If You Want To Be Great, This Is All You Have To Do | Can Ryan Pass This Stoic Quiz?
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How does the episode introduce Stoic virtues and the problem of lost habits?
Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, designed to help bring those four key Stoic virtues, courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom into the real world. If you want to be great, do this. At the start of the year, we said we were going to go to the gym more. We're going to eat better. We're going to be more present at home. We're going to read more. We're going to waste less time. We're going to finally get serious about the thing we keep saying matters. And then life got in the way. We missed a day here, another there. We had a bad week, which became two. The routine slipped. The momentum disappeared. And before long, we weren't just off track. We'd given up. And so we haven't been who we want to be. How do we fix it?
Epictetus reminds us how. He says, every habit and ability is confirmed and strengthened by the relevant actions. The ability to walk by walking, the ability to run by running. If you want to be a good reader, read. If you want to be a good writer, write. If you wish to do something, make it habitual. Habits are not built or rebuilt by guilt. They're not restored by grand declarations or perfect plans. They are strengthened by doing the thing. We said this last week. Excellence, good habits, virtue. It's not a state of being. It's a state of action. If you want to be it, you got to do it. And that's what the Habits for Success, Habits for Happiness challenge we have for Daily Stoic was built around. It's six weeks of Stoic-inspired challenges to help you build and maintain good habits, habits that make you better, habits that make you stronger, habits that make you happier.
And we built this challenge several years ago. It's been one of the most popular things we've ever done, but we updated it now for this moment. We wanted to keep the things that worked, wanted to add some new ones. We added some great new tools to help you reflect and sort of meditate on the changes you're making. There's also a great new community space because I think habits are something best done with others. It's really awesome. We're going to start it on July 21st, so I'd love to see you in there. We're offering a group discount if you enroll with some of your friends. And it's going to be awesome. I don't want you to think about the year as over. I don't want you to think about the person you want to become as being something out of reach.
Just get after it. And you can sign up right now for the Daily Stoic Habits for Success Habits for Happiness Challenge. and get back on track to being that person you want to be. That's what it's all about. You can sign up right now at dailystoic.com slash habits.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
How does the episode introduce Stoic virtues and the problem of lost habits?
0:00–4:13
2
What practical Stoic advice explains how to rebuild habits and momentum?
4:13–4:47
3
What is the Daily Stoic ‘Habits for Success, Habits for Happiness’ challenge and how can listeners join?
4:47–8:14
4
How do sponsors and ads (Wealthfront, Whatnot) fit into the episode’s structure?
8:14–13:18
5
Who is AJ Jacobs’ guest and what is the format of the Stoic quiz segment?
13:18–16:16
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The Daily Stoic
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What It Means to Be on That Hill | Seth Wickersham