The Daily Stoic

“power doesn’t corrupt, it reveals.”

We’re not trying to ace tests or impress teachers. We are reading and studying to live, to be good human beings—always and forever.

Everyone had a job—a specific duty. Even people who did bad things—they were doing their job of being evil because evil is a part of life.

He was much more interested in hearing what the other person had to say than making sure he was heard or—as most of us insist upon—winning the argument.

BE RUTHLESS TO THE THINGS THAT DON’T MATTER

“How many have laid waste to your life when you weren’t aware of what you were losing, how much was wasted in pointless grief, foolish joy, greedy desire, and social amusements—how little of your own was left to you. You will realize you are dying before your time!”

Our judgment affects what we desire, our desires affect how we act, just as our judgment determines how we act. But we can’t just expect this to happen. We must put real thought and energy into each area of our lives. If we do, we’ll find real clarity and success

“the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life—is the source from which self-respect springs.”

How could you really be considered self-aware if you refuse to consider your weaknesses?

The person is free who lives as they wish, neither compelled, nor hindered, nor limited—whose choices aren’t hampered, whose desires succeed, and who don’t fall into what repels them. Who wishes to live in deception—tripped up, mistaken, undisciplined, complaining, in a rut? No one. These are base people who don’t live as they wish; and so, no base person is free.”

Don’t set your heart on so many things,” says Epictetus. Focus. Prioritize. Train your mind to ask: Do I need this thing? What will happen if I do not get it? Can I make do without it