You Have Not Been Harmed

“The last year has been rough. It’s not how any of us would have chosen for things to go. Working from home. Cancelled trips. No unnecessary trips to the store, no concerts, no weddings or parties. Lost time with older loved ones—maybe even lost loved ones.”Ryan explains how your life is rooted in what you learn by experience. Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/emailFollow 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.

• 0:04Speaker 00

  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.

• 0:26Speaker 00

  You have not been harmed. The last year has been rough. It's not how any of us would have chosen for things to go. Working from home, canceled trips, no unnecessary trips to the store, no concerts, no weddings, no parties, lost time with older loved ones, maybe even lost loved ones. There's no question that we missed out on stuff. It was a tragic event of historical proportions. But you have to catch yourself about how you think about it, because it's already becoming a narrative. It's not fair. It was the worst year in history. It caused irreparable damage. No, what happened was life, and life has never been easy. Did you ever talk to your grandparents

• 1:11Speaker 00

  or your great-grandparents about their experiences as children during the Depression or the Second World War? Did you ever once hear them complain about how it screwed them over or ruined their lives, about how they never recovered? No, in fact, so much of their wisdom and resilience was rooted in what they learned living through those transformative experiences. Well, look at you. You endured an equally transformative moment of history. Yes, you lost things. Yes, much of this was preventable. Yes, it was hard, but you have also gained things. You learned things. You were reminded of what was important. You have grown stronger for having to struggle, and now you are still standing, and that says something. Start seeing it this way.

• 1:56Speaker 00

  Ignore the narrative that makes you worse. Remember what Marcus said, "Your mind will take shape of what you frequently hold in thought, for the human spirit is colored by its impressions." Color your mind with these thoughts, because they are true. You are a survivor. You are resilient. You have not been harmed the way people want to say that you have been harmed. You are going to turn this into something it's already made you something.

• 2:24Speaker 00

  And I think that's part of the idea of a more Fati as well. Not only have you not been harmed, but there's opportunities inside it. If you choose to see it this way, don't see it as something you're muddling through, but it's something that's chosen for you, that's transforming you, that you in turn are going to transform a more Fati. You can check out an A more Fati pendant in the Daily Stoic store and an A more Fati challenge coin, which I carry everywhere. Go to store.dailystoic.com.