When You’re Going Through Hell, Do This…

When Seneca was exiled, he wanted to give up, but he didn’t. He wrote. He prepared for the opportunity that would eventually come. When Musonius Rufus was exiled, he did the same. He kept himself busy not just with writing, but by discovering a natural spring on the island he was trapped on, one that provided for inhabitants who had long been without fresh water. When Epictetus was born into slavery, he endured it for thirty years until his freedom finally came. When the plague fell upon Rome during Marcus’s reign, he found a way to create and keep a new normal, for all fifteen years of it. In each case, these Stoics were in a kind of hell. But you know what they did? They did what you’re supposed to do when you find yourself going through hell: They kept going. Which is what we have to do today, through this pandemic and all that life throws at us. We have to keep going. We have to find a new normal. We have to find things to focus on. We have to find ways to do good for others. We have to keep busy. We can also follow this help list of rules from Austin Kleon (who has a wonderful book by the same title): Every day is Groundhog Day. Build a bliss station. Forget the noun, do the verb. Make gifts. The ordinary + extra attention = the extraordinary Slay the art monsters. You’re allowed to change your mind. When in doubt, tidy up. Demons hate fresh air. Plant your garden. Most of all, we have to follow Churchill’s advice to KBO: Keep buggering on. Just keep going. You’ll get through this. ***Today's sponsor is Thrive Market, an online members-only marketplace filled with over 6000 ethical products. Sign up at thrivemarket.com/stoic and receiver an extra 25% off your first order. You'll receive your first 30 days of membership for free as well, and if you spend $49 or more you get free shipping. Join Thrive Market today! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.

• 0:28Ryan Holiday?

  When you're going through hell, do this. When Seneca was exiled, he wanted to give up, but he didn't. He wrote. He prepared for the opportunity that would eventually come. When Musonius Rufus was exiled, he did the same. He kept himself busy, not just with writing, but by discovering a natural spring on the island he was trapped on, one that provided for the inhabitants, who had long been without fresh water. When Epictetus was born into slavery, he endured it for 30 years, until his freedom finally came. And when the plague fell upon Rome during Marcus Aurelius's reign, he found a way to

• 1:09Ryan Holiday?

  create and keep a new normal for some 15 years. In each case, these Stoics were in a kind of hell. But do you know what they did? They did what you're supposed to do when you find yourself going through hell. They kept going, which is what we have to do today through this pandemic and all that life throws at us. We have to keep going. We have to find a new normal. We have to find things to focus on. We have to find ways to do good for others. We have to keep busy. And we can also follow this helpful list of rules from Austin Kleon, who has a wonderful book by the same title. He says,

• 1:50Ryan Holiday?

  "Number one, every day is Groundhog Day. Two, build a bliss station. Three, forget the noun, do the verb. Four, make gifts. Five, the ordinary plus extra attention equals extraordinary. Six, slay the art monsters. Seven, you're allowed to change your mind. Eight, when in doubt, tidy up. Nine, demons hate fresh air. And 10, plant your garden." But most of all, we have to follow Churchill's advice to KBO. Keep buggering on. Just keep going. You'll get through this. And of course, if you are looking to not just get through this, but thrive,

• 2:33Ryan Holiday?

  strongly recommend you check out our Daily Stoic Alive Time Challenge, which is running right now. It's 14 days of Stoic-inspired meditations that will help you seize this unique moment in time, seize what's in front of you, take what could be dead time, however long we're in quarantine, or lockdown, or social distancing, or out of work, or whatever it is, and use that time productively and become a better, more philosophical person because of it. $5 from every order goes to support frontline responders and food banks. We've already donated something like $10,000 to people in need and to people who are fighting COVID-19. You can check that out right now at dailystoic.com/alivetime. Hey, it's Ryan.

• 3:16Ryan Holiday?

  If you're trying to stay safe, trying to continue social distancing, remember our sponsor this week is Thrive Market. They've got 6,000 home food and beauty products that you can get sent direct to consumer. The average Thrive Market member saves almost 400 bucks a year. With Thrive Market, you're already saving 25% off retail prices. And if you visit thrive market.com/stoic right now, you get an extra 25% off your first order, plus get your first 30 days free. Plus, if you spend 49 bucks or more, your shipping is completely free. If you want to check that out, you can go to thrive market.com/stoic.