{"id":8565,"date":"2020-05-10T12:39:03","date_gmt":"2020-05-10T16:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailystoic.com\/?p=8565"},"modified":"2020-05-10T12:39:03","modified_gmt":"2020-05-10T16:39:03","slug":"just-do-one-thing-every-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailystoic.com\/just-do-one-thing-every-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Do One Thing Every Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seneca wrote a lot of letters to his friend Lucilius<\/span><\/a>. We don\u2019t know a lot about Lucilius, only that he was from Pompeii, he was a Roman knight, he was the imperial procurator in Sicily then its Governor, he owned a country villa in Ardea. For all his success though, we get the sense that he struggled with many of the things we all struggle with: Anxiety. Distraction. Fear. Temptation. Self-discipline.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So it\u2019s good that he had a friend <\/span>like Seneca<\/span><\/a>, someone who cared about him, told him the truth, and gave him advice. One of the best pieces of advice from Seneca was actually pretty simple. \u201c<\/span>Each day<\/span><\/a>,\u201d he told Lucilius, you should \u201cacquire something that will fortify you against poverty, against death, indeed against other misfortunes, as well.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just one thing. One nugget. And that\u2019s what most of Seneca\u2019s letters to his friend are about. They have a quote in them. Or a little prescription. Or a story. One little thing to make Lucilius stronger, smarter, wiser, calmer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the way to improvement: Incremental, consistent, humble, persistent work. Your business, your book, your career, your body\u2014<\/span>it doesn\u2019t matter<\/span><\/a>\u2014you build them with little things, day after day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a filmmaker, entrepreneur, author, former Governor, professional bodybuilder, and father of five. He\u2019s also a fan of the Stoics and said <\/span>in a recent video<\/span><\/a> to people trying to stay strong and sane during this pandemic: \u201cJust as long as you do something every day, that is the important thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s from Seneca or Arnold, good advice is good advice and truth is truth. One thing a day adds up. One step at a time is all it takes. You just gotta do it. <\/span>And the sooner you start, the better you\u2019ll feel…and be<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

P.S.\u00a0<\/i>This was originally sent<\/i><\/span><\/a> on May 11, 2020. 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><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seneca wrote a lot of letters to his friend Lucilius. We don\u2019t know a lot about Lucilius, only that he was from Pompeii, he was a Roman knight, he was the imperial procurator in Sicily then its Governor, he owned a country villa in Ardea. For all his success though, we get the sense that […]<\/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":"\nJust Do One Thing Every Day<\/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\/just-do-one-thing-every-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Just Do One Thing Every Day\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Seneca wrote a lot of letters to his friend Lucilius. We don\u2019t know a lot about Lucilius, only that he was from Pompeii, he was a Roman knight, he was the imperial procurator in Sicily then its Governor, he owned a country villa in Ardea. 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