These Are The Three Most Important Words of Wisdom

Almost 50 years ago, the Beatles whispered to us some words of wisdom: Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be. One of the most relatable passages in Meditations is actually about just that. Marcus writes about sitting next to someone who smells or has bad breath. You can almost feel his frustration, as if he too has sat on an airplane center seat and had to jostle for the armrests that are clearly his. What is wrong with this person? Can’t they figure out how this works? Do they have to be so rude? And yet, he catches himself. If it’s such a problem, he says, then talk to them about it. Or you know what? Just let it go. As he writes, “You always own the option of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can't control. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone.”It’s worth remembering today and every day. That we can just leave things as they are. We can let them be. We don’t have to get upset. We don’t have to have an opinion. We can listen to those words of wisdom…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. These are the three most important words of wisdom. Almost 50 years ago, the Beatles whispered to us some words of wisdom: "Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be." One of the most relatable passages in meditations is actually about just that. Marcus Aurelius

• 0:47Ryan Holiday?

  writes about sitting next to someone who smells or has bad breath. "You can almost feel his frustration, as if he too has sat on an airplane's center seat and had to jostle for the armrests that are clearly his. What is wrong with this person? Can't they figure out how this works? Do they have to be so rude?" And yet, he catches himself. "If it's such a problem," he says, "then talk to them about it, or you know what? Just let it go." As he writes, "You always own the opinion of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can't control. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone."

• 1:28Ryan Holiday?

  It's worth remembering today and every day that we can just leave things as they are. We can let them be. We don't have to get upset. We don't have to have an opinion. We can listen to those words of wisdom. Hey, it's Ryan Holiday. If you're looking for some way to wrench some good out of this strange surreal experience that has been the quarantine and the social distancing situation that many of us are stuck in, I invite you to join us in the Daily Stoic Alive Time Challenge, which is 14 days of Stoic-inspired challenges and exercises that will help you seize this moment and turn it into some positive. And on top of that, $5 from every order goes

• 2:08Ryan Holiday?

  to support frontline first responders, people who are not as fortunate as us and are struggling to make ends meet in this difficult time. So check it out, dailystoic.com/alivetime.

• 2:20Ryan Holiday?

  You can do it with me starting March 30th. Of course, you can sign up after as well, but we're going to be doing this over the next two weeks. I think it's going to be wonderful. Check it out. DailyStoic.com/alivetime.