Daily Stoic(s)

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Yesterday - Becoming an Expert in What Matters

This whole stoicism journey has been about learning about myself. What makes me tick and what actually matters to me.

Today - Pay Your Taxes

Nothing comes free. Everything has a price. I get to enjoy an adult beverage but the next day I pay the tax. Playing golf has it’s own tax. I’m paying a tax when I put other things over my family. I pay the recovery tax for a good work out. Taxes aren’t all bad. They can mean advancement. It could be used for changing behavior and habits. Doing something good means the tax is a good outcome. It may have sucked at first but ultimately worked out. It’s a good way to think about things.

Daily Stoic(s)

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Yesterday - Reject Tantalizing Gifts

A lot of real work gets done by doing the boring things. Often I see leadership get tantalized by a silver bullet technology. Things are becoming more complicated so people think we need more complicated solutions. This is not the case because the basics are often still applicable. Container technology has been around for a while. It’s more complicated than servers yet the same best practices apply. Don’t run accounts with permissions. Don’t use the god mode account. Check for vulnerabilities. Just because the technology changes doesn’t mean we don’t still apply the basics.

Today - Less Is More

I often wondered how great writers seemed to be extraordinary at their jobs. I’ve recently discovered that it’s often because they use simple words. They get to the point. They don’t use a lot of fancy words that I have to constantly look up. They speak in plain English. It’s something I’m trying to instill in my writing and my conversations with people.

Daily Stoic(s)

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Wednesday - Test Your Impressions

Test my impressions instead of following my instincts or doing what feels good. I’m in a constant battle with myself on what feels good. Just one more drink. Just one more game. It can be fun in the moment but impacts the entire next day and sometimes week. I’m learning from these decisions so I can move forward.

Yesterday - Judgements Cause Disturbances

I try not to blame events or people for my negative outcomes. I have a part to play. Sometimes prior and definitely after. I choose the emotions I wish others to see. Sometimes that’s negative and sometimes that’s positive but it’s on me.

Today - If You Want to Learn, Be Humble

I’ve felt that ever since childhood I get to a point of learning something and then think I know the rest. That usually ends up in failure because I don’t know it all. I try to remain humble but I still get to a point where I feel like I know enough. Golf is something I’m struggling with right now. I’ve played well but have overall the last several months slowly had my score deteriorate. This has led to frustration. This frustration has been a blocker to getting back to where I was playing well. A large part of that is that I think I have golf figured out when I really don’t. It’s a game that will always challenge me and right now I’m learning that I need to remain humble. It’s easier expressed than done.

Daily Stoic(s)

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Sunday - Prepare Yourself For Negativity

This is the one stoic I have marked in the book. It’s a powerful message and one easily forgotten. I am going to run into people that could cause me a negative reaction but I need to recognize it’s going to happen and prepare for that. So that at the time I’m able to respond calmly and level-headed.

Yesterday - Expect to Change Your Opinions

Arrogance has been something I’ve had over the past year. I’m coming up on six years. I’ve seen a lot. I know a lot of people. I’ve used that arrogance to try and control my environment. The thing is that things are changing regularly and I need to keep that newbie mindset so that I can put aside my bias and adjust appropriately

Today - The Cost of Accepting Counterfeits

I feel like I live in this space of questioning everything. Never accepting a, “because I said so.” That can have it’s own drawbacks because not everyone thinks like this. That’s where I’ve had to use other stoics to balance this one out. I want to be pushing boundaries and finder better way to do things. Some people just don’t operate like that.

Daily Stoic(s)

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Tuesday - The Color of Your Thoughts

I have been struggling a lot at golf lately. I think a large part of that is the negative thoughts I have in my head. I’m trying to work on what I want to do rather than what I don’t want to do.

Wednesday - Be Wary of What You Let In

Work has become much more enjoyable. It still has it’s frustrations and stresses but I’m handling those better. I’m trying to remain calm and keep perspective on things. My new favorite saying is I’m saying there’s a problem here. You can take action or don’t. I’ll be watching with my popcorn.

Thursday - Deceived and Divided

What do I really want? What am I actually after here? Are two questions I’m asking myself a lot. I have conflicts within myself and end up making bad decisions because of it. I can also make good decisions at times.

Yesterday - Don’t Let This Go To Your Head

My improvement in golf went to my head. I’ve been in a rut the last several months because of that. I beat myself up more now and do take in the enjoyment of the game. I am working on getting back to that simpler mindset where I’m in a more level headed state. I try to remind myself regularly that I’m still learning and growing. This is part of the process.

Today - Trust, But Verify

I am asking myself more about my desires and wants. Why am I seeking this right now. Why do I have this impulse and urge. I’m trying to better understand myself so I can make better decisions.