This Is Why You Shouldn’t Be Jealous | A Proper Frame Of Mind
The Daily Stoic
Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures
4.5 • 5.3K Ratings
🗓️ 2 February 2024
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Imagine the jealousy that they must have felt. Hadrian was gifting the purple—the job of the emperor—to a teenager he wasn’t even related to. In 138 AD, his succession plan involved adopting Antoninus Pius who in turn was to adopt young Marcus Aurelius so that he would one day become the most powerful man in the world.
How many Romans hated Marcus for this? How many distant relatives of Hadrian thought themselves more qualified, more entitled to it? And how many people disliked Marcus throughout the years simply because he seemed to have a perfect life—a happy family, a great reputation, perfect character.
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In today's Daily Stoic Journal excerpt, Ryan reminds us to free ourselves now while we still have time. How much longer will we be tied up in impulses? We are independent self-efficient people who must remain free and slaves to power.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast. On Friday we do double duty not just reading our daily meditation |
| 0:09.6 | but also reading a passage from The Daily Stoic, my book, 366 meditations on wisdom, |
| 0:16.0 | perseverance in the art of living, which I wrote with my wonderful collaborator, |
| 0:20.5 | translator, and literary agent, Stephen Hanselman. |
| 0:24.4 | So today, we'll give you a quick meditation |
| 0:26.4 | from the Stoics with some analysis from me, |
| 0:29.5 | and then we'll send you out into the world |
| 0:31.4 | to turn these words in to works. |
| 0:34.0 | This is why you shouldn't be jealous. |
| 0:44.8 | Imagine the jealousy they must have felt. |
| 0:47.2 | Hadrian was gifting the purple, the job of the emperor, |
| 0:50.4 | to a teenager he wasn't even related to. In 138 a.D. his succession plan involved |
| 0:56.3 | adopting Antoninus Pius, who in turn was to adopt young Marcus Aurelius so that he would |
| 1:01.2 | one day become the most powerful man in the world. How many |
| 1:04.8 | Romans hated Marcus for this? How many distant relatives of Hadrian thought |
| 1:08.8 | themselves more qualified, more entitled to it? And how many people disliked Marcus throughout the year simply |
| 1:14.2 | because he seemed to have a perfect life a happy family a great reputation |
| 1:18.1 | perfect character yet Marcus Aurelius his story is also a great reminder of why we should not be jealous, why we should remember Salon's advice to Croesus, to count no man as happy until he has died. |
| 1:30.0 | Because how did Marcus Aurelist's perfect reign go? |
| 1:33.0 | As we have detailed here before many times it was one disaster after another, |
| 1:37.0 | plagues and floods and wars. |
| 1:39.0 | Sure, fate and fortune and luck had handed Marcus incredible gifts. |
... |
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