Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, designed to help bring those four key Stoic virtues,

courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom into the real world.

Because of how Stoicism survives to us, mostly in the form of scraps and fragments and letters,

we don't exactly have a list of do's and don'ts. There are no ten commandments of stoicism, no definitive book of what they

believed or didn't. But in those scraps and fragments, we do get plenty. We know what Seneca tried to

do every night as he closed the day. We know what Marcus tried to think about in the

morning. We know what Epictetus and Musonius Rufus said we ought to avoid doing. And it's that

latter category that's worth thinking about today. What habits did the Stoics say we ought to cease?

What vices should we avoid? Don't be overheard complaining even to yourself, that's Marcus. Don't put on

airs about yourself improvement. That's Epictetus. Don't overindulge in eating or drinking.

Rusoneus. Don't speak more than you listen. Zeno. Don't avoid difficulty. Seneca. Don't tie your

identity to the clothes you wear, the things you own,

Cato. Don't conceal what you truly believe. That's Arias didomis. Don't go along to get along.

That's agrippinus. Don't be all about business. Marcus, don't put off to tomorrow what can be

finished today. Seneca. Don't shun people you disagree with, Seneca,

don't sleep the day away, Marcus, don't neglect your friendships, Seneca, don't waste time

thinking you are going to live forever.

That's all of them.

We could list more, but really the most important thing to the Stoics, as far as forming good

habits and kicking bad ones goes, it's awareness.

Musonius Rufus believed that in too many circumstances we do not deal with our affairs in

accordance with correct assumptions, but rather we follow thoughtless habit.

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