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The Daily Stoic

20 Mar 2024 · 2m

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Solve The Problem First

In short

In this episode, Ryan Holiday discusses a critical Stoic principle: addressing problems directly before dwelling on emotions or blame. Drawing on insights from Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations," Holiday emphasizes the importance of focusing on solutions rather than getting caught up in frustration or anger over preventable issues.

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Transcript

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0:00I'm picking my kids up from school today and then doing our weekly routine, which is I take them over to Whole Foods, which is a whole food, which is a whole food, which is a whole food, you know what's a good for a day? strict ingredients standards so you know it'll be delicious and good for you. You can also order online for pickup and even delivery in select zip codes to skip the crowds. Shop everything you need at Whole Foods Market, your holiday headquarters. My family owns a 2023 Toyota 4Runner and honestly it's my favorite vehicle that I've ever owned. Around town it's smooth and reliable but where it really shines is on our trips into the backcountry.

0:53We've taken it on backpacking adventures to Colorado and New Mexico loaded up with gear and never had to think twice about whether it could handle the terrain. That's what Toyota trucks are built for. Off-road confidence, rugged durability, and the freedom to explore. Toyota has a long history with the outdoor community and they're committed to helping more people get out there and experience what nature has to offer. From remote trails to scenic byways, Toyota Trucks empowers you to take the detour, roam freely, and discover places that still feel wild and untouched. And they're not just making great trucks.

1:22They're working to expand access to adventure so more people can connect with the outdoors and pass that passion on to the next generation. Discover your uncharted territory. Learn more at toyota.com slash trucks slash adventure dash detours. That's toyota.com slash trucks slash adventure dash detours.

1:42Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom everyday life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2 ,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com. Solve the problem first. 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. And yeah, it's going to be costly. And yeah, you're pissed. But you know what you should do?

2:20you 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.

3:02Right 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 that you're in the situation first. You can deal with the rest later. And you might just find, after you've solved the problem, that you don't care that much about whose fault it was anymore. Shout out to my wife, who put this rule into place when we take our RV around, our little camper trailer. We said, when we got it, if we're going to get it, if we're going to take places, we've got to agree.

3:39We'll solve the problem first, backing it in, taking it somewhere, doing this, found out someone forgot to do this. We'll solve the problem first. We'll deal with the rest later. It's great advice. So thanks, Samantha.

3:56Thanks so much for listening. If you could rate this podcast and leave a review on iTunes, that would mean so much to us and it would really help the show. We appreciate it. And I'll see you next episode. You hear that? That's not just a Toyota truck. That's the sound of no crowds. No alerts. No distractions. And no telling what you'll find next. You know, like a detour. So why would you ever take a tour when you could take a detour? Toyota trucks. Look, ads are annoying. They are to be avoided, if at all possible. I understand as a content creator why they need to exist. That's why I don't begrudge them when they appear on the shows that I listen to.

4:52But again, as a person who has to pay a podcast producer and has to pay for equipment and for the studio and the building that the studio is in, it's a lot to keep something like the Daily Stoic going. So if you want to support a show but not listen to ads, well, we have partnered with Supercast to bring you a ad-free version of Daily Stoic. We're calling it Daily Stoic Premium. And with Premium, you can listen to every episode of the Daily Stoic podcast completely ad-free, no interruptions, just the ideas, just the messages, just the conversations you came here for. And you can also get early access to episodes before they're available to the public.

5:35And we're going to have a bunch of exclusive bonus content and extended interviews in there just for Daily Stoic Premium members as well. If you want to remove distractions, go deeper into stoicism and support the work we do here. Well, it takes less than a minute to sign up for Daily Stoic Premium, and we are offering a limited time discount of 20 % off your first year. Just go to dailystoic.com slash premium to sign up right now or click the link in the show descriptions to make those ads go away.

From the publisher

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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