The Daily Stoic: Who Gets the Lion Share?

Aren’t you ashamed to reserve for yourself only the remnants of your life and to dedicate wisdom only that time can’t be directed to business?

Seneca, on the brevity of life, 3.5b

Do not get me wrong, I love my career and I am grateful to be able to do what I do. My work does not only provide me financial security, but also opportunities to learn and to grow. In my work, I find fulfillment.

Seneca – based on today’s quote from The Daily Stoic – seems to be dichotomizing work (business) one one hand and learning (wisdom) on the other. That may be true in most cases. But in my case, they are not always mutually exclusive. I find wisdom in my business.

However, my life does not revolve around my work alone. And my work does not determine who I am. It would be a waste if I devote all my time and life to it.

I also have other pursuit in life. Amongst them are learning new things, reading, and writing.

Daily Stoic: Character Is Fate

Each person acquires their own character, but their official roles are designated by chance. You should invite some to your table because they are deserving, others because they may come to deserve it.

Seneca, moral letters, 47.15b

The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditation on Wisdom, Perseverance and the Art of Living is a book authored by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. In this book, the authors provide a quote on each day of the year from prominent Stoic thinkers.

Unlike other books, this book is not meant to be read one page after the other in one sitting. The readers would read the designated quote of the day and its commentary and to reflect on them. This is an invitation to evaluate our daily lives through the lense of Stoic philosophy.

Today’s quote is from Seneca’s moral letter in which he spoke about a person’s character as oppose to his/her chances in life. In this quite, we once again see the Stoic’s notion of dichotomy of control. The philosophy of stoicism teaches us to distinguish those aspects in our lives over which we have controle from those we have not.

A Beautiful Day in October

The weather is unbelievable. We are now on the last week of October and the weather is still so pleasant and a spring afternoon.

It was 17 degree celsius , the sun is shining, the sky is blue and clear but then with the spectacle of autumn colours. The day could have not been more perfect.

It is a beautiful day. Days like this one is rare. I must not waste it.

So after work, I have decided to change in my running outfit and then off I went. One of the many ways to celebrate this gorgeous day is with a run.

There was no specific goals today, except from enjoying a relaxing run. And with that, I am successful.

Nonetheless, I think I did well. I was running slowly but constantly.

My First Marathon Experience: The First of Many to Come

A week has already passed and I do still feel the same elation I felt last week during the marathon event. This year, I was not only a spectator of the event, but a participant, albeit just a quarter of a marathon.

Running 10,55 km within an hour is hardly a remarkable achievement. I did not really transcend my limitations. Nonetheless, I have had this profound sense of fulfilment, because I have managed to break my record.

From time to time, I run 10 km. My average time when running the 10 km is 1 hour and 15 minutes. Managing to complete the 10,55 km within an hour is for me a new record. So in that sense, I was successful.

After all, in undertakings such as this one, your opponent is not the people around you, but yourself. The goal is to beat your own record and be better than yourself yesterday.

It almost impossible to describe how i feel that day. I felt so elated, happy, and calm. My taking part of this event is almost a religious experience. The experience was rather spiritual and I am not exaggerating.