These Things Have No Power Over You

So much has happened in the past. We’ve messed up. We’ve been hurt. We’ve missed opportunities and we’ve embarrassed ourselves. So much can happen in the future, as well. Not only can all those same mistakes happen again, but we also have to contend with the uncertainty of the weather, the economy, family obligations, and politics—all of which loom in front. It’s amazing that anyone can get anything done with all that occupying their mind. Indeed, that’s sort of the point the Stoics were trying to make. They knew that a person busy kicking themselves over what has happened in the past, or biting their nails over what might happen in the future, is a person who is not busy with life. It’s a person who is not able to be philosophical, productive, or present. As Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself—and by extension, to us:“Remind yourself that past and future have no power over you. Only the present—and even that can be minimized. Just mark off its limits. And if your mind tries to claim that it can’t hold out against that…well, then, heap shame upon it.”We have to limit our focus. And the key is to focus on what is immediately in front of you. Don’t be paralyzed by the past or intimidated by the future. Don’t be distracted by them either. Even the troubles on your plate can be minimized if you break them into smaller pieces—don’t worry about the big, busy “day” you have to get through, just get through the morning. Just get through the first item on your to-do list. And if your mind wanders, if you start to get distracted, say to yourself, “C’mon. I’m better than this. I’m just going to focus on what’s in front of me. That’s plenty.” That’s what Marcus meant by heaping shame, after all. So get out there and get after it! 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 things have no power over you. So much has happened in the past. We've messed up, we've been hurt, we've missed opportunities, and we've embarrassed ourselves. So much can happen in the future. All those same mistakes can happen again, plus the uncertainty of the weather, the economy, politics. All of these loom in front of us. It's amazing

• 0:51Ryan Holiday?

  that anyone can get anything done with all that occupying their mind. Indeed, that's sort of the point. The Stoics knew that a person kicking themselves over what has happened, or biting their nails over what might happen, is a person who is not busy with life. It's a person who is not able to be philosophical, productive, or present. As Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself, and by extension to us, "We have to limit our focus. Remind yourself that past and future have no power over you," he said. "Only the present, and even that can be minimized. Just mark off its limits. And if your mind tries to claim that it can't hold out against that, well, then heap shame upon it."

• 1:33Ryan Holiday?

  The key is to focus on what is immediately in front of you. Don't be intimidated by the past or the future. Don't be distracted by them either. Even the troubles on your plate can be minimized if you break them into smaller pieces. Don't worry about the big, busy day you have to get through. Just get through the morning. Just get through the first item on your to-do list. Mark off limits. And if your mind wanders, if you start to get distracted, say to yourself, "Come on, I am better than this. I'm just going to focus on what's in front of me." That's plenty. And that's what Marcus meant by heaping shame. So get out there and get after it. Please check out the Daily Stoic store where we sell products that we ourselves

• 2:18Ryan Holiday?

  use that are designed to take these Stoic lessons to the next level. Just go to dailystoic.com/store.