DeepSummary
The episode begins with Ryan Holiday introducing the daily stoic podcast and explaining that each day they bring a passage of ancient Stoic wisdom to help find strength and insight in everyday life. He then discusses the advice of solving the problem first, before worrying about who is to blame or getting caught up in emotions.
Holiday references a quote from Marcus Aurelius in Meditations about not wasting energy investigating causes or taking things personally, but instead just dealing with the situation at hand. He gives examples of situations where you should first address the immediate problem, like a child getting hurt or meeting payroll, before getting into arguments about fault.
He shares that his wife implemented this rule for them when dealing with their camper trailer, to solve any problems that arise first before addressing blame. Holiday suggests that once you've solved the problem, you may not care as much about whose fault it was anymore.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Don't get caught up in emotions or assigning blame when faced with a problem - prioritize solving the immediate practical issue first.
- Avoid wasting energy investigating root causes or taking things too personally before addressing the situation directly.
- Once the problem is solved, you may find the cause or fault becomes less important.
- Apply stoic principles of reasoned pragmatism and emotional detachment to mundane practical problems.
- Implement rules or practices that reinforce solving problems impassively before getting drawn into emotional conflicts.
- The teachings of Marcus Aurelius and other Stoic philosophers offer wisdom for maintaining calm focus on resolving issues rationally.
- Even on small practical matters, it can be helpful to consciously pause emotional reactions and instead act pragmatically first.
- Making problems into bigger personal dramas than necessary wastes time and energy better spent on resolution.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “You don't have to turn this into something, Marcus Aurelius wrote in meditations. It doesn't have to upset you.“ by Ryan Holiday (quoting Marcus Aurelius)
- “He also writes about how easy it is to waste energy investigating the causes of things, taking things personally, extrapolating out what everything means.“ by Ryan Holiday (referencing Marcus Aurelius)
- “Right now you've got to figure out what you're going to do about the fact that your spouse left the keys at home. Right now you've got to deal with the fact that one of your kids is hurt and crying.“ by Ryan Holiday
- “And you might just find after you've solved the problem that you don't care that much about whose fault it was anymore.“ by Ryan Holiday
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Episode Information
The Daily Stoic
Daily Stoic | Wondery
3/20/24
Yeah, it’s frustrating. Yeah, it was preventable. Yeah, you told them it was preventable, you warned them what would happen. They didn’t listen and now here you are. Yeah, it’s gonna be costly. Yeah, you’re pissed.
But you know what you should do? You should solve the problem first. You can put your emotions about it aside. You can worry about blame later. “You don’t have to turn this into something,” Marcus Aurelius wrote in Meditations. “It doesn’t have to upset you.” He also writes about how easy it is to waste energy investigating the causes of things, taking things personally, extrapolating out what everything means. He’s saying: Just deal with it. Solve the problem, worry about ‘accountability’ later.
Right now, you’ve got to figure out what you’re going to do about the fact that your spouse left the keys at home. Right now, you’ve got to deal with the fact that one of your kids is hurt and crying—that your other one is responsible can be addressed later. Right now, you’ve got payroll to meet, you’ve got an order that’s late, you’ve got a boat to get on the trailer. Get your emotions under control, resist the urge to argue and fight about the situation you’re in. Deal with the fact you’re in the situation first. You can deal with the rest later.
…and you just might find, after you’ve solved the problem, that you don’t much care about whose fault it was anymore.
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