more that we waste a good deal of it.ā€

LUCIUS SENECA

6

EPICTETUS

ā€œFirst learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.ā€

EPICTETUS

7

The Daily Stoic Key Idea #3: We canā€™t control our emotions, but our reason and intelligence can keep them from affecting our actions.

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The Daily Stoic Key Idea #4: By being alert about our biases, we can bring more clarity to our thoughts.

Consequently, this means that before you act on an impression, you should always pause and consider what assumptions you've brought to the decision. Ask yourself questions like ā€œWhat could I have overlooked here?ā€ or perhaps "Is it possible Iā€™m wrong about this?ā€

4

The Daily Stoic Key Idea #5: Stoicism helps us live life action by action, one decision at a time.

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