It’s All In How You See It

You might have noticed that we contradicted ourselves in our last two episodes. First, we celebrated what seems like the golden age that was the classical world. But then we pointed out just how vicious and corrupt that world was, too. So which is it? 🎟️https://www.dailystoiclive.com/DAILY STOIC LIVE https://www.dailystoiclive.com/| Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you https://www.dailystoiclive.com/! Grab tickets here https://www.dailystoiclive.com/ | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/ 🎙️AD-FREE https://dailystoic.supercast.com/| Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing toThe Daily Stoic Premium https://dailystoic.supercast.com/ - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content:https://dailystoic.supercast.com/ ✉️ FREE STOIC WISDOM https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail | Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email athttps://dailystoic.com/dailyemail -- Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/DAILYSTOIC and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  So I have a bunch of traveling I'm doing through the end of the year on Daily Stoic Live Tour. I just got back from San Diego. I like to stay in the places that I'm staying. I like to book places on Airbnb so I can be like a local. I not only do some of my best writing, but I learn about things that I wouldn't have known otherwise. When I was just in San Diego, I took a walk along the water, I bumped into someone who recognized me, and they told me about their favorite local bookstore, which was like two blocks from where I was staying, and I never would have known about it if it wasn't for that encounter. It was cool to me to think that I have helped facilitate that experience for many, many people coming to Austin over the years. The first house that I bought in Austin, when my wife and I first moved here, we would list it on Airbnb, and it

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  helped me make the transition from my corporate life to being a full-time writer. So if you're gonna be away, you should maybe think about listing your place on Airbnb. It can be a great way to earn extra cash while you travel, can offset the cost of your trip, or maybe even go towards whatever you're doing next. If you've got travel coming up, check out Airbnb. Your home might be worth more than you think, and you can find out how much at Airbnb.com/host. Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, designed to help bring those four key Stoic virtues: courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom into the real world.

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  It's all in how you see it. You might have noticed that we contradicted ourselves in the last two emails and episodes. First, we celebrated what seems like the golden age that was the classical world. "The past has never looked brighter," we said, "compared to the darkness and weakness of today." We're a long ways from that era of philosopher kings. But then we pointed out just how vicious and corrupt in that world was too. In fact, we argued that this is probably the best time to live in human history. So which is it? The answer is that it's all in how you look at it. And is this not the keystone

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  of Stoicism? Epictetus talked about how every situation has two handles. You can grab the handle that says everything is broken, that we live in uniquely terrible times, especially compared to the idealized past, or you can look for the good. That doesn't mean pretending everything is fine. It just means refusing to let the bad erase the good that is right in front of you. Although there's so much to be admired about antiquity, we should also apply Marcus Aurelius's practice of stripping things of the legend that encrust them. We should see them for what they are, objectively, even with a kind of deliberate

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  contempt or cynicism. This way, we're not blinded by propaganda or nostalgia. The Stoics understood that perspective is everything, that we have a lot of control over our perceptions, and we have to wield them properly, to see things as they actually are, to resist both despair about the present and nostalgia for the past. We must see clearly, then act accordingly.

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