The affliction of so many people? Other people. We’re driven mad by the mistakes, the comments, the rudeness, the lifestyle choices of people who are not us. We have to be able to remind ourselves: My problems are my problems, other people’s problems are their problems. As Marcus wrote, “Leave other people’s mistakes where they lie.” That is, in […]
While Stoicism has been widely embraced in the world of sports, Silicon Valley and other professions, even we were a bit surprised the philosophy has been adopted and used by Steve DeBono, a master dog trainer in Austin. When he approached DailyStoic.com’s very own Ryan Holiday to help him with his dog, Hanno, who would […]
This is a guest post by Skye C. Cleary, Visiting Professor at Columbia University, City College of New York, and Barnard College as well as Massimo Pigliucci, K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. It was originally posted on The Institute of Art and Ideas’ website. *** When every day many of us wake […]
Along with Michele Tafoya, the sideline reporter for NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and Michael Lombardi, the powerful and influential NFL executive, we are excited to interview another figure in the NFL world who has popularized Stoicism. His name is Adam Lefkoe, and he is the co-host of the Simms And Lefkoe podcast, which offers a […]
It’s interesting to consider that there is a certain survivorship bias when it comes to the Stoics. We really only hear about the extremely successful ones—the emperors and the writers, the playwrights and the generals. But given the popularity of Stoicism in Rome and throughout history, the vast majority of Stoics would have been ordinary people living […]
In his essay, On The Happy Life, Seneca makes an extended list of what he thinks a happy man ought to be. These rules, with only slight editing, are important enough to be laid out here in full. And worth trying to follow not only today but every day: -Let a man not be corrupted by external […]
Last week we wrote about the nearly unbelievable, decade-long conspiracy the billionaire Peter Thiel aimed at Gawker, a website he believed was a scourge of culture. With Stoic-like patience, and a conspicuous lack of anger, he waited patiently for an opportunity to solve a problem others had despaired of solving, and motivated by his own internal code of […]
Most of what we say and do is not essential,” Marcus Aurelius reminds us. “If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment, ‘Is this necessary?'” The correction you were going to make of your co-worker. The new car you were going to shop for this weekend. The news […]
This is a guest post by The Eudaimoniac, and it is a long meditation on the nature of control. The nature of control is one of the most important notions in Stoicism and is the reason why it is the first meditation in The Daily Stoic book. You can read that meditation here and then […]