Life On A B-I7

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 172

If you start a task and then begin to have second thoughts about it, ask yourself, “why am I doing this?” Don’t continue doing the task hoping the answer to that question will somehow reveal itself. Remember that quality is better than quantity. Steve Jobs understood that. It was his motivation for creating one of the most valuable companies in the world.

He once said, “a home run is better than two doubles.” He was partly correct. That is true in the business world, but in the world of baseball, he would not have been a good manager. Both a home run and two doubles score a run, but two doubles leaves a runner in scoring position.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 171

We must be willing to bear the consequences of the risks we take. Both the good risks and the bad risks. If we make a bad choice we must be humble about the consequences we will suffer. If we make a good choice we must be humble about our good fortune.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 170

You have the power to determine what your life means. Only you. Living in Wisdom Montana will not make you wise, only you can do that — and you can do that anytime, anywhere. Use reason, make good choices, that is your hidden power.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 169

Your freedom of choice is the most precious gift you have. All manner of harm can be done to you but no one or no thing can take away your freedom of choice. People can try to change who you are but you are the only person with the power to do that.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 168

Remember that what belongs to others is not yours. To covet what others possess enslaves you. What is yours is yours and no one can take that away from you. Focus on what you can control — yourself and yourself alone.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 167

The inspiration for this category of entries is “The Daily Stoic,” by Ryan Holiday. Ryan has written extensively about Stoicism and done a great service to bring the philosophy of Stoicism to the modern mind. Ryan has made a career out of guiding and encouraging people to not only understand but also live by Stoic principles. (I’m not a big fan of his profiteering from his life work, but that is the nature of capitalism I suppose.)

My discovery is that living by Stoic principles takes more than study. These daily entries are my “study,” I am also trying to live the words of the Stoics. That will not be an overnight achievement, it will be a lifetime endeavor. I will be returning to these entries in the years to come for inspiration, encouragement and guidance. It is not my goal to become a Stoic Master. I will be happy to achieve the level of apprentice someday.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 166

Do not rush into things for which you have not prepared adequately. No man knows everything there is to know. There is no substitute for wise preparation. Preparation that is inspired by a search for facts through humility. There is no such thing as “part-time” preparation. Life should not be lived halfheartedly. Take time daily for preparation.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 165

Strengthening yourself is hard work. Physical strengthening or emotional strengthening takes effort and determination. This work, this effort, is how you will develop the ability to persevere through all of life’s difficulties.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 164

Do not rely on good luck. “The rational soul is stronger than any kind of fortune.” The words of Seneca ring as true today as they did in ancient times. Be like Cato, learn indifference to fortune. Live the life you know is correct despite adversity or good fortune, either one. By being strong in this way you will be prepared for whatever may befall you.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 163

If you are inclined to look at someone’s failings and hold that against them, look at your own failings first. Be as forgiving of those people as you are of yourself. That is the only way you can grow to understand them better — and understand yourself better.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 161

No person has the power to possess everything they want. Does that sound familiar? It should. We are being led by a man that thinks having whatever he wants is reasonable. The ancient Romans knew this was not a tenable reality. Today we call that behavior malignant narcissism. The desire to obtain obscene wealth and power is possibly the most tragic of human flaws.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 159

Seneca said that it is more easy to laugh at life than it is to lament it.

There is little to be gained by getting angry or sad. There is always something we can do to adjust our behavior to avoid becoming a victim of anger or sadness.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 158

We should get rid of all things that are unnecessary for our living. This will free us. Always remember that even dire misfortune can be an opening that brings us to a better place

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 157

Understand the past and respect it, but don’t make it your sole guide for what should be your path forward. The past is a guide meant to teach us, not a guide meant to lead us by blind obedience.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 156

Do not rely on a single source for all your opinions. Use multiple sources to gather information. Consider all those sources carefully before you settle on “the facts.” Remember that even then, the facts you have settled on are ephemeral and are likely to change as history unfolds. Be able to change with them.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 155

If you want to persuade someone to your point of view, beating them with a stick or beating them with your words will not bring about positive results. Don’t say to someone “stop doing that,” or “stop doing that because it is wrong.” Instead, say stop doing that and then provide them with facts to show them why they will benefit by doing so. Those that choose to deny facts cannot be helped. Remember they are in the minority, not the majority.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 154

The attention you pay to any action should always be in proportion to its value. That value is determined by the benefit that will be returned to you and also to the value that will be returned to your fellow beings. It doesn’t matter if that return is recognized or not.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 153

Do not be anxious about the future. Realize instead that unless you are in control of some aspect of man’s destiny (most of us are not in such a position) there is little we can do to control that destiny — beyond those things that are our public duty.

Feeling bad about something that hasn’t happened yet is a choice that we are making. It is a choice that is draining energy from us that could otherwise be put to some worthwhile purpose.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 152

The Stoic dresses in whatever way is customary for the location and situation. The Stoic does not attempt to stand out from the crowd. What makes the Stoic unique is what is inside. Uniqueness threatens and alienates many people. Often it is those people that are most in need of what you have to offer.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 151

Peace of mind is not just about doing a few things as opposed to many things, it is about doing a few things well. That includes avoiding unnecessary things. Doing so gives us the best chance of doing all that we have the ability to accomplish.

Avoid those tasks that are purely driven by vanity. We must focus on eliminating those things that are a waste of our time.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 150

The good life does not consist in its length. The good life is defined by its accomplishments. A long life lived too little is a short life. The best approach is to focus on the task at hand, whatever that is.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 149

You have two voices in your head. Don’t let the “resistance voice” prevent you from doing what you know you should be doing. Listen to the voice that tells you what to do. Ignore the voice that is trying to give you excuses not to do it.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 148

Use philosophy to prepare yourself. The pursuit of wisdom is the best work you can undertake to prepare for any outcome that might befall you.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 147

Choose quality over quantity.

How do you keep up with all.the information, all the books published every year. You don’t. Choose wisely what you consume and absorb carefully what you consume. This is how you fill your mind and enrich your life.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 146

How do you get good at Pickleball? “Learn, practice, train.”

The Stoics knew this. Epictetus in his Discourses said: Don’t be satisfied with mere learning. Learn, practice, train. This is as true with philosophy as it is for athletics. Learn the right thing. Practice the right thing. Train for a lifetime to do the right thing.