{"id":10404,"date":"2021-01-11T18:24:24","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T23:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailystoic.com\/?p=10356"},"modified":"2021-01-30T04:27:52","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T09:27:52","slug":"dont-just-settle-for-a-shortcut-do-the-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailystoic.com\/dont-just-settle-for-a-shortcut-do-the-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Just Settle for a Shortcut, Do the Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

When things are scary, when we\u2019re overwhelmed, when we\u2019re struggling, it\u2019s tempting to look for a shortcut, for a pill that makes you feel better, for a TV show that helps you turn off your brain. Nothing makes that clearer than the last couple years of alarmingly destabilizing global events. People have turned to all sorts of magical solutions to get through these dark days, from meditation to self-help gurus to sending countless tweets and petitions off into cyberspace.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These things help us cope with the overwhelming world around us\u2026 but of course, only temporarily.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tim Ferriss and Tyler Cowen <\/span>recently talked about this on Tim\u2019s podcast<\/span><\/a>. Tim asked what Tyler might recommend\u2014besides <\/span>the wisdom of the Stoics<\/span><\/a>\u2014that would help people find equanimity and peace amidst the craziness. Tyler\u2019s answer was counterintuitive, as always:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I feel a bit of the people in that position, it’s like they want some kind of talisman, almost like a voodoo object. I don’t know if they really want to be more detached and dispassionate or they just want the talisman and maybe my advice would be to think through, “Do you just want the talisman?”<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a great question to ask ourselves when we\u2019re reading the Stoics, watching the news, or considering an experiment with plant medicine\u2014<\/span>are we after a talisman, or the real thing? Are we actually trying to improve, or do we just want to make ourselves feel better for a second? Do we just want to do <\/span><\/i>something,<\/span> and really anything will do?<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

There is a time and place for both strategies, but, of course, the Stoics would favor <\/span>focusing on doing the real work<\/span><\/a>\u2014on deeds, not just words. They wouldn\u2019t want you to settle for letting yourself off the hook, for simply indulging in some symbolic gesture or tiny consolation. They\u2019d want you to do the real, uncomfortable work on yourself, or on the world around you.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The training we\u2019re doing as Stoics is not easy. It\u2019s not a matter of reading one book. It\u2019s not about signing up for an email or buying a coin. It\u2019s an ongoing process. It\u2019s committing to <\/span>the hard path<\/span><\/a>. It\u2019s committing to a way of life.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s about doing the work. This morning. This evening. Tomorrow. Right this very moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

P.S.\u00a0<\/i>This was originally sent<\/i><\/span><\/a> on January 14, 2021. Sign up today for <\/i>the Daily Stoic\u2019s email<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0and get our popular\u00a0<\/i>free 7-day course on Stoicism.\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When things are scary, when we\u2019re overwhelmed, when we\u2019re struggling, it\u2019s tempting to look for a shortcut, for a pill that makes you feel better, for a TV show that helps you turn off your brain. Nothing makes that clearer than the last couple years of alarmingly destabilizing global events. People have turned to all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nDon\u2019t Just Settle for a Shortcut, Do the Work<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dailystoic.com\/dont-just-settle-for-a-shortcut-do-the-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don\u2019t Just Settle for a Shortcut, Do the Work\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When things are scary, when we\u2019re overwhelmed, when we\u2019re struggling, it\u2019s tempting to look for a shortcut, for a pill that makes you feel better, for a TV show that helps you turn off your brain. 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