How Can You Lighten the Load for Others?

"When things get hard, a Stoic steps up. We’ve talked about that before. We do this because we know we can carry a heavy load, a load heavier than most people. That’s what Marcus Aurelius was saying when he said it doesn’t matter whether something is fortunate or unfortunate. What’s fortunate, he said, is that it happened to you."Ryan discusses the benefits that abound when you help others in today's Daily Stoic Podcast.***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better. Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow @DailyStoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanholidayInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanholiday/Facebook: http://facebook.com/ryanholidayYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoicSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com.

• 0:29Ryan Holiday?

  How can you lighten the load for others? When things get hard, a stoic steps up. We've talked about that before. We do this because we know we can carry a heavy load, a load heavier than most people. That's what Marcus Aurelius was saying when he said, "It doesn't matter whether something is fortunate or unfortunate. What's fortunate," he said, "is that it happened to you, or that it happened while you were nearby, because other people wouldn't be able to handle it like you, because other people haven't had the training, or the prosperity, or cultivated the courage and temperance and justice and wisdom that you have." So as we look at the effects of this terrible pandemic, and as we face the knock-on recession

• 1:13Ryan Holiday?

  that it has already begun, the critical question for us, the fortunate, the trained, the brave, is to ask how we can think of others before ourselves. We can ask, "How can I lighten the load for others?" And there are some simple, easy things you can do. Check in on someone who might be lonely, so they don't have to bear isolation. Reassure, but also be straightforward with employees about your ability to maintain the business, and that you value their safety most. If you own rental or investment properties, be patient or flexible with the rent. If you own debts, try to work out a payment schedule, given recent events. Seneca did not do this, and it has sustained on his reputation. Marcus did, and it's one

• 1:56Ryan Holiday?

  of his great accomplishments. Donate supplies or goods to people who might need them. See what you can do to keep the elderly from needing to leave their homes. Tell your kids or your significant other that they don't need to worry, that you've got Covered. Keep supporting local businesses that you can afford to support. There are many things that can be added to this list depending on who you are, what you do, and what will happen. But the point is, it's your job to be thinking about this. It's your job to try to lighten the load for others to be of service and to be a positive force in the world. The Stoics believed that we were made for each other, that the fruit of this life was good character and acts for the common good. Live up to that now.

• 2:41Ryan Holiday?

  Hey, thanks for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. You can sign up to get our daily email at dailystoic.com/email. I also encourage you, if you want to take your practice of Stoicism to the next level, to sign up for Daily Stoic Life, which is our members-only program. It's got all sorts of awesome benefits. You can check that out at dailystoiclife.com.