The Daily Stoic - How to Make Joy

Episode Date: October 12, 2020

"Joy is good. Who doesn’t like joy?The question is where does it come from—is it accidental or is it something you pursue? The Stoics would say that it’s neither. To Marcus Aurelius, joy was something you did. It was a process."Ryan talks about making the pursuit of joy part of your life on today's Daily Stoic Podcast.***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better.Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow Daily Stoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dailystoicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoic/Facebook: http://facebook.com/dailystoicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoicSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stood Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wondery's podcast business wars. And in our new season, Walmart must fight off target. The new discounter that's both savvy and fashion forward. Listen to business wars on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. music or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the Daily Stoic. For each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's

greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystowach.com. How to Make Joy Joy is good. Who doesn't like joy? The question is where does it come from? Is it an accident or is it something you pursue? The stokes would say it is neither.

To mark us a realist joy was something you did. It was a process. As he writes, joy for humans lies in human actions. Human actions, kindness to others, contempt for the senses, the interrogation of appearances, observations of nature and events in nature. By contempt and interrogation, he means not being distracted by false pleasures and passions, not making the mistake of thinking that joy is success or money or sex.

No, joy is doing good for others. It's a walk along the river, seeing the small fish darting in the shadows. It's watching a horse being brushed down. It's watching the stocks of grain bend under their own weight as Marcus noted. Joy is being with your children. Joy is reading a well-written book. This is a simpler definition of joy, of course, but that is also good. It means you can make it and have it any time you like, including this morning, including on the days when you get fired or find out that someone you know has passed away, including

the times you're stuck in traffic or on an interminable hold with customer service. Joy lies in human actions, actions you can take right now. I think another way to express this joy would just be that word stillness. And to me stillness is the key, that joy is the key to a good life, the happiness, the success, to peace, to stability, to steadiness, even in craziness. And so obviously that's what I talk about in my book, Stillness is the key, which debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. I think it's the best thing I've ever written, and you can check that out.

Anywhere books are sold. Stillness is the key. the key. Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic Early and Add Free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and add free with Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts. Raising kids can be one of the greatest rewards of a parent's life. But come on, someday, parenting is unbearable. I love my kid, but is a new parenting podcast from Wondry that shares a refreshingly honest

and insightful take on parenting. Hosted by myself, Megan Galey, Chris Garcia, and Kurt Brownleur, we will be your resident not-so-expert experts. Each week we'll share a parenting story that'll have you laughing, nodding, and thinking. Oh yeah, I have absolutely been there. We'll talk about what went right and wrong, what would we do differently? And the next time you step on yet another stray Lego in the middle of the night, you'll feel less alone. So if you like to laugh with us as we talk about another stray Lego in the middle of the night, you'll feel less alone.

So if you like to laugh with us as we talk about the hardest job in the world, listen to, I love my kid, but wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app.