I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.
Tuesday - The Grand Parade of Desire
Is it really worth it to indulge in our cravings. I’m often struggling with my cravings for alcohol and video games. On the one hand an over indulgence can lead to some negative outcomes. Drinking too much results in a hangover and too much video games results in lost productivity. Should I be not indulging in them at all? I enjoy both especially in social settings. I’m working on finding the right indulgence level, but I feel like I’m not supposed to be indulging at all.
Wednesday - Wish Not, Want Not
Today is about goals. Goals are a good thing. In this stoic they can also be a bad thing. Wanting little has much lesser ramifications than pining for something we don’t have. At a certain level I get that. I feel like at some level we have to want something and strive for that. It’s what gives us a purpose. I’ve struggled with purpose for the last year. I thought I was okay with what I had. I didn’t want a whole lot more career wise or things wise, yet I still fell into a bad place with an over indulgence in thing. Wanting to get more out of your career and providing opportunities for my family seem to give me direction. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being very punchy today.
Yesterday - What’s Better Left Unsaid
These is a hard one to understand. I think the message is to be thoughtful in our responses. We don’t need to be emotional and pandering to our ego when we speak. Ego is something I’ve become a lot more aware of lately. Ego has a certain confidence quality. Unfortunately, too much of it can lead to negativity and a feeling of deserving. It’s easy to put too much into my ego. I believe, ultimately, that this stoic is about taking a moment to be mindful and thougthful when we speak.
Today - Circumstance Have No Care For Our Feelings
Love the last two lines:
“So stop acting like getting worked up is having an impact on a given situation. Situations don’t care at all.”
One of my faults is that I let myself get worked over things not being done properly. In my view and the longer I’m at a company I start to see all the (in my mind) inefficient processes. I have a tendency to get very mad at them and bitch and complain. I feel like I am the rally organizer railing against the injustices of the world and by doing so making an impact. I’m find more and more that’s not the case and if I keep down this path I will end up dead before 50.
A good example of this is the loss of one of the ping pong tables at work. It was removed due to some frustrations by others whom had a problem with people using it. I was pissed. I didn’t appreciate the situation and how it went down. I didn’t like that it changed my view a little bit about the company and how it handles the culture. Don’t get me wrong it’s still the best company I’ve worked at. I’m a little upset that the company that prides itself on culture is encouraging the removal of things. I think of how I can bring it up in conversation with the people higher up.
It doesn’t matter though. We still have another table that isn’t going anywhere. Anger and rage won’t bring the other people back. Wishing bad things for the people who had it removed isn’t helpful either. All I can do is voice my opinion in a future company survey and move on. I think I’ll live longer that way.