The Rad Stoic #004

I took a week off as I was galivanting to a conference and a vacation. So sue me! Well actually I send these once every other week so I guess I took 3 weeks off. Maybe 4. I don't know. But what I do know is that I fixed my signature!!!

Yes, "Raddest". 2 D's. It's not spelled wrong, you're spelled wrong! No, don't put that little red squiggle line under it. damnit....

<audience..."Stoic my ass">

How can someone this unhinged claim to know anything about Stoicism? Well, maybe it's because I am aware that I am unhinged and thrilled to be so. Just ask my kids.

But for real, loving life. Reading Solve for Happy now by Mo Gawdat. I recommend it. As a reminder, I share 3 random quotes in each newsletter along with my own analysis of them which are taken from the books below:

• Discourses by Epictetus

• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

• Mastery by Robert Greene

• The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday

I am yet to annotate books that I have read recently including:

• Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl

• Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

• Abundance by Peter Diamandis

• Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday

• Letters from a Stoic by Seneca

• Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat (halfway through)

So I have some work to do to ensure the quotes keep coming. Just know that across the 4 initial books, I have 355 lines underlined so far. So we will not be running out of content anytime soon.

=============================================

Quote 1
Accept this reality and decide upon a new aim.
- The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday

Quote 2
Stop what you're doing for a moment and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won't be able to do this anymore?
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Quote 3
The most effective attitude to adopt is one of supreme acceptance. The world is full of people with different characters and temperaments. We all have a dark side, a tendency to manipulate, and aggressive desires. The most dangerous types are those who repress their desires or deny the existence of them, often acting them out in the most underhanded ways. Some people have dark qualities that are especially pronounced. You cannot change such people at their core, but must merely avoid becoming their victim. You are an observer of the human comedy, and by being as tolerant as possible, you gain a much greater ability to understand people and to influence their behavior when necessary.
- Mastery - Robert Greene

-------------------------

Rad Take

Two things I focus on are massive accountability and supreme tolerance. One is inward. One is outward. One is in your control and one is your response to things outside of your control. And that is really the crux of Stoicism - the dichotomy of control. So accepting the world around you is increasing your level of tolerance. It requires you to bring on some temperance (one of the 4 Stoic virtues - perhaps my favorite) and be intentional with your responses (not reactions - try to have fewer reactions and more responses!)

So quotes 1 and 3 above really speak to acceptance and tolerance. They address those things out of your control and how you will respond in the near-term within the next 5-30 seconds. The second one - "afraid of death" ('here we go - more death from Stoicism'). But anytime Stoic writings talk about death, it is meant as a reminder to live today and in the now. It is to point your brain towards a gratitude mindset for the time that we have. It is to remind us that we don't get another today. So don't blow this one! Be intentional with your time. The more I hear from people smarter (and older?) than me, the more I hear how important time is and our choices on what we do with our time.

So for those that do have a logical-to-irrational fear of death, is it because you won't be able to binge watch Netflix or doom scroll? Or is it because you won't be able to spend time with your family and friends of pursue your passions once you cross that ultimate threshold? If it is the latter, then cherish the time that you do have doing the things that you love. Victor Frankl said that purpose comes from having a goal to accomplish and/or spending time with those you love. Do not opt to do the things that merely run out the clock. Opt to spend your time doing things that support what truly gives your life meaning.