The Cost of Accepting Counterfeits

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

Question all the things! I’m actually pretty good at this already. Well for external things. I don’t necessarily do this well internally. I often go with the flow, which has its benefits. Other times it has its detractors. Alcohol is a good example. I’ll usually just go with the flow and have a drink if I feel like having one. The problem with that is that I’ve started having them more and more over the last several years. I’m not even questioning why. I’m usually making excuses for why I should. This is the biggest thing I’m working on right now. Becoming more mindful about my urges and asking the questions. The problem I have is that I don’t understand why I am asking it and eventually get so fed up with the analytics of it that I go for it because I just want to shut it off. It is quite tiring.

Expect to Change Your Opinions

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

We’re not as smart or wise as we think we are. I have to fight my own biases. I often play out scenarios in my head or plan for things to go smoothly and they often don’t. There is and always will be chaos in a plan. This is a military expectation, nothing goes according to plan. The D-Day landing of Normandy had lots and lots of missteps, yet it still succeeded because the proper preparation and training was put in place to succeed.

I got my first job as a bagger at base commissary. Talk about Chaos. You never knew what was coming down the belt to be bagged and you had to be ready to adjust quickly. We only worked on tips and you never knew who was going to give you five bucks for one bag or 50 cents for two shopping carts full of groceries. I learned very quickly how to operate in this environment and I think it’s helped me throughout my career.

Today, I get frustrated when things don’t go as planned. I think a lot of that is ego and I’m starting to recognize and adjust my way of thinking. I have my guys running with a lot of projects now and I see my role as guiding them through some of the potential pitfalls and explaining why they might be pitfalls.

Prepare Yourself for Negativity

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

There is a lot of negativity in the world and we should prepare for it. I feel like I sometimes get caught off guard by negativity. I then respond in a not so ideal way. If I prepare for it I will be better able to handle it with patience, forgiveness, and understanding. I remember a scenario last year where one of the guys working for me was frustrated by someone they were working with. He ran into them at some point and asked if everything was okay. The person’s dog had recently passed and he wasn’t handling it well. I try to remember that when I’m driving and I’m cut off or someone is clearly in a hurry behind me. I love the stoic for today and I think I’ll write it down so I can read it every morning.

“When you first rise in the morning tell yourself: I will encounter busybodies, ingrates, egomaniacs, liars, the jealous and cranks. They are all stricken with these afflictions because they don’t know the difference between good and evil. Because I have understood the beauty of good and the ugliness of evil, I know that these wrong-doers are still akin to me…and that none can do me harm, or implicate me in ugliness-nor can I be angry at my relatives or hate them. For we are made for cooperation.”

- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.1

Trust, but verify

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

We think at lightening speed. That can be beneficial and that can harm us. I’ve had a couple nights of going to bed late. I’ve felt a strong urges to say screw it and keep doing what I was doing, instead of going to bed. I’m trying to understand those feelings and I don’t think I’m taking the time to verify those thoughts. I have more and more been paying attention to my urges to do this or that. I ask myself why and often come up empty on an explanation. Am I stressed out? Was there something earlier in the day that led me to this point and time and decision. I am starting to make better decisions. I just don’t have all the answers.

Don't Let This Go To Your Head

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

We should not let success change us. I feel like success has change me, only for the good. I’m not a dick to people, I’ve tried to stay the same person and recognize that I have to change for my own sanity. That’s why I’ve started down this path of stoicism. Self-improvement. Learning not to let things bother me or overwhelm me. I feel like I’m doing a good job of it. I’m sleeping better. Yet, I still have moments were I struggle. A lot of those instances are self induced. I am making progress, it’s just that I am essentially rewriting the coding in my brain.

I think the general idea is that I don’t devolve into a lesser self. Success often requires change though. Being an successful analyst and moving into management is a big change in mindset and approach. Moving up from there also requires a different way of thinking. So, success does change people. It has to or we die early from heart attacks, drugs, alcohol, or any number of things. And maybe I’m not changing, maybe I’m doing what I’ve always done. Work on myself and try to be the best person I can be. Work on my shortcomings and improve. I think there’s some ego involve and I’m chipping away at it piece by piece.