Evidence is Better Than Belief

Ryan explains why you should strive for knowledge, on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast. Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/emailFollow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and 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.

• 0:05Ryan 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 at DailyStoic.com.

• 0:26Ryan Holiday?

  Evidence is better than belief. If you don't believe you can do something, you probably can't. But then again, just because you believe you can do something, doesn't mean that you can. There's a great scene in James Salter's novel, Cassada, where a young fighter pilot challenges a much more talented fighter pilot to a contest he can't possibly win. "It's a good thing he believes in himself," one crew member remarks. "Doesn't always mean a lot," another replies. "I can tell you that from experience." The Stoics knew that there was a distinction between confidence and ego. Yes, you have to know you're capable of great things. You have to know you possess inner strength. You have to be as tough as nails, impossible to discourage or intimidate.

• 1:11Ryan Holiday?

  But at the same time, you can't be a fool. You have to know your limits. If it's humanly possible, Marcus Aurelius reminded himself, know that you can do it. Yet he also regularly reminded himself of his limitations, not to expect the impossible, not to get carried away. That's the balance. That's the tension of it. When Seneca said that he pitied a man who had not experienced adversity, what he was lamenting was the fact that this man had not been permitted to prove himself, or perhaps more accurately, never permitted himself to show what he was made of, in part because he himself did not know. But the emphasis here is on the know. You can't know without evidence, without experience, without results and data.

• 1:56Ryan Holiday?

  Evidence in your capacity to achieve, to overcome, to triumph. And this is way more important than belief. Belief is faith. We want more than that. We want to know.

• 2:10Ryan Holiday?

  Thanks so much for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. Again, if you don't know this, you can get these delivered to you via email every day. So check it out at DailyStoic.com/email.