I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.
March 14 - The Straight Jacketed Soul
Greed played a role in the tech industry and bubble burst in the early 2000s. We’re not meant to look at their failures. Instead we should look to our own greed. I feel like one of my internal greeds is my own personal time.
March 15 - There is Philosophy in Everything
Live your life. This is where philosophy gains understanding. We experience and practice philosophy by doing things in life.
I’ve thought about this as I’ve studied Buddhism. It’s a path to enlightenment. The typical picture is a monk in robes. Do I need to go to that extreme to gain fulfillment in life? I don’t think so. I can still enjoy the things I enjoy in life. I just use philosophy and the teachings of Buddhism to live the most fulfilled life.
March 16 - Wealth and Freedom are Free
Focus on the freedom you have. You’ll live a much wealthier life. I hate to use thing (because I’m sick of talking about it). The corona virus is a good example of trying to live virus free.
I have taken the approach of what happens will happen. I don’t want to be caged by something that has a slim chance of killing me. Despite that my freedom will be restricted by the response. I won’t be able to go to work, or go out to eat, or even get toilet paper. Instead I’ll enjoy the freedom of being home with my kids and the opportunity to spend time with them.
March 17 - What Rules Your Ruling Reason
Explore the inner workings of how I make decisions. The example they give is making poor decisions on an empty stomach. We can be patient and rational, however outside forces can influence us to poor decisions.
I’ve been doing this a lot with the corona virus. I am upset by the response. Which for me is an opportunity to practice stoicism and Buddhism. My response is to ignore it and adjust as necessary. That hasn’t been easy with everyone talking about it.
I have friends more worried about their jobs than getting the virus. It boiled up and I decided to go run to burn off some of that frustration. Then I decided to come back and do this stoic. It will help me with further improving myself and deal with the frustrations of the world.
March 18 - Pay What Things Are Worth
The good things cost what they cost. The unnecessary are not worth the price. What I struggle with is who determines the value? If something brings you value doesn’t that make it a good thing? I pay quite a bit more for a computer than most people. It’s what I enjoy doing, play video games and projects that require a computer. Other things I could care less about.
March 19 - Cowardice as a Design Problem
Have a plan is the message for today’s stoic. I think having a plan is good. I don’t necessarily like it rule my world though. I’ve struggled with my career lately. I’ve hit my goals for my career and now feel uninspired or motivated. I probably need to come up with some plan.
Yesterday - Why Do You Need To Impress These People Again?
Trying to impress others is a faulty activity. In school I was picked on. My mom felt sorry for me and bought me some clothes to help fit in a little more. That helped as people stopped picking on me about what I was wearing. That’s also around when my grades started slipping. I was more concerned with fitting in than working to educate myself.
I exited high school with a 2.7 GPA. After six years in the Navy (wear clothes matter in a different way), I wasn’t as worried about fitting in and more just starting to build my career. I eventually graduated college with a 3.7 GPA. I still struggle with trying to impress people, this is mainly at work. I’ll need to re-evaluate that.
Today - Reason In All Things
Reasons are what we’re ruled by. They can be affected by external factors. If we don’t take into account those external factors we can make regrettable decisions. I’m starting to get better at discovering and understanding reasons and I still screw up. I just had one a few days ago where I got upset after a card game with friends.
My wife decided to do something that annoyed me. It’s because it’s my wife that it annoyed me more than if someone else does it (a friend has done the same thing before and I handled it better). I actually tried to step away from it and take a breath. My thoughts further enraged me. I recognized it the next day in a much calmer state to try and understand the reasons for the choices I made.