The One (or Two) Words To Live By

Confucius was once asked by a student if there was a single word to to live by, a word that would always provide guidance and truth. He thought about it for a minute and replied with the word chu, which translates roughly into “forbearance.”This is interesting because Epictetus was once asked which words would help a person live a life of peace and goodness. The two words, he said, were ἀνέχου (bear) and ἀπέχου (forbear). (Another translation puts it at: Persist and Resist). Again, it’s remarkable how two wise men living in the ancient world some 5,000 miles apart from each other, raised in different cultures and very different circumstances, speaking very different languages, in very different philosophies, could come to express the same concept. But that’s why we must take it to heart. There is universality in their simple formula (though it’s not an easy one): We resist giving in, resist temptation, resist despair, and resist degradation. We persist in our efforts, we persist in trying to be a good example for others, we persist in our training, we persist despite the obstacles thrown at us. The definition of forbearance perfectly captures both those ideas: Patient self-control. That’s our aim. Forever and always. 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?

  The one or two words to live by. Confucius was once asked by a student if there was a single word to live by, a word that would always provide guidance and truth. He thought about it for a minute and replied with the word "chew," which translates roughly into "forbearance." This is interesting because Epictetus was once asked which words would help a person live a life of peace and goodness. The two words, he said, were "bear" and "forbear." Another translation puts it at "persist and resist." Again, it's remarkable how two wise men, living in the ancient world, thousands of

• 1:12Ryan Holiday?

  miles apart from each other, raised in different cultures, in very different circumstances, speaking very different languages, in very different philosophies, could come to express the same concept. But that's why we must take it to heart. There is universality in their simple formula, though it's not an easy one. We resist giving in, resist temptation, resist despair, and resist degradation. We persist in our efforts. We persist in trying to be a good example for others. We persist in our training. We persist despite the obstacles

• 1:51Ryan Holiday?

  thrown at us. The definition of forbearance perfectly captures both those ideas: patient, self-control. That's our aim forever and always.

• 2:04Ryan Holiday?

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