If You Were Tested, Would You Pass?

Perhaps you remember the 90s hit by the band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, “The Impression That I Get.” You know, the ‘neeeeevvvvvvveeeerrrrrr had to knock on wood’ song? If you haven’t listened to it in a while, you should, because it holds up surprisingly well. Anyway, there are a couple of lines at the beginning of the third verse that go like this:I'm not a coward, I've just never been testedI'd like to think that if I was I would passIt’s as if Dicky Barrett, the Bosstones’ lead singer and songwriter, was writing straight from the lessons of the Stoics, because it aligns perfectly with one of Seneca’s most beautiful observations. "I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune,” he writes of everyone who has lived a soft or sheltered life. “You have passed through life without an opponent—no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you."Not even you. That’s the question the song is about. That’s the angst it is trying to express. Yes, it’s great to live in a time of peace. Yes, it’s good to be well-off or successful in your career. Yes, it’s wonderful if everything always goes your way. But with this good fortune also comes a nagging doubt, an insecurity and a dissatisfaction. Because deep down, you know it can’t continue like this forever. You know that everything good comes to an end. And what then? How will you handle it? Can you handle it? The lessons from this are two-fold. One, if you are going through something tough, well...keep going. And appreciate what you are learning, both about the world and about yourself. It’s a test, keep doing your best and you’ll pass. Two, if you haven’t experienced that kind of deep adversity, know that you are depriving yourself of something essential and meaningful. So start putting yourself out there. Take more risks. Get your hands dirty. Find something that you can struggle with. Rise to the challenge. Put the doubts to rest. You’ll be better 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.

• 0:29Ryan Holiday?

  If you were tested, would you pass? Perhaps you remember the 90s hit by the band The Mighty Mighty Boss Tones, "The Impression That I Get." You know, the "Never Had to Knock on Woods" song. If you haven't listened to it in a while, you should, because it holds up surprisingly well. Anyway, there are a couple lines at the beginning of the third verse that go like this, "I'm not a coward, I've just never been tested, and I'd like to think that if I was, I would pass." It's as if Dicky Barrett, The Boss Tones' lead singer and songwriter, was writing straight from the lessons of the Stoics, because it aligns perfectly with one of Seneca's most beautiful observations. "I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived

• 1:10Ryan Holiday?

  through misfortune," he writes of everyone who has ever lived a soft or sheltered life. "You have passed through life without an opponent. No one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you. Not even you." That's the question the song is about. That's the angst it is trying to express. Yes, it's great to live in a time of peace. Yes, it's good to be well-off or successful in your career. Yes, it's wonderful if everything always goes your way. But with this good fortune also comes a nagging doubt, and insecurity, and dissatisfaction. Because deep down, you know, it can't continue like this forever. You know that everything good comes to an end. And what then? How will you handle it?

• 1:52Ryan Holiday?

  Can you handle it? The lessons from this are twofold. One, if you're going through something tough, well, keep going. And appreciate what you are learning, both about the world and about yourself. It's a test. Keep doing your best, and you'll pass. Two, if you haven't experienced that kind of deep adversity, know that you are depriving yourself of something essential and meaningful. So start putting yourself out there. Take more risks. Get your hands dirty. Find something that you can struggle with. Rise to the challenge. Put the doubts to rest. You'll be better for it.

• 2:29Ryan Holiday?

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