The Daily Stoic - Labels Make You Worse

Episode Date: August 10, 2021

“It’s an interesting fact. Not once in any of his writings or speeches, let alone Meditations, does Marcus Aurelius call himself a Stoic. Other people may have applied the label to him, b...ut he never identified with it. Never saw the need. ”Ryan discusses why you must take things as they are. Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 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. on music or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom every day life.
Starting point is 00:00:38 Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women, for more you can visit us at dailysteoic.com. Labels make you worse. It's an interesting fact, not once in any of his writings or speeches let alone meditations. Does Marcus Aurelius call himself a stoic? Other people might have applied this label to him, but he never identified with it. He never saw the need. This is often a distinguishing feature between foolishness and wisdom. It's easy to put the world and other people in tiny little boxes to come up with names and stereotypes for them. But when you accept those names and labels for
Starting point is 00:01:20 yourself, when you begin to self-identify, all that is really doing is limiting your perception and creating the illusion of clarity when in truth nuance reigns. As Paul Graham would write, the more labels you have for yourself, the dumber they make you. Not just for yourself, but for other people too. Liberal, conservative, Republican, Democrat, entrepreneur, writer, elite. Great leaders know that you have to take things as they are for what they are. They know black and white is the exception, not the rule. They know that there are good people on every side
Starting point is 00:01:54 of every issue, that truth is not partisan and that insight is not limited to one religion or school or persuasion. FDR, as he filled his administration explain, I am trying to get across the idea that if we have the right kind of people, the party label doesn't mean much. Whether you want to call yourself a stoic or not is not really the point. Actually, that is the point. Labels are pointless. They close your mind. They close you off to opportunities.
Starting point is 00:02:23 They close you off to other people. And worst of all, with time, they close you off from the very things you identify with. That's why Marcus avoided them. And Paul Graham, and FDR, and why you must as well. Hey, it's Ryan. Thank you for listening to the Daily Stoog podcast. I just wanted to say we so appreciate it. We love serving you. It's amazing to us that over 30 million people have downloaded these episodes in the couple years. We've been doing it. It's an honor.
Starting point is 00:02:52 Please spread the word, tell people about it, and this isn't to sell anything. I just wanted to say thank you. Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic 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. Is this thing all? Check one, two, one, two.
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