The greatest portion of peace of mind is doing nothing wrong. Those who lack self-control live disoriented and disturbed lives.
—Seneca, Moral Letters, 105.7
Consider the fugitives who willingly turn themselves in after years on the run. Why would they do that? They were free, one step ahead of the law, but they gave up! Because the guilt and the stress of the fugitive life eventually gets worse than the prospect of lost freedom—in fact, it was its own kind of prison.
It’s the same reason why, as a child, you might have confessed to a lie to completely unsuspecting parents. It’s the reason why one partner might voluntarily admit to a crushing infidelity—even though the other partner had no idea. “Why are you telling me this?!” the betrayed shouts as she walks out the door. “Because things have been going so well and I couldn’t take it anymore!”
There are immense costs of doing wrong, not only to society, but to the perpetrator. Look at the lives of most people who reject ethics and discipline, and the chaos and misery that so often follows. This punishment is almost always as bad or worse than whatever society metes out.
This is why so many petty criminals confess or voluntarily surrender. They don’t always stick to it, but at the lowest moment, they finally realize: this is no way to live. They want the peace of mind that comes with doing right. And so do you.
* Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
Let us also produce some bold act of our own—and join the ranks of the most emulated.
—Seneca, Moral Letters, 98.13b
It was common in Greek and Roman times, just as it is now, for politicians to pander to their audience. They would lavish effusive praise on the crowd, on their country, on inspiring military victories of the past. How many times have you heard a political candidate say, “This is the greatest country in the history of the world”? As orator Demosthenes pointed out, we’ll gladly sit for hours to hear a speaker who stands in front of some famous or sacred landmark, “praising [our] ancestors, describing their exploits and enumerating their trophies.”
But what does this flattery accomplish? Nothing. Worse, the admiration of shiny accolades distracts us from their true purpose. Also, as Demosthenes explains, it betrays the very ancestors who inspire us. He concluded his speech to the Athenian people with words that Seneca would later echo and still resounds centuries later. “Reflect, then,” he said, “that your ancestors set up those trophies, not that you may gaze at them in wonder, but that you may also imitate the virtues of the men who set them up.”
The same goes for the quotes in this book and for other inspiring words you might hear. Don’t just admire them. Use them. Follow their example.
* Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
Let us therefore set out whole-heartedly, leaving aside our many distractions and exert ourselves in this single purpose, before we realize too late the swift and unstoppable flight of time and are left behind. As each day arises, welcome it as the very best day of all, and make it your own possession. We must seize what flees.
—Seneca, Moral Letters, 108.27b-28a
You will only get one shot at today. You have only twenty-four hours with which to take it. And then it is gone and lost forever. Will you fully inhabit all of today? Will you call out, “I’ve got this,” and do your very best to be your very best?
What will you manage to make of today before it slips from your fingers and becomes the past? When someone asks you what you did yesterday, do you really want the answer to be “nothing”?
* Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
Where is Good? In our reasoned choices. Where is Evil? In our reasoned choices. Where is that which is neither Good nor Evil? In the things outside of our own reasoned choice.
—Epictetus, Discourses, 2.16.1
Today, as things happen and you find yourself wondering what they all mean—as you find yourself contemplating various decisions, remember: the right thing to do always comes from our reasoned choice. Not whether something is rewarded. Not whether something will succeed, but whether it is the right choice.
Epictetus‘s dictum helps us cut through all this with clarity and confidence. Is something good or bad? Is this right or wrong?
Ignore everything else. Focus only on your choices.
* Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
God laid down this law, saying: if you want some good, get it from yourself.
—Epictetus, Discourses, 1.29.4
Here is how to guarantee you have a good day: do good things.
Any other source of joy is outside your control or is nonrenewable. But this one is all you, all the time, and unending. It is the ultimate form of self-reliance.
* Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
Then what makes a beautiful human being? Isn’t it the presence of human excellence? Young friend, if you wish to be beautiful, then work diligently at human excellence. And what is that? Observe those whom you praise without prejudice. The just or the unjust? The just. The even-tempered or the undisciplined? The even-tempered. The self-controlled or the uncontrolled? The self-controlled. In making yourself that kind of person, you will become beautiful—but to the extent you ignore these qualities, you’ll be ugly, even if you use every trick in the book to appear beautiful.
—Epictetus, Discourses, 3.1.6b-9
Contemporary notions of beauty are ridiculous. Our standards for what’s attractive are incredibly un–Stoic in that we prize and extol things people have almost no control over—high cheekbones, complexion, height, piercing eyes.
Is it really beautiful to win the genetic lottery? Or should beauty be contingent on the choices, actions, and attributes we develop? An even keel, a sense of justice, a commitment to duty. These are beautiful traits—and they go much deeper than appearances.
Today, you can choose to be without prejudice, to act with justice, to keep an even keel, to be in control of yourself—even when that means dedication and sacrifice. If that’s not beautiful, what is?
* Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
The raw material for the work of a good and excellent person is their own guiding reason, the body is that of the doctor and the physical trainer, and the farm the farmer’s.
—Epictetus, Discourses, 3.3.1
Professionals don’t have to justify spending time training or practicing their work. It’s what they do, and practice is how they get good at it. The raw materials vary from career to career, just as the locations and duration vary depending on the person and the profession. But the one constant is the working of those materials, the gradual improvements and proficiency.
According to the Stoics, your mind is the asset that must be worked on most—and understood best.
* Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
How much better is it to be known for doing well by many than for living extravagantly? How much more worthy than spending on sticks and stones is it to spend on people?
—Musonius Rufus, Lectures, 19.91.26-28
Think of all you know about the lifestyles of the rich and the famous. That so-and-so bought a home for so many millions. That so-and-so travels with their own barber. That so-and-so owns a pet tiger or an elephant.
The exact same gossip and notoriety was popular in Roman times. Certain Romans were known for the thousands of sesterces they spent on their koi ponds. Others were notorious for orgiastic parties and sumptuous feasts. The works of Roman poets such as Juvenal and Martial abound with tidbits about these types.
The conspicuously wealthy earn and ultimately get what they want out of spending: their reputation. But what an empty one! Is it really that impressive to spend, spend, spend? Given the funds, who wouldn’t be able to do that?
Marcus Aurelius courageously sold off some of the imperial furnishings to pay down war debts. More recently, José Mujica, the former president of Uruguay, stood out for giving 90 percent of his presidential salary to charity and driving a twenty-five-year-old car. Who can do stuff like that? Not everyone. So who’s the more impressive?
* Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
