Never Abandon Your Ideals

Anne Frank would have celebrated her 90th birthday today. Although her life was cut tragically short, so much of her preternatural wisdom survives to us thanks to her famous, existentially essential diary. In it, we are reminded of the humanity of every individual (and the horrible cost to societies who lose sight of this), and we are inspired—even shamed—by the cheerful perseverance of a child amidst circumstances far worse than any of us could ever know. Page after page, despite the unimaginable terror Anne and her family lived with, we find profound meditations on meaning, happiness, and life. There’s perhaps no better an encapsulation of her spirit and resolve than this passage from one of her final entries:“It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart... I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more. In the meantime, I must hold on to my ideals.”To the ancient Stoics, no matter the circumstance, no matter how dire or desperate, how straightforward or scary, we must always fall back on one thing: virtue. As Marcus Aurelius reminded himself: “Just that you do the right thing. The rest doesn’t matter.” This was, to him, a recipe for peace and strength in those difficult circumstances. In the darkest of hours, the most trying of times, each of us are tempted to abandon our ideals, our virtues. But if we can have courage, like Anne Frank, to remain steadfast and let virtue guide us, we can always find comfort in knowing that every step we take will be the right one. 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. Never abandon your ideals. Anne Frank would have celebrated her 90th birthday today. Although her life was cut tragically short, so much of her wisdom survives to us thanks to her famous Essential Diary. In it, we are reminded of the humanity of every individual and the horrible cost to societies

• 0:48Ryan Holiday?

  who lose sight of this. And we are inspired, even shamed, by the cheerful perseverance of a child amidst circumstances far worse than any of us could ever know. Page after page, despite the unimaginable terror that Anne and her family lived with, we find profound meditations on meaning, happiness, and life. There's perhaps no better encapsulation of her spirit than this passage from one of her final entries. "It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals," she wrote. "They seem so absurd and impractical, yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good

• 1:29Ryan Holiday?

  at heart. I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness. I hear the approaching thunder that one day will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more. In the meantime, I must hold on to my ideals." To the ancient Stoics, no matter the circumstance, no matter how dire or desperate, how straightforward or scary, we must always rely and fall back on one thing: virtue. As Marcus Aurelius reminded himself, "Just that you do the right thing, the rest doesn't matter."

• 2:13Ryan Holiday?

  This was, to him, a recipe for peace and strength in those difficult circumstances. In the darkest of hours, the most trying of times, each of us are tempted to abandon our ideals, our virtues. But if we can have courage, like Anne Frank, to remain steadfast and let this virtue guide us, we can always find comfort in knowing that every step we take will be the right one. Just a heads up, there's now an obstacle is the way pendant in the Daily Stoic store. It's awesome. We have it made here in the US. We designed it ourselves. It's got Marcus Aurelius's enduring words on it. "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." If you want something you can carry with you always, you can wear around your neck

• 2:56Ryan Holiday?

  that reminds you that you can treat every obstacle as fuel, you can be better for everything that happens, that the way around is the way through, that the way through is the way. I suggest you check it out. I think you'll like it. Just go to dailystoic.com/store.