Remember: You Are Not Everything

One of the most haunting moments in all of literature is the moment when King Lear hits rock bottom. He has destroyed his kingdom. He has lost his family. He has lost his sanity. He says to Gloucester as they stand on a cliff:“They told me I was everything. 'Tis a lie, I am not ague-proof.”In short, all the illusions of the king have been shattered, his ego destroyed. Everything he had worked for was gone, and all that was left was the inescapable conclusion that it was his fault. He had believed the flatterers and let power go to his head. Then, after unbelievable folly and meanness, it all came crashing down. This temptation to believe that we are everything, that we are immune to the constraints or flaws of other people is the source of so much pain and misery in the world. Pain for the believers and for the bystanders who become its collateral damage. Which is why the Stoics—particularly the ones who found themselves in positions of leadership—spent so much time working on their egos. Marcus Aurelius actively practiced his philosophy so that he would not be corrupted by his absolute power. Seneca wrote essays to Nero to try to steer the young man away from ego, to tell him: You are not everything. You have to stay sane and sober. It didn’t always work, but he tried. Ego is the enemy. Of what we’re trying to accomplish. Of the people we’d like to be. Of relationships. Of kindness. Of the ‘objectivity’ and rational thought that Stoicism prizes. We must remember this always, even as others puff us up or success accumulates around us. We are not everything. We are ordinary. We are mortal. We are not exempt. 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. Remember, you are not everything. One of the most haunting moments in all of literature is the moment when King Lear hits rock bottom. He has destroyed his kingdom. He has lost his family. He has lost his sanity. He says to Gloucester, as they stand on a cliff, "They

• 0:46Ryan Holiday?

  told me I was everything. 'Tis a lie. I am not Ed-Jew proof.'" In short, all the illusions of the king have been shattered, his ego destroyed. Everything he had worked for was gone, and all that was left was the inescapable conclusion that it was his fault. He had believed the flatterers and let power go to his head. Then, after unbelievable folly and meanness, it all came crashing down. This temptation to believe that we are everything, that we are immune to the constraints or flaws of other people, is the source of so much pain and misery in the world. Pain for the believers and for the bystanders who become its collateral damage, which is why the Stoics, particularly the ones who found

• 1:30Ryan Holiday?

  themselves in positions of leadership, spent so much time working on their egos. Marcus Aurelius actively practiced his philosophy so that he would not be corrupted by his absolute power. Seneca wrote essays to Nero to try to steer the man away from ego, to tell him, "You are not everything. You have to stay sane and sober." It didn't always work, but he tried. Ego is the enemy of what we're trying to accomplish, the people we'd like to be, of relationships, of kindness, of the objectivity and rational thought that Stoicism prizes. We must remember this always, even as others puff us up or success accumulates

• 2:10Ryan Holiday?

  around us. We are not everything. We are ordinary. We are mortal. We are not exempt.

• 2:18Ryan Holiday?

  Hey everyone, it's Ryan. I just wanted to tell you about the latest addition to our line of bestselling pendants. It's our new Ego is the Enemy Pendant. Ego is a force that sucks us down, that keeps us from accomplishing our goals. The NBA coach and GM Pat Riley called ego "the disease of me." It gets in your way, tears apart teams, destroys dreams. And that's why this brand new pendant is a great reminder and a great tool to help you keep your ego in check, to help you keep the disease of me at bay. You can check out our new Ego is the Enemy Pendant at the Daily Stoic store. Just go to dailystoic.com/store.