This Is Your Fight

"It’s tempting to tell yourself that we don’t have a problem. That you don’t have to get involved. This doesn’t affect your community. It’s not actually that big of a deal. Look at these numbers instead, a commenter whispers. But what about this other case or that one, they say. I’m not an activist, you think. I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, I don’t want to make things political. Someone else can probably do a better job. These are lies. All of them."Ryan describes how the fight for justice in our society is everyone's fight, in today's Daily Stoic Podcast.***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better. Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow @DailyStoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanholidayInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanholiday/Facebook: http://facebook.com/ryanholidayYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoicSee 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. This is your fight. It's tempting to tell yourself that we don't have a problem, that you don't have to get involved. This doesn't affect your community. It's not actually that big of a deal. Look at these numbers instead, a commenter whispers. But what about this other case? Or that one, they say. I'm not an activist, you think. I don't want

• 0:50Ryan Holiday?

  to step on anyone's toes. I don't want to make things political. Someone else can probably do a better job. But this is a lie. It is worse than just apathy or rationalization. As Marcus Aurelius reminded himself, "We can commit injustices by doing nothing too." When we try to tell ourselves that this is not our fight, that this is not our problem, that someone else is more equipped to get involved than we are, that's what we are doing. We are not just allowing an injustice to continue. We are committing a new injustice by abandoning fellow citizens or fellow human beings who are asking for our help. They need our capital. They need our bodies. They need our political pressure. That's

• 1:34Ryan Holiday?

  how change happens. That's how things get done. "One person's disengagement is untenable unless bolstered by someone else's commitment," Pericles famously said. If you decide not to vote because voting seems statistically insignificant, or if you don't speak out, if you let things pass because you would rather avoid conflict, that might make your life a little more peaceful, but the result is an incremental increase in the suffering of others. By refusing to demand a solution, you are contributing to the problem. By refusing to fight for that solution, you are asking others to carry your part of the load instead.

• 2:14Ryan Holiday?

  That's not right. That's not courageous. That's not just. That's not wise either. We have to do this together. We have to see it as our fight, because it is. Hey everyone. Today's episode sponsor is Four Sigmatic, a wellness company that mixes mushrooms or shrooms and adaptogens into coffee. They help maintain mental focus and clarity. They boost your immune system to help you stay healthy, and they taste great, too. And they've got an awesome offer for those of you who listen to Daily Stoic. You get 15% off your Four Sigmatic order. Just go to foursigmatic.com/stoic or enter the

• 2:53Ryan Holiday?

  code S-T-O-I-C, that's Stoic, at checkout, and you'll get 15% off your order. So check it out. And thanks to Four Sigmatic for sponsoring Daily Stoic.