The Daily Stoic - What Else Can You Do?

Episode Date: July 22, 2020

"When all this began, folks were excitedly using this time at home to tackle projects they’d long been putting off. They were focused on being productive, connecting with family, not letting the moment go to waste... Then as time went on, the mood began to falter and resolve began to weaken. What, they started saying, I’m supposed to make the most of the biggest catastrophe of my lifetime? I’m supposed to turn it into an opportunity for self-development?"Ryan describes why you must nevertheless persevere in today's Daily Stoic Podcast.***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 @DailyStoic: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 Stood 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. 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 dailystowach.com. What else can you do? It's funny how quickly people swing back and forth. When all this began, folks were excitedly using this time at home to tackle projects they'd long been putting off. They were focused on being productive, connecting with family, not letting the moment go to waste. Their friends cheered them on with this.

That's a great attitude. Then as time went on, the mood began to weaken. They started saying, what, I'm supposed to make the most the biggest catastrophe of my lifetime. I'm supposed to turn this into an opportunity for self-development. And now those same friends cheer on this attitude. Yeah, you're right. This isn't fair. And so the momentary surge and empowerment reverts to the mean of defeatism and a pity party. The Stoics would shake their heads. Of course, that's what you're supposed to do. Because

what else are you going to do? We don't control what happens. We only control how we respond. That's what this philosophy is. Marcus are really as defined flexibility and resilience as the ability to look a situation in the face and say, you're just what I was looking for. The Stoics knew that the formula for greatness was the ability to turn obstacles into fuel to see everything as an opportunity to do something. No one is saying this isn't a catastrophe. No one is saying this is fair. But what life is saying as life often does is deal with it. And so we must not in short bursts, but with sustainable energy and perseverance, with endurance and fortitude, with church-hose commitment to keep buggering on till the end. Who knows how long this will go on?

What we do know is that it's here now. So let's use it. Hey there, if you're wondering how to get the most out of this time, you have stuck at home, maybe you're working only part time or you're working from home, you've got a child care situation. None of this is what we would choose, but the stoic say we don't choose what happens,

we choose how we respond. And so that's why we put together what we're calling the daily stoic a live time challenge. It's 14 days of inspired stoic wisdom that will help you get the most out of this moment, that will help you seize this moment, rise to the occasion. We're going to challenge you. It's not going to be easy, but I think you will emerge from it better. And that will be some small good that's come out of this experience. So you can check that out right now at dailystoic.com slash a live time. 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

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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.