There will come a moment in your life when you are faced with an important decision that appears to have two choices: one that feels like the status quo, the path of least resistance, the way things have always been done. 

And then there is the one that appeals to you most. The exciting one; the new, risky one. The one that, if you make it, people are going to think you’re crazy.

They’re going to think you’re stupid. 

Think of your career, they’ll say. You worked so hard to get here.

You can’t listen to that. You can’t listen to the mob or to the doubters. You can’t look at the averages or concern yourself with the odds. If it’s right, Marcus Aurelius reminded himself, you have to do it. No matter the circumstances. No matter the fear. No matter the well-wishers who hope you’ll choose a safer path. 

History is made by those who take risks. Who stand on principle. Who defy expectations and conventional wisdom. The battles are won by those who are willing to go further, to go alone, to do it a way it’s never been done before. 

You have to do what you think is right. For you. For your family. For your country. For what you believe in. 

The rest doesn’t matter.

P.S. This was originally sent on December 30, 2019. Sign up today for the Daily Stoic’s email and get our popular free 7-day course on Stoicism.