It's About Finding the Right Amount

When we hear the word “temperance,” C. S. Lewis observed, most of us in the modern world think of “abstinence.” Even when you look up the definition of abstinence, temperance is a synonym. But temperance, Lewis wrote, is actually about going to the, “right length but no further.”📕 Ryan Holiday's new book "Discipline Is Destiny" is available for pre-order now! We’ve put together a bunch of cool preorder bonuses—among them is a signed and numbered page from the original manuscript of the book. You can learn more about those and how to receive them over at Dailystoic.com/preorder.✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook See 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.

• 0:26Ryan Holiday?

  It's about finding the right amount. When we hear the word temperance, C.S. Lewis observed, most of us in the modern world think of abstinence. When you look up the definition of abstinence, temperance is there as a synonym. But temperance, Lewis wrote, is actually about going to the right length, but no further. Temperance isn't about elimination, going without or removing something bad, at least not all the time. It's also about moderation, finding the right amount of something, anything. It's Aristotle's famous metaphor of the golden mean, the idea that virtue usually sits between two vices. Courage is somewhere between cowardice and recklessness. Confidence, between crippling self-doubt and blinding arrogance.

• 1:11Ryan Holiday?

  Hard work, between workaholism and laziness. Generosity, between parsimoniousness and prolificacy. But it's important to realize that virtue, this finding of the halfway point, is difficult. Reading the Stoics can only make this more difficult. "Don't procrastinate," Marcus tells us. And then with the next breath, he says, "Don't be all about business. Read, read, read," he says, "but don't forget to close your books and engage with the world." Seneca tells us to be prepared for the worst right after he tells us not to worry about the dangers of the future. Epictetus tells us to acquiesce to fate and embrace our own destiny. And look, it's not that the Stoics were contradicting themselves. It's that balance, finding the right amount, is a high art. It takes work and study and practice to figure out what the right thing to do is and the right amount at the right time and the right way.

• 1:56Ryan Holiday?

  And that's really what I'm talking about in the new book, Discipline is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control. Discipline is Destiny, which you can preorder now. There's like a week left to get all the bonuses. DailyStoic.com/preorder is not just a series of admonishments about restraining yourself, but I tried to write a book on the power of and the path to balance, moderation, finding the right amount. You see, Aristotle was not the only one who spoke of a golden mean. The inscription on the Oracle of Delphi was nothing in excess. In Islam, there's a saying, every praiseworthy characteristic has two blame-worthy poles. And central to Buddhism is the middle way. In fact, each of the commandments in the Eightfold Path is about finding the right amount in the critical areas of life.

• 2:38Ryan Holiday?

  Right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right finances, right effort, right mindfulness, right connection. Indeed, it's impossible to find a philosophical school of thought or religion that does not admonish us to have a middle ground, to find the middle ground. And so, when all the wisdom of the ancient world agrees on something, you'd be a fool to ignore it. So I would love for you to preorder the new book, Discipline is Destiny, because it's a guide about that, to cutting the middle course through those dangerous poles of life, to find the golden mean everywhere necessary. And there are a bunch of awesome preorder bonuses, among them, signed copies, numbered pages from the original manuscript. I've got a copy from Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire that I framed in my office. It means so much to me.

• 3:22Ryan Holiday?

  Hopefully, one of these pages might speak to you the same way. And you can check all that out at DailyStoic.com/preorder. You can preorder the book from anywhere, although we've got a super low price on the site, whether you want Audible or ebook or whatever, wherever you preorder, wherever you live, whatever language you speak, preorder the book. I'll send you these awesome bonuses. It would mean so much to me if you could preorder the book. And I can't wait to hear what you all think.

• 3:51Ryan Holiday?

  Being able to control your anger is a difficult but worthwhile goal. It will take time and effort, it won't be free. But by changing your perspective and developing techniques to control your temper, it will ultimately be achievable and life-changing. So take the first step on the path to a calmer and more fulfilling future. Check out "Taming Your Temper: The 10-Day Stoic Guide to Controlling Your Anger." You can just go to dailystoic.com/anger.