The Daily Stoic - It’s Important to Have Reminders

Episode Date: May 5, 2020

"It seems crazy now, but amongst the Stoics in the ancient world there was once intense disagreement over whether philosophers should have “precepts” or sayings to remind them of their teachings. Stoics like Aristo, who lived around the time of Zeno, believed that this was cheating. A wise man, properly trained, should just know what to do in any and every situation. "Ryan discusses how we should use reminders to stay on the right path in today's episode.****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: DailyStoic.com/signupFollow @DailyStoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanholidayInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanholiday/Facebook: http://facebook.com/ryanholidayYouTube: 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 Wundery'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 dailystowic.com. It's important to have reminders. It seems crazy now, but amongst the Stowics in the ancient world, there was once an intense disagreement over whether philosophers should have precepts or sayings to remind them of their teachings. Stoics like Aristo who lived around the time of Xeno believed that this was cheating. A wise man properly trained, he said, should just know what to do in any and every situation.

Later Stoics like Senica thought this was ridiculous, which is why his letters to Lucilius are filled with all sorts of quotes and aphorisms and rules. Marcus Aurelius, who admittedly was a fan of Aristos, seemed to follow a similar path to Seneca's, laying down those epithets for the self and all sorts of other precepts for living. In a way, this debate continues today. Some people sneer at self-help and motivational sayings, and even the medallions we sell at Daily Stoic. Why do I need a coin to remind me of that?

Isn't all this stuff obvious? But if you walk into a locker room of any professional sports team or elite D1 level program, you'll see the walls are tattooed with precepts and reminders. The Pittsburgh Pirates even have, it's not things that upset us. It's our judgment about things from Epic Titus in their clubhouse in Florida. Iowa football has ego is the enemy in their weight room. For our Saturday podcast,

we recently asked two-time NBA champion in six-time NBA All-Star and fan of stoicism, Paug saw about the role these precepts play in sports. And he talked about how, when he was with the San Antonio Spurs, they would repeat, pound the rock, an aphorism or a precept about the idea that the more you pound on a rock, you might not see it making a difference, but eventually it cracks. He talked about the precepts he learned when he was with the Lakers and how sports teams have used this idea for decades.

Reminders matter, they aren't cheating, they make you better. Monsters keep you centered, they give you something to rest on, a kind of backstop to prevent backsliding. So whatever form these things take for you, a coin or a printer, a tattoo, or just a watchword you like to chant for yourself, go for it.

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