Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a stoic-inspired meditation

designed to help you find strength and insight and wisdom into everyday life.

Each one of these episodes is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of

history's greatest men and women to help you learn from them, to follow in their example,

and to start your day off with a little dose of courage and discipline and justice and wisdom.

For more, visit Dailystoic.com.

There's no one stupider than an angry person.

They are brilliant, they're educated, they know better.

So what explains why smart people do stupid things?

One reason, as Seneca tells us, is anger, because anger makes us stupid. It blinds us, makes us impulsive and rash, consumes us with grievances. It warps our sense of reality. And our desire for revenge

or catharsis, we do things that make absolutely no sense. Imagine, Seneca writes, returning a

kick to a mule or a bite to a dog.

Yet isn't this exactly what we do when we are upset or hurt?

There's even a famous old saying,

Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make angry.

It is here that stoicism must intervene.

We have to pause and reflect.

We have to ask ourselves, is this really going to make things better?

Is this really a good idea?

We need to balance out our emotions with some self-awareness and perspective.

We have to check them with discipline.

Because life is difficult enough, our problems are vexing enough,

...