If It’s Right, It’s Right For You

Sometimes we get asked or tasked with doing stuff in life we’d rather not have to do. Maybe that’s working a less than glamorous job when we’re young. Maybe that’s filling a role in your family that diverges from traditional gender roles. Maybe that’s taking heat for something that wasn’t our fault, or being seen as the bad guy, even though the facts are on our side. There is a tendency to be ashamed of these things, and then to hide them. We’re afraid of people judging us, so we hedge or cover or try to do them at night, when no one can see us. Nonsense. If it’s the right thing to do, then it’s right to do it. Don’t hide it. Embrace it. Own it. Epictetus’s rule for his students was: “Whenever you do something you have decided ought be done, never try to avoid being seen doing it, even if people in general may disapprove of it. If, of course, your action is wrong, just don’t do it at all, but if it’s right, why be afraid of people whose criticism is off the mark?” If being a stay-at-home dad is the right thing for your family, then do it—and anyone who thinks overwise can go to hell. If wearing a silly hat, or “pieces of flair,” while you wait tables is what you’ve got to do to pay for college, then wear it proudly. The hat doesn’t say anything bad about you as a person. It’s a badge of honor not for the job, but for you and your commitment to your family, your goals, your future. If a leader makes a call they know is right, that has to be enough. Who cares if people criticize it afterwards? The fact that other people are mad about it is irrelevant to whether it was what you knew to be the correct choice. “Just that you do the right thing,” Marcus Aurelius said. “The rest doesn’t matter.”Ignore the criticism. Ignoring the judging. Don’t give a second thought to how it looks. If it’s right, it’s right for you. 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. If it's right, it's right for you. Sometimes we get asked or tasked with doing stuff in life we'd rather not have to do. Maybe that's working a less-than-glamorous job when we're young, maybe that's filling a role in your family that diverges from traditional gender roles, maybe that's taking heat for something that wasn't our fault, or being seen as the

• 0:48Ryan Holiday?

  bad guy even though the facts are on our side. There is a tendency to be ashamed of these things and then to hide them. We're afraid of people judging us, so we hedge, or cover, or try to do them at night when no one can see us. Nonsense. If it's the right thing to do, then it's right to do it. Don't hide it, embrace it, own it. Epictetus' rule for his students was, "Whenever you're doing something that you have decided ought to be done, never try to avoid being seen doing it, even if people in general may disapprove of it. If, of course, your action is wrong, just don't do it at all. But if it's right, why be afraid of people whose criticism is off the mark? If being a stay-at-home dad

• 1:31Ryan Holiday?

  is the right thing for your family, then do it, and anyone who thinks otherwise can go to hell. If wearing a silly hat or pieces of flair while you wait tables is what you've got to do to pay for college, then wear it proudly. The hat doesn't say anything bad about you as a person. It's a badge of honor, not for the job, but for you and your commitment to your family, your goals, your future." If a leader makes a call they know was right, that's enough. Who cares if people criticize you? Who cares if you take heat for it? The fact that other people are mad is irrelevant to whether it was the right thing to do or not. As Marcus Aurelius said, "Just that you do the right thing, the rest doesn't

• 2:10Ryan Holiday?

  matter." Ignore the criticism, ignore the judging, don't give two-second thoughts to how it looks. If it's right, it's right for you.

• 2:22Ryan Holiday?

  If you like the podcast that we do here and you want to get it via email every morning, you can sign up at dailystoic.com/email. [music]