This is the Secret To Getting Better

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. and we get all our groceries for the week. Then we have dinner. It's one of their favorite things to do. It's one of my favorite things to do. And then my wife loves it because she doesn't have to take care of it. This holiday season, whether you're a guest or hosting the big dinner Whole Foods Market has what you need to delight everyone at your table. They even have heat and eat sides from the prepared foods department. You can make Whole Foods your one-stop shop. Everything follows Whole Foods Market's strict ingredients standards so you know it'll be delicious and good for you.

0:33You 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. Look, if you're listening to this podcast, you've probably heard of HelloFresh, right? They're the number one meal kit in America. They make home cooking easier with chef-crafted recipes and fresh ingredients delivered straight to your door. This fall, they're serving up even more to love. It's not the HelloFresh you remember. It's even better. HelloFresh is bigger. They've doubled their menu. You can choose up to 100 options each week.

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2:11Welcome 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 in everyday life. 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 dailysteel.com.

2:35This is the secret to getting better. It's a pretty observable truth. We become like the people we spend the most time with. In his book, Atomic Habits, James Clear talks about this. He says, one of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where desired behavior is the new normal. Your culture sets your expectation for what is normal, and you surround yourself with people who have the habits you want to have yourself, you'll rise together. As it happens in the ancient world, there was this proverb that said, if you dwell with a lame man, you will learn how to live.

3:05But the idea of dwelling with a lame man cuts both ways. Epictetus was famously lame, having had his leg crippled in slavery. And Marcus really spent an enormous amount of time with Epictetus's writings. It didn't make him limp. It made him wiser, more resilient, calmer, more compassionate. And Epictetus passed those things on to him. A slave shaped a king and made him better. In fact, when we had Shane Parrish in the Daily Stoke podcast, we talked about a different idea from Epictetus, where Epictetus is saying, if you put a lit and an unlit piece of charcoal next to each other, one will extinguish the other or one will light the other.

3:42Through philosophy and in the company of philosophy, Plutarch writes, it is possible to attain the knowledge of what is honorable and what is shameful, what is just and what is unjust. What, in brief, is to be chosen and what is to be avoided. Well, that's what we're all trying to do, isn't it? That's what Panathias was trying to do with this Scipionic circle that met in the great houses of Athens and Rome to discuss philosophy, to share ideas and explore Stoicism. That's why we're studying this philosophy 2000 years later, reading these books, talking to each other, writing in our journals, or even for an audience.

4:14It's to become better, to learn what must be learned, to be exposed to and inspired by the wisest minds who have ever lived, to be held accountable by them too, to become like them, or at least a little bit more like them. And look, if you want to spend some time with some dedicated stoics, if you want to kick the year off, hopefully get your charcoal lit, well, then I would love for you to join us in the 2024 Daily Stoic New Year, New You Challenge. We did the first New Year, New You Challenge in 2018. And year after year, we've realized that really the community is the biggest part. It's the most important part of the dynamic.

4:51It's really what takes you to the next level. And even me, having made the challenge, I'm telling people, hey, here's what I did today. Here's how it went, getting feedback, getting encouragement. It keeps me accountable, right? I get something out of it. I know you'll get something out of it. If you want to join us in our version of the Sipionic Circle, one, you can join Daily Stoic Life right now and get the Daily Stoic New Year New Year challenge for free. You can do that at dailystoiclife.com. Or you can just join us in the challenge. You can just start small, do the challenge. It's 21 days of Stoic-inspired challenges.

5:19It's three live Q &As. That's the community aspect. It's this community member platform where you can hold yourself and others accountable. And there's this cool calendar that shows you all the progress you're making. And it's not going to be theoretical abstract discussions, but real stoics talking about real ways to get better. And it starts on Monday, January 1st. So stop delaying, head over right now to dailystoic.com slash challenge to sign up and I'll see you there. Or as I said, sign up for dailystoiclife at dailystoiclife.com and get it for free.

6:09My 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. We'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.

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