What To Do When You’re Not Naturally Perfect

The Daily Stoic

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Education, 694393, Daily Stoic, Society & Culture, Stoic, Stoicism, Self-improvement, Business, Stoic Philosophy, Philosophy, Ryan Holiday

4.6 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2018

⏱️ 4 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It was on this day in the year 86 AD, that Antoninus Pius, the man who would become best known as the stepfather of Marcus Aurelius, was born. Most people, even followers of Stoicism, don’t know much about Antoninus. This is sad because he was a truly great man. “Antoninus would have had the reputation of being the best of sovereigns,” Joseph Ernest Renan writes, “if he had not designated for his successor a man equal to himself in goodness and in modesty.” It’s worth taking a second today to consider what made him so special. Renan points out in his book The History of the Origins of Christianity: “Antoninus was a philosopher without pretending to be so, and almost without knowing it. Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher whose humanity and sincerity were admirable, but yet reflective. In this respect Antoninus was the greater. His kindness did not lead him to make mistakes. He was not tormented by the evil instincts which gnawed at the heart of his adopted son.” Where Marcus was conscientious and self-conscious, Antoninus was effortlessly and naturally all the things that Marcus wished he could be, both as a philosopher and as a person. Antoninus did not need to hold in his temper like Marcus, as he did not have one. He did not need to meditate on his mortality, as he was always present and took nothing for granted. As Marcus wrote in the opening pages of Meditations: “You could have said of him (as they say of Socrates) that he knew how to enjoy and abstain from things that most people find it hard to abstain from and all too easy to enjoy. Strength, perseverance, self-control in both areas: the mark of a soul in readiness--indomitable.” What a man. What an example. Yet the truth is, most of us have no shot at that. We aren’t so naturally, effortlessly perfect at anything, really. We’re more like Marcus. We have the example of Antoninus to strive for but must work incredibly hard to get even halfway close. And you know what? That’s ok. Because even if we fall short, even if we are not perfect, Antoninus would instinctively understand and appreciate our effort. He’d accept us unconditionally while still encouraging us to be better. Because that’s who he was. He may have ultimately been eclipsed by Marcus Aurelius in the annals history, but he was by no means less great. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:13.6	Welcome to the Daily Stoke. For each day, we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life.
0:23.3	Each one of these passages is based on the 2000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at DailyStoic.com.
0:37.3	What to do when you're not naturally perfect? It was on this day in the year 86 AD that Antoninus Pius, the man who would become best known as the stepfather of Marcus Aurelius, was born.
0:49.3	Most people, even followers of Stoicism, don't know much about Antoninus. This is sad because he was a truly great man.
0:56.3	Antoninus would have had the reputation of being the best of sovereigns, Joseph, Ernest, Renon writes, if he had not designated for his successor a man equal to himself and goodness and in modesty.
1:09.3	It's worth taking a second today to consider what made him so special. Renon points out in his book The History of the Origins of Christianity,
1:17.3	Antoninus was a philosopher without pretending to be so and almost without knowing it. Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher whose humanity and sincerity were admirable, but yet reflexive.
1:29.3	In this respect, Antoninus was the greater. His kindness did not lead him to make mistakes. He was not tormented by the evil instincts which nod at the heart of his adopted son.
1:39.3	Where Marcus Aurelius was conscientious and self-conscious, Antoninus was effortlessly and naturally all the things that Marcus wished he could be, both as a philosopher and as a person.
1:50.3	Antoninus did not need to hold in his temper like Marcus as he did not have one. He did not need to meditate on his mortality as he was always present and took nothing for granted.
2:02.3	As Marcus Aurelius wrote in the opening pages of meditations, you could have said of him as they say of Socrates that he knew how to enjoy and to abstain from the things that most people find it hard to abstain from and all too easy to enjoy.
2:17.3	Strength, perseverance, self-control in both areas, the mark of a soul in readiness, indomitable.
2:25.3	What a man, what an example. Yet the truth is most of us have no shot at that. We aren't so naturally effortlessly perfect at anything, really. We're more like Marcus. We have the example of Antoninus to strive for, but must work incredibly hard to get even halfway close.
2:43.3	And you know what? That's okay. Because even if we fall short, even if we are not perfect, Antoninus would instinctively understand and appreciate our effort. He'd accept us unconditionally while still encouraging us to be better, because that's who he was.
3:00.3	He may have ultimately been eclipsed by Marcus Aurelius in the annals of history, but he was by no means less great, and we can do the same.
3:08.3	If you want to check out the daily Stoic journal, you can do so on Amazon or anywhere books are sold, including your local independent bookstore. You can also buy signed copies at bookpeople.com.
3:20.3	Hey, prime members, you can listen to the daily Stoic early and ad free on Amazon music. Download the Amazon music app today, or you can listen early and ad free with Wondering Plus in Apple podcasts.

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