The Truth About Money

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

This stoic is about how money doesn’t really solve problems like we think it will. This is something I’ve grasped for a while. People who win the lotter often don’t have all their problems solved. Sure their cars, houses, and other items are no issue anymore, but now they’ve got new problems. They have friends and non-friends asking for money. They need an accountant. They need a place to store it. They have to watch how they spend it, because they’ve never had this kind of money before.

I’ve lived a life where we had financial strain. I don’t have those problems anymore and there are things I’d love to buy, but I’m happy with where we’re at. In fact the lack of money actually gave me a drive to do more in the community so I could get my name out there and open new opportunities. Some of that community commitment has gone away now that I’m in a much better place and can focus on enjoying time with the family more.

Daily Stoic(s)

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

Yesterday - A Morning Ritual

I’ve been wondering if I should start having a morning ritual. I don’t get up at the same time each day. Monday’s I try to get up at 5:30 a.m. to start the week and beat the traffic (this morning I got up at 7:20 a.m.). Tuesday’s I get up whenever because it’s my work from home day. Wednesday and Thursday back to 5:30 a.m. Friday whenever because traffic should be lighter. Saturday and Sunday are whenever. I don’t think I need to get up at a certain time every morning, but maybe I should have some ritual.

In this case it’s saying I should have a daily morning ritual. Maybe that’s meditation. Maybe that’s blogging. Maybe it’s the questions about what I’m doing for the day. It’s something I’d like to start, I’m just not sure what fits my schedule or maybe I should change my schedule.

Today - A Day In Review

I find it coincidental that the day in review stoic would follow the morning ritual. I’m positive it’s intentional. The stoic does say this can be done in either the evening or morning. This is possibly what I should be doing as a morning ritual. I wonder if dreams would be something to recall and jot down. I feel like dreams can be rather enlightening. When I have them.

Maybe the daily stoic becomes my ritual.

Reignite Your Thoughts

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

This stoic builds on the one from yesterday, “Wherever You go , There Your Choice Is.” I talked about having a crap start to the week and then it got better. This stoic says exactly that. We all have bad days, weeks, and months. We can choose via our thoughts how we handle them. We can learn to let go in five minutes. I imagine it takes quite a bit of practice to get to five minutes. That’s the journey though and something that will take a lot of effort. My hope is that as I continue these stoics you’ll see less bunched posts. That will be one sign that I’m letting go easier.

Daily Stoic(s)

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

Wednesday - Reboot The Real Work

I’ve read this stoic twice and I don’t think I’ve quite grasped the idea. I thought it was about failure, but it seems like it’s about completing the work. Just begin and keep at it and the rest will follow. Or maybe it’s talking about just start the work and make adjustments along the way. Just because it might fail or be the wrong path doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work towards that goal or future.

Thursday - See The World Like A Poet And An Artist

Stop and smell the roses come to mind. We should look and appreciate the overlooked things in life. For me I like to take time to meditate in the shower. With a family it often is the only quiet place I have. Plus there’s something soothing about feeling and hearing running water. I don’t sit straight up when I meditate in the shower. Instead I often look down at the running water and watch the changing patters as water falls to the floor and run down the drain. I’ll often get lost in thought (which I think meditation) and allow my brain to process thoughts and events from the day.

Today - Wherever You Go, There Your Choice Is

This is another stoic about choice. I find the line, “in just a few days we might be doing so well that success is actually a burden.” This has happened to me with me being promoted. My hard work and enjoyment of that work has led me to into a position that is filled with much more frustration. We have a choice in how we respond. It won’t all be good.

Earlier in the week I was feeling down. Not really engaged. Later in the week I started feeling more engaged. I wasn’t really able to explain the down, other than work was frustrating. I think I was making a choice though. The choice was to allow all past frustrations to build up. Later in the week those things didn’t matter as much. Stepping back I appreciate those down times because it allows me an opportunity to exert a choice on my thoughts and how I should feel about things.

Never Do Anything Out Of Habit

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

I thought I was going to hate this one, because I’m trying to create some new habits to get rid of old ones. This is essentially what the stoic of today is. Break out of bad habits that make us mindless and uninspiring. The example used is, “Because that’s the way we’ve always done things.” Which if you work in security, I’m sure you’ve heard. My response is usually that it’s not the way forward.

That’s not to say that we become inspired monks. Rather we should know why we’re doing what we’re doing and for the right reasons. For me, I seem to be in a rut that started yesterday. I’m trying to figure it out. A glass of whiskey and some Letterkenny sounds good right now to try and distract myself and relax a bit. Is that a good enough reason? I don’t know. I’ll find out.