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

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

When passion is the master of your reason, they lied to you, they cheated you. They hurt you. They hurt someone. They hurt someone you

love. Of course you're hurt. Of course you're angry. Of course it's consuming your attention.

Beware. In fact, we all need to beware. Because as the Stoics say, this is where trouble comes from,

the passions. In Euripides Medea, we have a copy at the Pated

Porch, it's a lovely play that I think everyone should read, he has Medea on the verge of

Philicide, surprisingly aware of the temporary insanity her anger has created. I am well aware of how terrible a crime I am about to commit,

she says, but my passion is master of my reason, passion that causes the greatest suffering in the

world. To the Stoics, passions were diametrically opposed to reason, and the two were battling for supremacy in each of us.

When passion wins, we are in trouble. Causes suffering for us and for others.

We say things we regret. We jump into things we wouldn't.

We make complicated things worse. We do things that can't be undone. This is why Athena Dora famously told the emperor

Augustus to count the letters of the alphabet before he did anything out of anger. He was telling

him to pause and reflect, as our challenge coin says, pause and reflect. Think about it. Let reason be

your master, not the passion of the moment.

Don't hurt others and yourself. Don't jump in just yet. Think about how you'll think about this

after. Spare yourself and others suffering. Pause and reflecta. Let your passions pass.

A pause can change everything.

I reach into my pocket these days and I grab the Daily Stoic pause and reflect medallion.

Delay is the best remedy, Seneca says.

Athenae Doreas advised the Emperor Augustus to count all the letters of the alphabet before he

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