6 Insanely Useful Stoic Questions

You’re smart. You’ve read lots of books. You’ve seen a thing or two.

So you know a lot. When people have questions, you’ve got answers. When stuff happens, you’ve got opinions. When there are problems, you’ve got solutions.

Epictetus reminds us that “it’s impossible to learn that which you think you already know.” To the Stoics, particularly Zeno, conceitedness was the primary impediment to wisdom. Because when you’ve always got answers, opinions and ready-made solutions, what you’re not doing is learning. What you’re not doing is looking at things objectively, clearly, with fresh eyes. You’re just relying on instinct and preconceived notions.

Ego is the enemy for a reason. It blinds us. It distracts us. It puffs us up and prevents us from learning. The less of a know it all we are, the more we can actually get out and discover. The more open we’ll be. The wiser we’ll become.

Remember, the key to Socrates’ philosophy was his admission of ignorance. It was his desire to ask questions, his willingness to be proven wrong, his interest in having conversations—with anyone about anything. He was smart because he was humble, not conceited because he was smart.

This is a skill we have to practice. We have to prevent ego from cutting us off from wisdom.

00:00 intro
01:09 1. How do you plan ahead?
02:33 2. How do you improve?
03:30 3. How do you prepare?
04:45 4. How do you develop habits?
05:59 5. How do you deal with uncertainty?
09:03 6. How do you create autonomy?

#Stoicism​ #DailyStoic​ #RyanHoliday​

[Kate-qfiv]

10:07... "Every action you take is a vote for the kind of person you want to become." Wow. Mic drop after that one! 👍👍👍 If you become angry you want to be an angry person. If you react positively you vote to be a positive person. I love this!!!! I know I will ponder this for a few days!

Thanks for posting, Ryan! You rock!

[loriallred]

Wow, this hit home for me. The part about accepting what happens. My first born suffered a birth injury and he has a severe lifelong disability. I realized years ago that I needed to change my perspective to not remain resentful and angry. In an effort to do that, I tried to embrace my belief that everything happens for a reason and to find a reason for what happened. Was it to make me a better person than I would have been without him? Was it to give him a better life? But I find (19 years later) that I still sometimes struggle to not get angry or resent about what I can’t do (go on normal vacation, work a 9-5 job, have a pet, etc) or be because of my responsibility to care for him. My husband seems to have accepted “it is what it is” and moved on …. I haven’t been able to do that I guess. I never really realized it until this video where he talks about accepting 100% what happens and moving on. “You can shake your fists at the sky, but unless you accept 100% what happened, you can’t move forward.” 💥 I think that is the answer I’ve been looking for - I need to find a way to accept it and move on. Stop looking for a reason to explain happened or even better perspective for looking at what happened … acceptance IS the answer. Sorry to go on an on, but this has been a sort of epiphany for me. I really appreciate you for posting this and realize now that acceptance needs to be my focus!!

[caughtontext]

6."Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life."

-Seneca.

[christycarlsonromano]

My husband follows the principles of stoicism and has brought me along for the ride. It's changing my life for the better. Howdy from a fellow Austinite 👋

[DailyStoic]

The questions

01:09 1. How do you plan ahead?
02:33 2. How do you improve?
03:30 3. How do you prepare?
04:45 4. How do you develop habits?
05:59 5. How do you deal with uncertainty?
09:03 6. How do you create autonomy?

[rogerskillin]

Thinking in terms of strategy vs theory ('how' to achieve a desired outcome vs 'if' a desired outcome could be achieved) made all the difference in changing my life's trajectory for the better.

[Jusangen]

That part from Jocko... Really what I needed today. Thank you Ryan and crew for posting! Keep it up!

[martinnhantran]

01:09 1. What is the magical ambitious outcome? and work back from that.
02:33 2. Stop complaining for 21days.
03:30 3. Prepare for any uncertainy.
04:45 4. Create habits routines to get into the flow state
.
05:59 5. Embrace 100% not 99% of your situation right now.
09:03 6. Habits creates freedom. What habits can you build today?

[markboles]

Love that you identified Sir Alfred Hitchcock as a stoic, " the greatest of the twentieth-century." His work was, for me, deeply meditative. And he spend a lot of time reading. Only such a person could create such stunning works as Vertigo and Shadow of a Doubt. Cinematic works that seemingly look deep into the human soul. And the yes it was often noted the Hitchcock sat unengaged and bored while on the set of a movie, quoted saying "It's only a movie." Droll and keenly perceptive. A true stoic.

[lisafoster]

Your videos sparked me into getting interested in Stoicism and your book courage is calling. Im just beginning but finding nuggets of wisdom along this path

[chefman]

It was great to get a wake up reminder from James clear that we cannot possibly follow a schedule everyday and all the time. I have tried to make it work that way, and only find myself getting frustrated when I miss one thing.

[stoicpebble]

'
Ego is the enemy' or as I have heard it "ego is not my amigo".... This is a very important step in understanding and growth. I have struggled with ego for my whole life. The culture I grew up around forced me to build an ego to protect and succeed. The reversal of this ego is a monumental task. If I can offer advice I would suggest that we look at our actions and emotions and determine if it is ego driving the situation. If it is ego; try to break it down into simple parts and change the perception. Only in catching myself in an ego-filled situation have I been able to retard my ego. I still have an ego and will continue to work on it day by day, moment by moment.. I think that is the key to growth... NOT the successful banishment of ego but the continuous effort to lessen its hold.

[ravenpiece]

I love the clicking sound in this video when Lewis Puller is introduced. subtle detail has not gone unappreciated

[russianbot]

Fantastic Channel. I am an incredibly passionate person with strong values of fairness and justice based on present interactions. I get heated too easily yet have many stoic traits and goals. This channel is a great help

[hintonoriginal]

This is such a great video with a lot of valuable lessons! Thanks Ryan!

[IzzyOnTheMove]

If you need some motivation right now, a vanlifer friends of ours just got both his legs amputates due to diabetis (yes he lives alone in a van). Not once did he complain or give up, he knew that was coming and is going forward so positively. Gotta say, he has a?great community around him. Check out his channel it's called Jeffie Bear 💜

[MarcusRonaldi]

At the :05 mark it looks like you are on fire

[andydufresne]

I love this channel. It nourishes my mind. Thank you. Peace.

[StoicEvolution]

Marcus Aurelius: "Our life is what our thoughts make it."

[wiseone]

Quality insight as always. Much appreciated 🙏