The Daily Stoic - Remember: You Are Not Everything

Episode Date: November 8, 2019

One of the most haunting moments in all of literature is the moment when King Lear hits rock bottom. He has destroyed his kingdom. He has lost his family. He has lost his sanity. He says to Gloucester as they stand on a cliff:“They told me I was everything. 'Tis a lie, I am not ague-proof.”In short, all the illusions of the king have been shattered, his ego destroyed. Everything he had worked for was gone, and all that was left was the inescapable conclusion that it was his fault. He had believed the flatterers and let power go to his head. Then, after unbelievable folly and meanness, it all came crashing down.This temptation to believe that we are everything, that we are immune to the constraints or flaws of other people is the source of so much pain and misery in the world. Pain for the believers and for the bystanders who become its collateral damage. Which is why the Stoics—particularly the ones who found themselves in positions of leadership—spent so much time working on their egos. Marcus Aurelius actively practiced his philosophy so that he would not be corrupted by his absolute power. Seneca wrote essays to Nero to try to steer the young man away from ego, to tell him: You are not everything. You have to stay sane and sober. It didn’t always work, but he tried. Ego is the enemy. Of what we’re trying to accomplish. Of the people we’d like to be. Of relationships. Of kindness. Of the ‘objectivity’ and rational thought that Stoicism prizes. We must remember this always, even as others puff us up or success accumulates around us. We are not everything. We are ordinary. We are mortal. We are not exempt.See 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. Welcome to the Daily Stoke. For each day, we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. 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 dailystoic.com. Remember, you are not everything. One of the most haunting moments in all of literature is the moment when King Lear hits rock bottom. He has destroyed his kingdom. He has lost his family. He has lost his sanity.

He says to Gloucester, as they stand on a cliff, they told me I was everything. Tis a lie. I am not edu proof. In short, all the illusions of the King have been shattered. His ego destroyed. Everything he had worked for was gone and all that was left was the inescapable conclusion that it was his fault.

He had believed the flatters and let power go to his head. Then after unbelievable folly and meanness it all came crashing down. This temptation to believe that we are everything, that we are immune to the constraints or flaws of other people is the source of so much pain and misery in the world, pain for the believers and for the bystanders who become its collateral damage, which is why the Stoics, particularly the ones who found themselves in positions of leadership, spent so much time working on their egos. Marcus Aurelius actively practiced his philosophy so that he would not be corrupted by his absolute power.

Seneca wrote essays to Nero to try to steer the man away from ego to tell him, you are not everything, you have to stay sane and sober. It didn't always work, but he tried. Ego is the enemy of what we're trying to accomplish, the people we'd like to be, of relationships, of kindness, of the objectivity and rational thought that Stoicism prizes. We must remember this always, even as others puff us up or success accumulates around us. We are not everything. We are ordinary. We are mortal. We are not exempt. Hey, everyone. It's Ryan. I just wanted to tell you about the latest addition to our everything we are ordinary, we are mortal, we are not exempt.

Hey everyone, it's Ryan. I just wanted to tell you about the latest addition to our line of best selling pendants. It's our new ego is the enemy pendant. Ego is a force that sucks us down, that keeps us from our accomplishing our goals. The NBA coach in GM Pat Riley called Ego the disease of me gets in your way, tears apart teams, destroys dreams, and that's why this brand new pendant is a great reminder and a great tool to hope you keep your ego in check to help you keep the disease of me at bay. You can check out our new Ego is the enemy pendant at the Daily Stoke store. Just go to dailystoke.com slash store. Hey, prime members, you can listen to the daily Stoke 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.

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