It’s Not Your Fault, But It Is Your Responsibility

So much happens in life. There is so much happening. Forget macro events—there are dogs that get sick in the middle of the night. There are trips that need to be made to the store. There are unpleasant conversations to have. Bills that somebody has to pay. Dishes to be done. Hard decisions to make. Most people’s reaction—especially when those macro events are stressing them out on top of everything—is to shirk.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. 📢 Share | ⚙️ Manage Subscription

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

• 0:03Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom in everyday 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, dailystoic.com.

• 0:30Ryan Holiday?

  So much happens in life. There is so much happening. Forget macro events. There are dogs that get sick in the middle of the night. There are trips that need to be made to the store. There are unpleasant conversations to have, bills that somebody has to pay, dishes to be done, hard decisions to make. Most people's reaction, especially when those macro events are stressing them out on top of everything, is to shirk. It's to see if someone else can handle all of it for them. It's to try to get out of whatever can be got out of. It's to resent even the idea of obligation. But the Stoic, a Stoic politely sings to themselves that lyric from one of the greatest songs of all time. "And you put the load right on me.

• 1:15Ryan Holiday?

  You put the load right on me." Remember, in a crisis, a pandemic just like this one, Marcus Aurelius stepped up. In fact, the famous story about Marcus Aurelius is that he didn't want to be emperor at all. He wasn't sure he could do it. But the night he was informed of the news, he had a dream. In that dream, he had shoulders made of ivory. It was a sign. He could do it. His shoulders could bear the weight. "Put the load right on me," he said to himself, and he bore it for the rest of his life. Things are hard right now. They are scary. They are not your fault, but they are your responsibility. They are yours to step up to and carry

• 1:58Ryan Holiday?

  because you have the shoulders that can bear the weight.