Self-Deception Is Our Enemy

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

This is about ego. Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday is a fantastic book that I recently read. Reading the book helped me turn the corner on some of the feelings I was having. I realized that I was allowing my own ego to get not only in the way of my career, but also my happiness. It was driving me towards worry, anxiety, and outrage. I didn’t like that path and I’ve adjusted since then. Dealing with the ego is a daily practice. I still have quite a bit of ego I’m working through and can sometimes slip back into my old ways. Overall, I’m sleeping better and handling frustrating things at work much better. A lot of that is due to not letting my ego drive my thoughts.

Daily Stoic(s)

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Yesterday - Seeing Things As The Person At Fault Does

This is something important for me to remember as I continue to learn how to navigate work. I’m picking up on a lot of different things that can at times feel like wrongs. Which in turn tends to frustrate me. I think viewing it from the other side could have an impact in how I frame and think about things. Thus reducing the frustrating from those events.

Today - One Day It Will All Make Sense

This is another one for dealing with frustration at work. I’ve had a lot of frustration lately. I’m using it as an opportunity to practice not letting things bother me. The commentary on today’s stoic is eerily similar to something three different executives in security told me last year. Let the process work itself out. I had a hard time with this because I’m “a man of action.” And action not occurring drove me to stress, frustration, and self pity. This led to sleepless nights and lots of alcohol.

I’m adjusting and I know I’m adjusting. I will take lessons from these frustrations. I’m trying to reframe them as opportunities to grow as a person. In fact now that I think about it, I’ve had frustrations like these at other jobs. It’s amazing how quickly we forgot previous opportunities and how those led to the position I’m in (which is not all bad).

Living Without Restrictions

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Famous people have their own prison. They’re not allowed to be themselves. In fact Jason Momoa was body shamed for being at the less than ideal shape while in between movies. He looked better than I probably ever will at the beach. Just because people are rich doesn’t mean they don’t have their own problems. I wonder about this a lot having now been a manager for a year. There’s a lot of political waters to navigate. Often times I have to put on a smile when someone does something that is less than ideal (putting it politically).

I’ve told my boss that if I were to be promoted again we’d have to have a conversation about it. My career goal was to become a manager. I am working towards the best manager I can for my people. I don’t have aspirations to advance above where I’m at because I see what my boss has to deal with and I get a sense of what my boss’ boss has to deal with. I don’t know if I want any of that. I have enough frustrations in life. We’ll see what the future holds.

FInd Yourself A Cato

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Cato the Younger was a Roman politician. He is not remembered for what he wrote down, because he didn’t write anything down. His philosophical teachings lived in the minds of the people he touched. I think of role models. I’ve listed mine before as some guiding factor in my life. The concept is their actions and word leave an impact. What I hadn’t thought about trying was using those role models as a view point to get feedback on my choices in life. A similar concept is, “What would Jesus do?”

Daily Stoic(s)

I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

Yesterday - Don’t Unintentional Hand Over Your Freedom

I remember when I decided to start cutting back on social media. I was riding in a car with the wife to some family function. I had my phone out and was scrolling mindlessly through Twitter to get caught up on all the things happening on my feed. I did this regularly riding in the car or when I was bored or when I wanted to distract myself from other things. That car ride I got a headache. Somehow I knew it was from the time I was spending on my phone browsing social media, constantly checking email, or playing a game. Right then I decided I needed to change.

I started by removing the social media apps from my phone. I could still check it on a computer but that required me to actually be at a computer. That was several years ago. I check Twitter once or twice a day. I go through my email once a week with an occasional check during the week if I’m waiting on something important. I don’t get headaches anymore and I really haven’t missed out much on life. I’m coming to terms with being bored is okay and is a break in itself.

Today - Find the Right Scene

You are the average of the five people you spend time with. They will be the ones to push you or pull you down to their level. I’ve often though about this quote. I believe it to be true. A lot of things I’ve been reading recently have said that we need to push ourselves. What if you’re happy where you’re at and the people you hang out with. I feel like I have good friends that I enjoy spending time with. I usually gravitate to people who will go out of there way for other people.