This is Where You’re Supposed To Be

“We all feel pulled. To do more. To go more places. To make more progress. We are dogged by the constant worry we’re in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing—or rather, there is somewhere else, somewhere better that we could, that we should, be.”Ryan explains why you must embrace the present moment. Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and FacebookSee 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.

• 0:04Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom, designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom in everyday 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.

• 0:26Ryan Holiday?

  This is where you're supposed to be. We all feel pulled to do more, to go more places, to make more progress. We are dogged by the constant worry we're in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing, or rather, there's somewhere else, somewhere better that we could, that we should be. It's a feeling that manifests itself in many forms: guilt, anxiety, envy, fear, insecurity, basically misery, the exact opposite of being content, happy, or grateful of being present. Marcus Aurelius knew this. Why do you think he mentioned the present and the present moment more than 20 times in meditations? Each time, he was saying, "Don't worry about the past. Don't worry about the future. Embrace what is in front of you right now.

• 1:11Ryan Holiday?

  Be here now," he was saying. "Don't be somewhere else. Be here, and be here well." It's a reminder we seem to need constantly. Our restlessness, at an almost cultural level, is depriving us of the gift and the beauty of the moment that is before us. Instead of what we're doing with the full measure of our attention, we give it whatever fraction has not wandered away or been stolen by the device in our pocket. And then we wonder why time flies by, or why we have to return to clean up mistakes, or why we never feel good enough. Stop! Do what you're doing, whether it's washing the dishes, or sitting in traffic, or writing your thesis. Be where you are, whether that's with your kids, or in a career transition, or at the doctor's office.

• 1:56Ryan Holiday?

  It's where you're supposed to be. In the right now, there is nothing else, just this. In the right here, the present is all there is. Be here, be there, well.

• 2:12Ryan Holiday?

  Hey, it's Ryan. Thank you for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. I just wanted to say we so appreciate it. We love serving you. It's amazing to us that over 30 million people have downloaded these episodes in the couple of years we've been doing it. It's an honor. Please, spread the word. Tell people about it. And this isn't to sell anything. I just wanted to say thank you.