Don’t Worry About Them, Worry About Yourself

We spend a lot of time worried about what other people are going to do. Will that colleague muscle you out of the way for the promotion? Will another coffee shop or yoga studio or accountant open up on the block and steal your customers? Is so-and-so out to get you? Is the government plotting to raise your taxes or regulate your industry? From these fears come many actions. We get them before they get us. We spend money lobbying or setting up defenses. We call up friends or mentors, ranting and raving. The irony is that all this energy and anxiety is taking our eye off the ball. It’s a distraction from our day-to-day responsibility. And, more importantly, history shows that very few empires are destroyed by external forces. They’re usually undone by the hubris and arrogance and selfishness of their own people and leaders. As Pericles famously said, “I fear our own mistakes more than the enemy’s schemes.” It’s essential that we remember this. We should be far more concerned with our own ego and our own inadequacies than what someone else may do to us. Besides, which do we have more control over? Which can we 100% block? Someone else’s actions? Or our own? Marcus Aurelius put it definitively and adamantly, and which is why today we must chase…“The tranquility that comes when you stop caring what they say. Or think, or do. Only what you do.” 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. Don't worry about them, worry about yourself. We spend a lot of time worried about what other people are going to do. Will that colleague muscle you out of the way for a promotion? Will another coffee shop or yoga studio or accountant open up on the block and steal your customers? Is so-and-so out to get you? Is the government plotting to

• 0:49Ryan Holiday?

  raise your taxes or regulate your industry? From these fears come many actions. We get them before they get us. We spend money lobbying or setting up defenses. We call up friends and mentors, ranting and raving. The irony is that all this energy and anxiety is taking our eye off the ball. It's a distraction from our day-to-day responsibility. And more importantly, history shows that very few empires are destroyed by external forces. They're usually undone by the hubris and arrogance and selfishness of their own people and leaders. As Pericles famously said, "I fear our own mistakes more than the enemy's schemes." It's essential that we remember this. We should be far more concerned with

• 1:33Ryan Holiday?

  our own ego and our own inadequacies than what someone else may do to us. Besides, which do we have more control over? Which can we 100% block? Someone else's actions or our own? Marcus Aurelius put it definitively and adamantly, and which is why today we should instead chase the tranquility that comes when you stop caring what they say or think or do, only what you do.

• 2:03Ryan Holiday?

  Hey, just a quick reminder, Stillness is the key. It's the key to success. It's the key to happiness. It's the key to insight. It's also the title of my next book. You can get Stillness is the Key. It comes out October 1st, everywhere books are sold. It's currently available for preorder. You can get it in audiobook, ebook, physical. Barnes & Noble even has a few signed copies. If you've gotten anything out of my writing, anything out of this podcast, or my emails over the years, I would love your support. Stillness is the key. Available everywhere books are sold. You can preorder it now, and it comes out October 1st.