Do Not Be Afraid

Life is pretty great, usually. Until you start thinking about what’s on the other side. That’s when things get less certain; when the fear of death kicks in. Nobody wants to die, after all. That much is understandable. But life is what it is, and with life comes death. To acknowledge death, however, is not to fear it. The latter is much worse, because in fearing death we tend to avoid things that involve a risk of dying, which are often the things most worth living for. We are hesitant to step into a conflict to aid someone in need (I wouldn’t want to get hurt!). We are reluctant to go places that are dangerous yet beautiful. We even avoid gambling with our careers in favor of staying in dead end jobs (I wouldn’t want to fail and then starve to death!). We skew towards safety, not toward satisfaction. Theodore Roosevelt’s observation was that “only those are fit to live who do not fear to die; and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life and the duty of life.” He would have agreed with the Stoics that courage deserved a place at the top of the list of virtues. To Roosevelt, life was an adventure and death was simply a part of the ride. “Never yet,” he said “was worthy adventure worthily carried through by the man who put his personal safety first.” It is impossible to be a good Stoic without courage. It is impossible to seize opportunity or the present moment if you are ruled by fear. It is impossible to live a good life if you are ruled by a fear of death. Obviously no one is telling you to be reckless today or to deliberately seek out potential harm. But it’s important to remember that if you always put your personal safety first, you leave so much living on the table. To say nothing of the good you can do for the world and for other people if you are willing to be brave and to stand up when the situation calls for it. 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.

• 0:06Ryan 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. Do not be afraid. Nobody wants to die. That's understandable. Life is pretty great, usually. It also is what it is, meaning we know what life is, but what's on the other side? That's less certain. So naturally, some of us fear death. And fearing death, we avoid

• 0:47Ryan Holiday?

  things that involve a risk of dying. We skew towards safety. We are hesitant to step into a conflict. I wouldn't want to get hurt. We are reluctant to go to places that are dangerous. We even avoid gambling with our careers. I wouldn't want to fail and then starve to death. Theodore Roosevelt's observation that only those are fit to live who do not fear to die, and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life and the duty of life. He would have agreed with the Stoics that courage deserved a place at the top of the list of virtues. To Roosevelt, life was an adventure, and death was simply part of the ride. Never yet, he said, was a worthy adventure worthily carried through

• 1:32Ryan Holiday?

  by the man who put his personal safety first. It is impossible to be a good Stoic without courage. It is impossible to seize opportunity or the present moment if you are ruled by fear. It is impossible to live a good life if you are ruled by a fear of death. Obviously, no one is telling you to be reckless today or to deliberately seek out potential harm. But it's important to remember that if you always put your personal safety first, you leave so much living on the table. Just say nothing of the good you can do for the world and for other people if you are willing to be brave and to stand up when the situation calls for it. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or your favorite podcast app. And

• 2:16Ryan Holiday?

  if you don't get the Daily Stoic email, go to dailystoic.com/email.