Somebody Lit From Within | 10 Stoic Habits To Practice In 2024
The Daily Stoic
Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures
4.5 • 5.3K Ratings
🗓️ 23 January 2024
⏱️ 15 minutes
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Summary
Agrippinus once told another philosopher that while everyone else wanted to blend in, he was content to stand out—to ‘be the red thread’ in the sweater, the one that makes the garment beautiful. It wasn’t attention and fame he was after, nor was he rewarded for standing out in this way. In the end, Agrippinus was exiled (his father was executed for similar crimes). Cato could have made a fortune in politics, if he was after the same things his peers were after. He could have wielded enormous power. But he wasn’t willing to do what everyone else was willing to do. Fame and money were not what motivated him, it’s not what lit him up.
It was a loose cohort of Stoics—we tell their stories in the book Lives of the Stoics—was heroic and incredible, as virtue always is. They stood out, backlit against the sameness, the cowardice, the complicity of their times. Still, they suffered for this courage, these principles, this desire to be themselves. We should take their example, but be sure not to take it lightly.
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If you can cultivate good habits, you can survive—even thrive on—what lies ahead. If you relapse and fall to the level of your worst habits, these hard times will only be harder. Epictetus said habits—good and bad—were like a bonfire. Every time we perform a habit, we reinforce it, we add fuel to the fire. In this video excerpt Ryan Holiday outlines 10 Stoic habits that can change your life in 2024.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast where each day we read a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you in your everyday life. |
| 0:11.0 | On Tuesdays we take a closer look at these stoic ideas, how we can apply them in our |
| 0:16.1 | actual lives. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy. Somebody lit from within from within. From the time of Caesar through the end of the |
| 0:30.4 | reign of Nero there was a remarkable run of heroic Stoics. There was Cato, there was Portia, |
| 0:35.6 | there was Thracia, Agrippinus, Helvetius, Epictetus. Nearly everyone else was willing to go along to |
| 0:42.2 | get along, everyone else was willing to go along to get along everyone else was corrupted by their |
| 0:44.5 | ambition, by their self-interest, by their love of money or attention or validation. |
| 0:49.5 | But not these stoics. |
| 0:50.5 | They were lit from within, you might say, motivated by their own values, their love of virtue, rather than trying to get ahead. |
| 0:59.0 | A gripinist once told a philosopher that while everyone else wanted to blend in, he was content to stand out, to be the red thread in the sweater, the one that makes the garment beautiful. |
| 1:09.0 | It wasn't attention and fame he was after, nor was he rewarded for standing out in this way. In the end, |
| 1:14.9 | Agrippinus was exiled. His father was executed for similar crimes. |
| 1:19.9 | Cato could have made a fortune in politics if he was after the same things his peers were after. |
| 1:24.4 | He could have wielded enormous power, but he wasn't willing to do what everyone else was willing to do. |
| 1:29.6 | Fame and money were not what motivated him. |
| 1:31.8 | It's not what lit him up. It was this loose |
| 1:34.6 | cohort of Stoics, and I tell their stories in the book Lives of the Stoics, that was heroic |
| 1:39.7 | and incredible, as virtue always is. They stood out out backlit against the sameness, the cowardice, the |
| 1:45.6 | complicity of their times. And still they suffered for this courage, these principles, this |
| 1:50.4 | desire to be themselves. We should take their example but to be sure not to take it lightly. |
| 1:56.3 | It's the right road, this road to greatness, yet it is a rough and dangerous road all the same. And it's funny, you know, Lives of the Stoics is a book I'm |
| 2:06.1 | super proud of, but I probably learned the most about the Stoics writing. I learned about Thrasia and Cato and Portia and Portia, |
... |
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