I’ve Been Reading “The Daily Stoic” Everyday For 4 Years
Here’s What Changed In My Life
Serendipity
I came across “The Daily Stoic” by chance. The book was on the Chief Technology Officer’s desk at one of the tech companies I worked for at the time. For some reason, the book stuck out to me; a year after I left the company, I still remembered the book's title and got it. Serendipity worked in my favor because this book has transformed my life. As I reflect, noticing that book on the CTO’s desk was the best thing that happened to me at that job.
I Take Fewer Things Personally
One takeaway — that will be drilled into your being — from this book is not to take things personally. Taking things personally is one of the least productive things you can do with your time, energy, and thoughts. The book dives in on this subject constantly — like a drill that never ends — and I think this is the case because so many of us let our emotions get in the way of living a productive life.
How many of you still recall an interaction or something someone said to you, and you still get a rise from it?
I shrug a lot of things off these days. It takes more to get a reaction out of me. I even find it difficult to tell if someone is insulting me. Looking back, there are many instances where an apathetic shrug might not have been a realistic response; however, I’ve learned to care less about things, situations, and people’s actions that I shouldn’t care about (a simple and effective way to conduct life).
I’m Less Emotional
The month of February in this book is dedicated to emotions. But when I take a step back, the whole book is about becoming less emotionally attached to:
- Things
- People
- Outcomes
- And Situations
What Is Stoicism: A person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining— Oxford Dictionary
Materials Don’t Mean As Much To Me
I was already on the minimalist train since I was a kid; yet, it’s still easy to get caught up with accumulating materials, especially when society is constantly shoving advertisements and products down our throats (buy! buy! buy!).
The Daily Stoic talks about materialism and possessions frequently and gives reminders of how frivolous material possessions are. Furthermore, this book challenges the madness and ideas surrounding the endless pursuit of more possessions.
Three of my favorite passages relating to material possessions are here as follows:
- “Don’t set your heart on so many things,” says Epictetus. Focus, Prioritize. Train your mind to ask: Do I need this thing? What will happen if I do not get it? Can I make do without it? The answers to these questions will help you relax, help you cut out all the needless things that make you busy — too busy to be balanced or happy.” — The Daily Stoic p 69
- “So, concerning the things we pursue, and for which we vigorously exert ourselves, we owe this consideration — either there is nothing useful in them, or most aren’t useful. Some of them are superfluous, while others aren’t worth that much. But we don’t discern this and see them as free, when they cost us dearly.” — The Daily Stoic p 75
- “[…] in a society of ever-bigger houses and ever more possessions: [..] there’s a hidden cost to all of that accumulating.” — The Daily Stoic p 75
I See People With More Clarity
After reading and studying stoicism for some time, you notice things in people you didn’t notice before. I tell people that many adults are still children; they only look older. It’s easy to spot the child in undeveloped people through their behaviors and interactions with others. Most people don’t evolve because it’s too painful, it’s stressful, anxiety-inducing, and uncomfortable.
Call it emotional intelligence or call it the BS detector, but this book has clarified the everyday interactions I have with others. I have a better understanding of people’s motivations, I consider people’s lack of evolution in conversations and interactions, but I also easily spot people who have evolved past “the child ” (these people are courageous because they choose to deal with their past and pain bodies, which Eckhart Tolle masterfully writes about in, “A New Earth”).
My Expectations Are Tremendously Low
When your expectations are always in the sky, you find yourself feeling disappointed — often. I have found that having lower expectations for others has decreased my cortisol levels and increased my inner peace. I also found that I needed to lower some expectations for myself.
“The cause of my irritation is not in this person but in me.”
“We can’t blame other people for making us feel stressed or frustrated any more than we can blame them for our jealousy. The cause is within us. They’re just the target.” — The Daily Stoic p 88
People will fail us for the rest of our lives, and this is okay. There will be countless times we fail other people, too. The best people are the ones that realize this truth and don’t hold it against you because guess what? We’re all human!
A lot of the things we let bother us are mostly small stuff.
“Don’t sweat the small stuff.” — Richard Carlson
Cumulative Law #Earl Nightingale
My personal development didn’t occur overnight; it took years to arrive where I am today (and notice the changes), and I still have a long way to go. But after continually ingesting daily meditations over and over again, one thing is for sure: the meditations started to take root and display themselves in my daily actions, habits, and interactions with myself and others.
In Conclusion
There are endless lessons in this book, which is why I shall continue my journey of reading it daily. I encourage you to make a daily investment in a read that will elevate your habits, thinking, actions, and holistic (mental, physical, emotional, & spiritual) health.
Know any other great books on stoicism? Drop your recommendations in the comments; I’d love to check more similar reads out.
We are in control of one person, and that person is ourselves.
Thank you for taking the time to #elevate your life with this quick read. Grab your free books here — Destiny S. Harris’ Free Amazon Book Page. Wanna keep in touch? Connect with me on Instagram: @textdestiny, Facebook: @textdestiny, or my Website.