Set This Before Your Eyes Every Day

We talk about the importance of positive thinking. Of making sure we are surrounded by good vibes and good energy. Of cutting out the negative influences of social media and the news. Of looking for the good in everything we see. And, of course, that is important. But it can also be dangerous. Because it sets us up to be disappointed, even horrified, when our bubble is pierced. When we are forced to come face to face with the fact that the world is not a positive place. There are things that go bump in the night. There are bad people and tragic events. That’s why Epictetus’s advice—in his version of premeditatio malorum—was to do the opposite. “Set before your eyes every day death and exile and everything else that looks terrible,” he said, “especially death. Then you will never have any mean thought or be too keen on anything.” You will also never be disappointed, you will never have your illusions shattered or your expectations gone unmet. In fact, if you keep this darkness in mind, you might just be surprised by all the light you find in the world. You’ll be grateful for each day you wake up, still alive. You’ll appreciate each moment you’re not in exile. You’ll be glad each time Murphy’s Law turns out to be wrong. Indeed, just as there is no hot without cold, there is no light without dark. Today, spend some time with the dark. Become familiar with it, set it before your eyes, so that you do not mistake it for blankness and set yourself up, once you walk out of it, for the light to be blinding. 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. Set this before your eyes every day. We talk a lot about the importance of positive thinking, of making sure we are surrounded by good vibes and good energy, of cutting out the negative influences of social media and the news, of looking for the good in everything we see. And of course, that is important, but it can also be dangerous, because it sets us up to be disappointed,

• 0:51Ryan Holiday?

  even horrified, when our bubble is pierced, when we are forced to come face-to-face with the fact that the world is not a positive place. There are things that go bump in the night, there are bad people and tragic events. That's why Epictetus's advice, in his version of premeditatio malorum, was to do the opposite. "Set before your eyes every day death and exile and everything else that looks terrible," he said, "especially death. Then you will never have a mean thought or be too keen on anything. You will also never be disappointed, you will never have your illusions shattered or your expectations gone unmet. In fact, if you keep this darkness in mind, you might just be surprised by all the light you find

• 1:36Ryan Holiday?

  in the world. You'll be grateful for each day you wake up still alive. You'll appreciate each moment you're not in exile. You'll be glad each time Murphy's Law turns out to be wrong. Indeed, just as there is not hot without cold, there is no light without dark. So today, spend some time with the dark, become familiar with it. Put it before your eyes, so that you do not mistake it for blankness and set yourself up, once you walk out of it, for the light to be blinding." Hey everyone. As you know, reading books is a huge part of my life. They've helped me accomplish my goals and become a better person. And if you're listening, reading this, you probably feel the same way.

• 2:19Ryan Holiday?

  But like me, you probably feel you're not getting all you can out of the books that you read. And maybe you feel like you're kind of reading the same books over and over again, that you're stuck in a rut, or that your reading habits could be elevated, taken to a new level. Well, we've come out with a new 13-day challenge to help you do just that. It's called Read to Lead. We've got 13 days of Stoic-inspired challenges to help you take your reading to the next level. It comes with exercises, a new reading list each day, and some really awesome bonus material. You can check it out at dailystoic.com/reading.