We Must Battle These Two Vices | Solve Problems Early

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0:56We must battle these two vices. There are lots of vices, and we're all slaves to at least a few of them. Lust, envy, ignorance, power, ambition. We have these desires and aversions, these habits we indulge, these things we let ourselves get away with. In a sense, Stoicism is a philosophy designed to help us combat our vices. Which ones? Well, obviously, we all battle different vices. We all need help with different ones. In his lovely biography of Marcus Aurelius, the best one published yet, we think, Donald Robertson writes about the role that Rusticus, Marcus Aurelius' philosophy teacher, played in the young emperor's life, specifically in his battle against these lower tendencies.

1:42On close examination, Robertson writes, Rusticus appears to have helped Marcus first and foremost overcome two vices which are often found together, vanity and anger. Many people struggle with these vices and no one can afford it less than a leader. Vanity leads us astray, makes us vulnerable to manipulation and prevents us from learning. Anger? Anger makes us do stupid things. It makes us harm people. It blinds us. It deprives us of peace and serenity. And Stoicism has much to teach us about slaying these demons, and we see Marcus Aurelius attempting to do so repeatedly in meditations. He writes things designed to keep him humble, to puncture his vanity.

2:26He uses meditations to calm himself down, to vent his frustrations on the page instead of on other people. He's trying to remind himself that it is often his ego or his entitlements that cause his anger. And that's the work for all of us, to identify our vices and then meet them with discipline, humility, and reason. Because if we don't master them, they will surely master us. And you know the timeless Stoic ideas that help Marcus do this? I think we're also there in some of history's greatest leaders. We're talking about George Washington or Admiral Stockdale. And we talk a lot about that in our course on Stoic leadership.

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3:44I'm really proud of this course. I think it's one of the best things we've done. You can grab that. And basically, if you were thinking about signing up for Daily Stoic Life, it's almost the same price as the course. You can get both of those in one swoop and maybe even save some money. Check that out, dailystokelife.com or the Ingent Wisdom for the Modern Leader. I will link to that in today's show notes.

4:13I'm recording this on a Monday and Monday is our grocery store day in our family. I usually pick my kids up from school and we go over to Whole Foods, get all our groceries for the week. Although here very shortly, we're going to go over there to get our Thanksgiving turkey. because they've got a bunch of great options. Turkeys start at$149 a pound if you have prime, with organic birds at$299 a pound. And they only carry no antibiotic ever turkeys that will bring quality to your table at a great price. Whole Foods has great everyday prices on all your Thanksgiving essentials, whether you celebrate with a massive family or just a few close friends.

4:50Everything they sell has high standards to help you shop with confidence. Enjoy so many ways to save on your Thanksgiving spread at Whole Foods Market. Solve problems early. This is the June 9th entry from The Daily Stoic, 366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living by me and my wonderful translator and co-writer and longtime agent, Steve Hanselman. Today's quote is from Seneca Moral Letters 116. There is no vice which lacks a defense, none that at the outset isn't modest and easily intervened. But after this, the trouble spreads widely. If you allow it to get started, you won't be able to control it when it stops.

5:34Every emotion is at first weak. Later, it rouses itself and gathers strength as it moves along. It's easier to slow it down than to supplant it. Publilius Sirius, he was a Roman slave and a Stoic philosopher, he said, rivers are easiest to cross at their source. And I think that's what Seneca means too. The raging waters and deadly currents of a bad habit, ill-discipline, chaos, dysfunction. Somewhere they began as no more than a slight trickle. Somewhere they are a placid lake or a pond, even a bubbling underground spring. What would you rather do? Nearly drown in a dangerous crossing in a few weeks or cross now while it's still easy?

6:23It's up to you. You know, there's that expression, you nip it in the bud. That's what I think. I'll give you a somewhat of a personal example. I am not an addict in the sense that I am in recovery, but I find that just about anything I do, I can do compulsively, tend to do compulsively, and can very easily develop an unhealthy relationship with. So people ask me, like, what did the Stoics say about drinking or drugs? Do you do those things? I don't do them exactly because the Stoics forbid them or that I specifically have a problem abusing them. I just know it's a slippery slope for me. It's a road better not gone down by me.

7:12So I nip it in the bud. I just sort of have a bright policy. I don't really drink. I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. I just don't do it. I keep it away. It's easier for me now. Like, you know, I sometimes joke, I was like, I don't really like the taste because I don't, I don't enjoy the taste of let's say alcohol. Um, and people go, Oh, it's an acquired taste. And I go, but yeah, knowing myself getting over that hurdle is not going to put me in a better position now. Now I have the instinctive, almost childlike aversion to it. And I want to keep it that way. Because once I get over it, that buffer is not there anymore.

7:53So I like to joke, I don't do acquired tastes. The point is not doing the things at all, not putting myself in a position where I can abuse or do them to excess has been quite beneficial to me. Another way to think about this would be what's the person that really pisses you off? Or what's the subject matter that you find when you talk to your parents about is always a source of conflict or argument. Well, maybe just steer clear of that altogether, right? In the way, again, like a gambling addict doesn't go to Las Vegas. Cross the things early, nip them in the bud early, notice the warning signs, notice the grumblings, notice the aversions, and listen to that.

8:38Listen to that voice. Head it off at the pass, right? it, solve it in advance, put yourself in a position where you don't need superhuman willpower, where you don't need strength and perseverance and the inner citadel. You don't need that stuff. That's what I think the Stoics are talking about. And to me, this is a nice definition of temperance, moderation, sort of having a sense of self-awareness, what you can do, what you can't do, who you are, how you're wired, think about it that way, and then make your decisions accordingly. And if some people think that's weird or lame or unusual or you're missing out on fun, that's their issue.

9:23You know yourself. You know what you should be thinking about, what you know you should be doing, the decisions you can make to put yourself in a position to be successful and choose and act accordingly.

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