Ignore It. It Doesn’t Matter.

"'“A trifle consoles us,' Blaise Pascal wrote, 'because a trifle upsets us.' We get so worked up about things that don’t matter—of course we can be convinced to drop them. Of course we can be easily distracted. This is why Marcus talks about the importance of having no opinion."Ryan discusses the importance of Marcus Aurelius's advice on 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 Daily Stoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dailystoicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoic/Facebook: http://facebook.com/dailystoicYouTube: 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. 📢 Share | ⚙️ Manage Subscription

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?

  Ignore it. It doesn't matter. It's interesting how easily people can be placated. A scandal about some athlete that outraged them fades from memory when they start winning again. An apology settles some feud that 10 minutes ago had people screaming. The news cycle moves right on to the next hot-button topic. A couple goes to bed livid and wakes up like nothing happened. Your morning grumpiness is forgotten with your first sip of coffee. Where did all the anger go? "A trifle consoles us," Blaise Pascal wrote, "because a trifle upsets us." We get so worked up about things that don't matter, of course we can be convinced to drop them. Of course, we can be easily distracted. This is why Marcus Aurelius

• 1:13Ryan Holiday?

  talks about the importance of having no opinion. That's why he reminds himself that this trifle or that little nothing does not have to upset us. "Don't give the little things more time that they deserve," he says. This cycle of latching on and then letting go, it's pointless. It's embarrassing. How much better it would have been to have not gotten so hot in the first place. Almost none of what people get so worked up about matters, none of it is worth letting penetrate our peace of mind. None of it is worth trading our stillness for. Stay focused. Don't let trifles provoke or placate you. Ignore them entirely. Thanks for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. If you could leave us a review in iTunes,

• 1:56Ryan Holiday?

  it helps a great deal. And of course, if you know anyone who would benefit from these messages, please spread the word. Thanks.