I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.
Friday - You Don’t Have To Have An Opinion
The title says it all. Try not to have an opinion about things that flare up an emotional reaction. Politics is the first thing that jumps to my mind. It’s an arena I largely stay out of. I do have an opinion about things and it usually revolves around data. Instead of getting fired up about something I social media I like to thing about the why. Why did that get tweeted.
Currently, the president will tweet out something that flares up emotions and outrage soon follows. I always wonder what’s the motivation behind the tweet. I think the president knows what he’s doing and his tweet is getting the exact intended intention. He wants the outrage because it does one of two things: further strengthens his followers because of the outrage; or he’s doing something he doesn’t want people to pick up on (or both).
My biggest area of practice is work. Things can be handled in a way I see as inefficient. It can often bring out strong emotions and I usually express my displeasure.
Saturday - Anger is Bad Fuel
This follows Friday’s stoic nicely. Anger is often seen as a motivator. The problem is that it leads a wake of destruction in it’s path and wears and tears our soul. I often feel this dealing with kids. They can be quite frustration and at some point that builds and builds until it’s release in a fit of anger. Same thing with spouses. I’ve put quite a few holes in doors and walls because I let anger get the better of me. I’d like to think I’ve gotten better and there’s still a lot more work to do at work and home.
Sunday - Hero or Nero
This is about control over desires and indulgences. We are a king when we have this control. When we don’t have control we become tyrants to ourselves and those around us. I don’t really have much else to say about that. I think it’s fairly simple and follows along the theme of many other stoic passages. We have control over two things: our thoughts and choices. Having inner strength and awareness allows us to become more kingly. Giving in to desires and indulgences makes us a tyrant.