The Daily Stoic - If You Want to Look Better, Do This

Episode Date: December 22, 2020

“Epictetus said that the root of beauty was beautiful choices. He was talking less of physical beauty, one imagines, than of true beautiful human behavior, but actually, it applies to both. A stunning woman whose looks are the result of her vanity and self-obsession will be rather unattractive when you get to know her. A man with strapping muscles acquired through steroids and a neglect of all other concerns is not really that impressive.”Ryan explains why the intentions behind the choices you make matter, and how to start making beautiful choices, on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast. We created the New Year, New You Challenge to help you create a better life, and a new you in 2021. Sign up for the challenge at https://dailystoic.com/challenge.***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 Stoke 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. on 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 alestowac.com. If you want to look better, do this. Epic Titus said the root of beauty was beautiful choices. He was talking less of physical beauty, one imagines, than of beautiful human behavior. But actually it applies to both. A stunning woman whose looks are a result of her vanity and self-obsession will be rather unattractive when you get to know her. A man with strapping muscles acquired through steroids and neglects of all other concerns is not really that impressive up close. Beauty then is difficult to separate from the intention, from the choices that create it.

So if you'd like to look better, that gives you a good place to start in your choices, but also in your motivations and intentions. It's the decision to get out of bed early and go for a run so you can be around to see your children grow up, not so you can look good in the mirror. Do your makeup because it gives you confidence, because the ritual of applying it is some quiet times yourself, not to cover your flaws. Hire a trainer because you want to learn the discipline of weightlifting or boxing, not just because you want someone to tell you what to do. Remember, the Stoics tried to separate what was up to us and what wasn't. Of course, things can get between you and your goal,

but nothing can stop you from getting started. Nothing can stop you from making a beautiful choice for yourself today. And look, the new year is almost here, and that is a great chance to make a beautiful choice, to live up to your potential. It's also a chance to let another year of resolutions go by the wayside.

You know, you deserve better. You know you're capable of better. So what's it going to take for you to actually ask for it? When are you going to fulfill that potential that's just sitting there? When will you make beautiful choices? How about right now? It's possible this year. We're putting it to you here.

Stop putting it off till tomorrow until Monday waiting for it to just happen. That's an ugly choice. Someone has to choose it. That someone is you. And look, we've created the new year, new you challenge for that person and for that reason to help you create a better life and make more beautiful decisions in 2021. And it starts, of course, with this beautiful decision right here. When you sign up you get 21 custom challenges delivered daily over 30,000 words of exclusive content. Weekly check-in calls with me, audio meditation for me, a printable 21 day calendar with custom daily illustrations, Slack channel for accountability and all that.

You've always wanted to make a change. Let's make 2021 the year where you finally bring yourself closer to living your best life. There's only 10 days left to join us on the challenge. Don't wait to better yourself. Start here. Make the good step. Make a beautiful choice. And in the process, you'll have made yourself more beautiful.

You can sign up with us at dailyestowoc.com slash challenge. It's dailystowoc.com slash challenge. It's dailystowic.com slash challenge. And of course, remember, if you're a daily stoke life member, if you've been on the fence about signing up for that, you get this challenge and all the other challenges for free. So I'll see you at dailystowic.com slash challenge and I will be doing the challenge right there alongside you. Can't wait. Hey, prime members, you can listen to the daily stoke early and ad free on Amazon music.

Download the Amazon music app today, or you can listen early and ad free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts. Raising kids can be one of the greatest rewards of a parents 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 Brown-Oller, we will be your resident

not-so- 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 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.