The Daily Stoic - Set This Before Your Eyes Every Day

Episode Date: November 22, 2019

We talk about the importance of positive thinking. Of making sure we are surrounded by good vibes and good energy. Of cutting out the negative influences of social media and the news. Of looking for the good in everything we see.And, of course, that is important. But it can also be dangerous. Because it sets us up to be disappointed, even horrified, when our bubble is pierced. When we are forced to come face to face with the fact that the world is not a positive place. There are things that go bump in the night. There are bad people and tragic events. That’s why Epictetus’s advice—in his version of premeditatio malorum—was to do the opposite. “Set before your eyes every day death and exile and everything else that looks terrible,” he said, “especially death. Then you will never have any mean thought or be too keen on anything.” You will also never be disappointed, you will never have your illusions shattered or your expectations gone unmet. In fact, if you keep this darkness in mind, you might just be surprised by all the light you find in the world. You’ll be grateful for each day you wake up, still alive. You’ll appreciate each moment you’re not in exile. You’ll be glad each time Murphy’s Law turns out to be wrong. Indeed, just as there is no hot without cold, there is no light without dark. Today, spend some time with the dark. Become familiar with it, set it before your eyes, so that you do not mistake it for blankness and set yourself up, once you walk out of it, for the light to be blinding.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 world philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com. Set this before your eyes every day. We talk a lot about the importance of positive thinking,

of making sure we are surrounded by good vibes and good energy, of cutting out the negative influences of social media and the news, of looking for the good and everything we see. And of course, that is important, but it can also be dangerous, because it sets us up to be disappointed, even horrified, when our bubble is pierced. When we are forced to come face to face with the fact the world is not a positive place, there are things that go bump in the night, there are bad people and tragic events.

That's why Epic Titus' advice in his version of pre-Meditashio Malorum was to do the opposite. Set before your eyes every day, death and exile and everything else that looks terrible, he said, especially death. Then you will never have a mean thought or be too keen on anything. You will also never be disappointed. You will never have your illusion shattered where your expectations gone unmet. In fact, if you keep this darkness in mind, you might just be surprised by all the light you find in the world. You'll be grateful for each day you wake up still alive.

You'll appreciate each moment you're not an exile. You'll be glad each time Murphy's law turns out to be wrong. Indeed just as there is not hot without cold there is no light without dark. So today spend some time with the dark become familiar with it. Put it before your eyes so that you do not mistake it for blankness and set yourself up once you walk out of it for the light to be blinded. Hey everyone as you know reading books is a huge part of my life. They've helped me accomplish my goals and become a better person and if you're listening

reading this you probably feel the same way. But like me, you probably feel you're not getting all you can out of the books that you read. And maybe you feel like you're kind of reading the same books over and over again that you're stuck in a rut. Or that your reading habits could be elevated, taken to a new level. Well, we've come out with a new 13-day challenge to help you do just that. It's called read to lead. We've got 13 days of stoke inspired challenges to help you take your reading to the next level. Comes with exercises, a new reading list each day, and some really awesome bonus material.

You can check it out at dailystoke.com slash reading. 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. Celebrity feuds are high stakes. You never know if you're just going end up on page six or do-mo or in court. I'm Matt Bellasai. And I'm Sydney Battle and we're the host of Wunderys new podcast Disantel, where each episode we unpack a different iconic celebrity feud from the build-up, why it happened, and the repercussions. What does our obsession with these feuds say about us? The first season is packed with some pretty messy pop culture drama, but none is drawn out in personal as Britney and Jamie

Lynn Spears. When Britney's fans form the free Britney movement dedicated to fraying her from the infamous conservatorship, Jamie Lynn's lack of public support, it angered some fans, a lot of them. It's a story of two young women who had their choices taken away from them by their controlling parents, but took their anger out on each other. And it's about a movement to save a superstar, which set its sights upon anyone who failed to fight for Brittany. Follow Disenthal wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music or the Wondery app. Ah, the Bahamas. What if you could live in a penthouse above the crystal clear ocean working during the day and partying at night with your best friends and have it be 100% paid for? FTX Founder's Sam Bankman Freed lived that dream life, but it was all funded with other

people's money, but he allegedly stole. Many thought Sam Bankman Freed was changing the game as he graced the pages of Forbes in Vanity Fair. Some involved in crypto saw him as a breath of fresh air, from the usual Wall Street buffs with his casual dress and ability to play League of Legends during boardroom meetings. But in less than a year, his exchange would collapse. An SPF would find himself in a jail cell, with tens of thousands of investors blaming him for their crypto losses.

From Bloomberg and Wondery, comes Spellcaster, a new six-part docu-series about the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of FTX, and its founder, Sam Beckman-Freed. Follow Spellcaster wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, prime members, you can listen to episodes Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. on music. Download the Amazon Music app today.