I hated reading as a child, it wasn’t until my late 30’s when a friend handed me a copy of Geoffrey Archer’s ‘Kane and Abel’ that I really began to enjoy what is now a significant part of how I spend my leisure time.
So I was stoked this Xmas when I received a Booktopia gift voucher and with it purchased 4 books, one of which was a copy of ‘The Daily Stoic – 366 Mediatations on Wisdom, Perseverance and the Art of Living’.
For those who don’t know, (I didn’t) Stoicism is a kind of philosophy, a tool for use in the persuit of self mastery, perseverance and wisdom. Something we can draw upon to live a better life.
‘The Daily Stoic’ contains a selection of original translations of the greatest passages from the three major figures of late Stoicism – Senaca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. It’s a page-a-day guide to living a good life, offering inspirational daily doses of classic wisdom.
For Sunday February 12th there’s a piece entitled ‘Protect Your Peace Of Mind’ which I’ll quote verbatum below:
“Keep constant guard over your perceptions, for it is no small thing you are protecting, but your respect, trustworthiness and steadiness, peace of mind, freedom from pain and fear, in a word your freedom. For what would you sell these things?”
-Epictetus, Discources, 4.3.6b-8
The authors of the book – Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman then go on to add material to provoke and faciltate the reader to ask of themselves a number of questions:
“The dysfunctional job that stresses you out, a contentious relationship, life in the spotlight. Stoicism, because it helps us manage and think through our emotional reactions, can make these types of situation easier to bear. It can help you manage and mitigate the triggers that seem to be so constantly tripped.
But there’s a question: why are you subjecting yourself to this? Is this really the environment you were made for? To be provoked by nasty emails and an endless parade of workplace problems? Our adrenal glands can only handle so much before they become exhausted. Shouldn’t you preserve them for life-and-death situations?
So yes, use Stoicism to manage these difficulties. But don’t forget to ask: Is this really the life I want? Every time you get upset, a little bit of life leaves the body. Are these really the things on which you want to spend that priceless resource? Don’t be afraid to make a change – a big one.”
In 2010 I found myself eight years into a job I really didn’t enjoy. Living in Sydney, making a good living but using my passion (triathlon) as an escape, a way to fill the void that my unfulfilling work left.
The death of a close friend became the catalyst for me to walk away from that situation, put two bikes on the roof of my car and literally drive around Australia. Within a year I’d relocated to the Sunshine Coast and shortly thereafter started Custom Bike Fit – a passion project. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made.
So why do I tell this story – to make the point that we all have the opportunity to change what we’re not happy with, to turn things around and be the best we can be.
One of my first bike fit clients went from bankruptcy and losing everything to building one of the largest and most successful businesses in his feild.
A part time cycling coach I was introduced to six months ago turned a $30k a year hobby into a $500k full time business in less than 3 years.
And a dear friend of mine, Andrea Gallagher, walked away from her six figure salary at Suncorp 18 months ago to follow her dream of becoming a published author. Her 2nd book ‘Mega Rad Grandads’ is available for pre order here
Andrea writes far more eloquently than I’ll ever be able to. Eight months ago she penned a blog post entitled “If Life Were A Library” it’s congruent with the themes running through this post so I’ll leave the last words for Andrea: