Daily Stoic(s) - Vacation Edition

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

March 14 - The Straight Jacketed Soul

Greed played a role in the tech industry and bubble burst in the early 2000s. We’re not meant to look at their failures. Instead we should look to our own greed. I feel like one of my internal greeds is my own personal time.

March 15 - There is Philosophy in Everything

Live your life. This is where philosophy gains understanding. We experience and practice philosophy by doing things in life.

I’ve thought about this as I’ve studied Buddhism. It’s a path to enlightenment. The typical picture is a monk in robes. Do I need to go to that extreme to gain fulfillment in life? I don’t think so. I can still enjoy the things I enjoy in life. I just use philosophy and the teachings of Buddhism to live the most fulfilled life.

March 16 - Wealth and Freedom are Free

Focus on the freedom you have. You’ll live a much wealthier life. I hate to use thing (because I’m sick of talking about it). The corona virus is a good example of trying to live virus free.

I have taken the approach of what happens will happen. I don’t want to be caged by something that has a slim chance of killing me. Despite that my freedom will be restricted by the response. I won’t be able to go to work, or go out to eat, or even get toilet paper. Instead I’ll enjoy the freedom of being home with my kids and the opportunity to spend time with them.

March 17 - What Rules Your Ruling Reason

Explore the inner workings of how I make decisions. The example they give is making poor decisions on an empty stomach. We can be patient and rational, however outside forces can influence us to poor decisions.

I’ve been doing this a lot with the corona virus. I am upset by the response. Which for me is an opportunity to practice stoicism and Buddhism. My response is to ignore it and adjust as necessary. That hasn’t been easy with everyone talking about it.

I have friends more worried about their jobs than getting the virus. It boiled up and I decided to go run to burn off some of that frustration. Then I decided to come back and do this stoic. It will help me with further improving myself and deal with the frustrations of the world.

March 18 - Pay What Things Are Worth

The good things cost what they cost. The unnecessary are not worth the price. What I struggle with is who determines the value? If something brings you value doesn’t that make it a good thing? I pay quite a bit more for a computer than most people. It’s what I enjoy doing, play video games and projects that require a computer. Other things I could care less about.

March 19 - Cowardice as a Design Problem

Have a plan is the message for today’s stoic. I think having a plan is good. I don’t necessarily like it rule my world though. I’ve struggled with my career lately. I’ve hit my goals for my career and now feel uninspired or motivated. I probably need to come up with some plan.

Yesterday - Why Do You Need To Impress These People Again?

Trying to impress others is a faulty activity. In school I was picked on. My mom felt sorry for me and bought me some clothes to help fit in a little more. That helped as people stopped picking on me about what I was wearing. That’s also around when my grades started slipping. I was more concerned with fitting in than working to educate myself.

I exited high school with a 2.7 GPA. After six years in the Navy (wear clothes matter in a different way), I wasn’t as worried about fitting in and more just starting to build my career. I eventually graduated college with a 3.7 GPA. I still struggle with trying to impress people, this is mainly at work. I’ll need to re-evaluate that.

Today - Reason In All Things

Reasons are what we’re ruled by. They can be affected by external factors. If we don’t take into account those external factors we can make regrettable decisions. I’m starting to get better at discovering and understanding reasons and I still screw up. I just had one a few days ago where I got upset after a card game with friends.

My wife decided to do something that annoyed me. It’s because it’s my wife that it annoyed me more than if someone else does it (a friend has done the same thing before and I handled it better). I actually tried to step away from it and take a breath. My thoughts further enraged me. I recognized it the next day in a much calmer state to try and understand the reasons for the choices I made.

Daily Stoic(s)

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

Wednesday - Ready and at Home

Reading this on Wednesday may have calmed me down more than the whiskey did. We’ve had to adjust plans due to the coronavirus concerns. It started Wednesday I had some arrangements fall through and got some grief from the backup plan. The stoic today talks about realizing that hardship and difficulty will come and that when it comes we need to be in the right frame of mind. The next morning plans changed again. The group as a whole adjusted in a logical manner and it was quite impressive.

Yesterday - The Best Retreat is in Here, Not Out There

We can us our own mind and body to get a retreat. We don’t need to wait for the weekend or the next vacation. It’s something I need to start practicing more. I can let things bother me and react on those emotions. Taking a step back is going to take practice.

Today - The Sign of True Education

We can only control our choices and our thoughts. This is a key concept I’m learning as I do these daily stoics and other Buddhist readings. I’ve thought about this in terms of the coronavirus. We can’t control it and yet people are out there trying very hard to control it. We get to choose how we respond to it. Some people are taking some very extreme measures. I have adjusted by upping the hygiene game. I wash my hands a little bit more. I’ve become aware how often I’m touching my face and avoid doing it when I’ve been out.

I can’t control getting infected. Someone with it could sneeze on me or leave a trace of the virus on a surface I then touch. If I were to get it then I take the precautions I need to try and not get the rest of the family infected and get myself better.

Timeless Wisdom

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

“…love what is happening around us.”

I’m trying to get to this place. It seems very counter to what I do. What’s made me successful. I feel this is the path forward, though, and I’m striving towards us. What irritates us is on us. We have our own dialogue. I’m working to reframe and counter a lot of the things that are irritating me at work. The question I have is if this make me less effective as an employee. I guess we’ll find out.

Impossible Without Your Consent

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

Stress and frustration from external sources is impossible. The stress and frustration we feel is internal. This is something I’ve been working on a lot recently, specifically at work. I feel a little lost. I’m doing my work and it’s not all that inspiring. I feel like in the past I’ve had all this energy and excitement for work. That seems to have faded over the last year. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m doing something different or if I’m bored. I’ve never been at a job longer than four years. I am quickly approaching that mark at my current place and I’m not even looking.

I think some of it is a little bit of everything. I’m bored with what I’m doing. I’m also learning how to be a manager and that requires letting go a lot of the work I used to do. I don’t have time for it and the work I was doing aught to be passed off to the people that work for me so they can advance their career. It can feel a bit overwhelming, but again that’s my internal dialogue. Work has always been overwhelming. Even my first job as a bagger at the grocery store.

Saturday’s are the days you wanted to work. That’s when most people went shopping and we got the most tips. We only worked for tips. The worst weekend was reserve weekend. The amount of people that came in doubled. The problem was that the reservists lived civilian lives and didn’t tip baggers and their local grocery store. Tipping would also require cutting into their savings from the at cost items they bought (and they bought a lot of them). Either day was usually filled with a lot of chaos. Maybe that’s where I thrive though is chaos and things seem to have stabilized a bit for me. Either way I have to change my own thinking, because I don’t think looking for a new job is the answer.

Daily Stoic(s)

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

Friday - The Present Is All We Possess

I’m starting to live in the present moment more. For so long I have looked back and wanted more out of my past. I’ve looked ahead to the future and it often ends in worry. Looking back or forward doesn’t really do a lot of good. Which is why I want to live more in the present and enjoy the moment.

Yesterday - That Sacred Part of You

Be happy with my ability to have the capacity for understanding. I think that goes along with the live in the moment. We take for granted so many things we have and accomplished.

Today - The Beauty of Choice

We are not define by how we appears. Instead we’re defined by our effort, activity, and choices. Make good choices and you will be beautiful. Weight is a good example of this. I’ve been working out since 2014 when I realized that I had gained way more weight than I ever wanted. Six years later I’m healthy and active. What I’m not happy with is how I look in the minor. I’ve gotten some muscles and my skin is tightening in certain areas. I still have those love handles though. I’ve actually been obsessing over my weight the last several weeks. I’ve gone up since the fall. Most of that is due to the winter pounds we all gain.

I’ve tried adjusting the diet and continue to work out 4 to 5 days a week. I’ve plateaued and I feel like being another year older my metabolism is slowing down even more. Diet is the biggest thing. I’m eating a lot of the good stuff. I meal prep using fresh vegetables from the farmers market. The biggest contributor right now is alcohol. I’m continuing to work on that as well and have made some strides. This many words shows that I am absolutely into my own physical image. Maybe I need to be okay with where I am at and continue to improve.