# Discussion of Overcoming Adversity with Stoicism - Insights from Meditations

An episode of [The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1597045207), 25 Nov 2024, 8:35.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/62504039/discussion_of_overcoming_adversity_with_stoicism_insights_from_meditations.mp3

Listen ad free at: https://www.solgoodmedia.com - Check out our Streaming Service for our full collection of sounds, hundreds of audiobooks, thousands of short stories, and original podcasts - all ad-free!! This episode includes AI-generated content.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Okay, So you know how we were talking about finding
[0:03] Speaker 1: ways to handle like all the tough stuff life throws
[0:06] Speaker 1: at you. Well get this today we are going straight
[0:10] Speaker 1: to the source. We're talking about Marcus Aurelius and his
[0:13] Speaker 1: own writings meditations.
[0:15] Speaker 2: Yeah, meditations.
[0:17] Speaker 1: This guy, right, he was the emperor of Rome. Can
[0:19] Speaker 1: you imagine.
[0:19] Speaker 2: Leading an empire talk about.
[0:21] Speaker 1: Pressure seriously, wars, betrayals. It was like his daily grind.
[0:26] Speaker 1: But here's the thing. He found peace through this whole
[0:29] Speaker 1: philosophy called Stoicism.
[0:31] Speaker 2: It's remarkable, isn't it How his insights are still so
[0:34] Speaker 2: relevant even after all these centuries.
[0:36] Speaker 1: Absolutely, so, we're going to try to extract some of
[0:38] Speaker 1: his best strategies, the stuff he wrote about in meditations,
[0:41] Speaker 1: and see how they apply to like our modern lives
[0:44] Speaker 1: and the challenges we face.
[0:45] Speaker 2: Sounds like a plan.
[0:46] Speaker 1: So one of the biggest things that Aurelis talks about
[0:48] Speaker 1: is how it's not actually the events themselves, you know,
[0:51] Speaker 1: the stuff that happens to us that throws us off.
[0:53] Speaker 1: It's how we choose to see them, how we perceive
[0:55] Speaker 1: those events.
[0:56] Speaker 2: That's the essence of stoicism right there. It's this idea
[0:59] Speaker 2: that we have so much more power than we realize
[1:02] Speaker 2: over our perceptions. And really it wasn't just like preaching this.
[1:06] Speaker 2: He really lived it. He'd get bad news and instead
[1:09] Speaker 2: of freaking out, he'd pause and be like, hold on,
[1:12] Speaker 2: is this really a catastrophe or is it just an inconvenience?
[1:15] Speaker 1: Wow.
[1:15] Speaker 2: It's about taking that beat to reframe the situation.
[1:18] Speaker 1: Yeah. And I think there's even a quote from Meditations
[1:20] Speaker 1: about this, something like the impediment to action advances action.
[1:24] Speaker 1: What stands in the way becomes the way exactly. I
[1:28] Speaker 1: mean at first it's kind of like what But when
[1:30] Speaker 1: you think about it, so it's like, instead of getting
[1:32] Speaker 1: completely blocked by a challenge, you kind of have to
[1:34] Speaker 1: shift your perspective and see it as I don't know,
[1:36] Speaker 1: maybe an opportunity to problem solve, to find a new
[1:39] Speaker 1: path forward.
[1:40] Speaker 2: Precisely. How do you think that applies to, say, a
[1:44] Speaker 2: current challenge you're facing.
[1:45] Speaker 1: Oh, that's a good one. I think for me, it's
[1:50] Speaker 1: so easy to get caught up in how I wish
[1:52] Speaker 1: things were, you know, instead of just sort of accepting
[1:54] Speaker 1: and adapting to how things actually are in this moment.
[1:57] Speaker 2: It's about moving from that why is this happening to me?
[2:00] Speaker 2: To what can I learn from this?
[2:03] Speaker 1: Totally? But okay, changing our perception is like step one.
[2:06] Speaker 1: But Areli this also talks about this other thing, finding
[2:10] Speaker 1: peace by focusing on what you can control, especially when
[2:14] Speaker 1: everything feels chaotic.
[2:15] Speaker 2: Right. He called those the controllables and the uncontrollables. It's
[2:18] Speaker 2: like imagine a ven diagram.
[2:19] Speaker 1: Okay, I'm picturing it.
[2:21] Speaker 2: In one circle, you have your own thoughts, actions, reactions.
[2:24] Speaker 2: This is your circle of control.
[2:26] Speaker 1: Gotcha.
[2:26] Speaker 2: The other circle, it's way bigger. That's all the stuff
[2:29] Speaker 2: you can't control, whether people's opinions, you name it. Where
[2:33] Speaker 2: do you think most people spend their energy?
[2:35] Speaker 1: Oh? Definitely on the stuff they can't control. It's so
[2:37] Speaker 1: easy to get caught up in those things. I'm guilty
[2:40] Speaker 1: of it too. But hold on. If we're only focusing
[2:43] Speaker 1: on what we can control, isn't that kind of like
[2:46] Speaker 1: burying our heads in the sand. How does that actually
[2:48] Speaker 1: work in a practical way.
[2:50] Speaker 2: It's not about ignoring problems or pretending they don't exist.
[2:53] Speaker 2: It's more about like choosing your battles, you know. It's
[2:57] Speaker 2: about saying, Okay, I can't control this external thing, but
[3:00] Speaker 2: I can control how I respond. I can control my
[3:03] Speaker 2: own actions. It's about taking ownership.
[3:06] Speaker 1: I see what you mean. It's about choosing where you focus, right,
[3:08] Speaker 1: instead of getting swept away by all that outside.
[3:10] Speaker 2: Noise exactly, And that actually leads us to another really
[3:14] Speaker 2: key stoic idea. Are you ready for this?
[3:16] Speaker 1: Hit me with it?
[3:17] Speaker 2: Okay? So really is he was all about embracing impermanence.
[3:21] Speaker 2: Impermanence huh yeah, like the fact that everything changes, nothing
[3:24] Speaker 2: stays the same.
[3:25] Speaker 1: Okay.
[3:25] Speaker 2: He'd constantly remind himself, like empires crumble. You know, people change,
[3:29] Speaker 2: It's just the way it is.
[3:30] Speaker 1: I gotta admit when I first read that, I was
[3:32] Speaker 1: kind of like, whoa, that's a little gloomy, don't you think? Yeah,
[3:36] Speaker 1: it can seem that way, right, Like, how can embracing
[3:39] Speaker 1: the fact that everything is temporary be a good thing?
[3:42] Speaker 1: Help me out here?
[3:43] Speaker 2: Well, think about it this way. When you really internalize
[3:46] Speaker 2: that idea that everything changes, the good and the bad,
[3:50] Speaker 2: you become less attached to specific outcomes. You know, that
[3:53] Speaker 2: fear of failure, it lessens because even failure is temporary.
[3:57] Speaker 2: You start to find this like incredible sense of peace
[4:00] Speaker 2: in the present moment because you realize that this too
[4:02] Speaker 2: shall pass.
[4:03] Speaker 1: You know, It's funny because when you look back at
[4:05] Speaker 1: stuff from your past, stuff that felt huge ee at
[4:08] Speaker 1: the time, oh totally, like I don't know, maybe losing
[4:10] Speaker 1: a job or a relationship ending big moments. Yeah they
[4:14] Speaker 1: were huge, but now in the grand scheme of things,
[4:17] Speaker 1: they don't seem quite as heavy, you know exactly.
[4:19] Speaker 2: And you know that kind of ties into something else
[4:21] Speaker 2: about the Stoics. They didn't just like endure hardship. They
[4:25] Speaker 2: saw it as training training. Man, Yeah, like a workout
[4:27] Speaker 2: for the soul. A really is even compared life to wrestling,
[4:31] Speaker 2: not dancing.
[4:32] Speaker 1: Ooh interesting, he said.
[4:34] Speaker 2: The main thing is to stand firm and be ready
[4:37] Speaker 2: for an unforeseen attack.
[4:38] Speaker 1: So it's not about like making everything look graceful and effortless.
[4:43] Speaker 1: It's about building up that resilience ability to take the
[4:45] Speaker 1: hits and get back up like that.
[4:48] Speaker 2: It's about facing challenges head on, knowing every obstacle, every setback.
[4:52] Speaker 2: It's a chance to practice courage, patience, wisdom, all that
[4:58] Speaker 2: good stuff.
[4:58] Speaker 1: It's like your own personal training monto, but for your mind. Okay,
[5:02] Speaker 1: but let's talk about meditations for a second. I mean
[5:04] Speaker 1: this was Aurelius's personal journal, right right, makes it even
[5:08] Speaker 1: more powerful that these insights came from his own like
[5:11] Speaker 1: personal reflections. So if an emperor dealing with the weight
[5:15] Speaker 1: of an empire found solace in writing things down, maybe
[5:18] Speaker 1: we all should give it.
[5:19] Speaker 2: A try one hundred percent. And it doesn't have to
[5:21] Speaker 2: be this like super elaborate thing. Even just a quick
[5:25] Speaker 2: note on your phone at the end of the day.
[5:27] Speaker 2: It can be a form of journaling.
[5:29] Speaker 1: Yeah, totally, just jotting down your thoughts.
[5:32] Speaker 2: Exactly what challenged you, how you reacted, what you learned.
[5:36] Speaker 2: Even those small moments of reflection can be huge over time.
[5:39] Speaker 1: It's all about building that self awareness, right, like having
[5:42] Speaker 1: that internal compass that Aurelias seemed to rely on so heavily,
[5:46] Speaker 1: especially now when it's easy to get you know, swept
[5:48] Speaker 1: up in the chaos of everything. Oh, for sure, journaling
[5:51] Speaker 1: can be that thing that brings us back to ourselves.
[5:54] Speaker 2: It's about having a space to you know, process your thoughts,
[5:57] Speaker 2: your emotions, reconnect with your values, remind yourself of what
[6:02] Speaker 2: truly matters.
[6:03] Speaker 1: It's like we have this direct line to ancient wisdom,
[6:06] Speaker 1: right Like Aurelius is right here saying, hey, you know,
[6:09] Speaker 1: I've dealt with some stuff and this journaling thing. It
[6:11] Speaker 1: actually helps.
[6:13] Speaker 2: I love that, And you know, it's so great about
[6:15] Speaker 2: stoicism at its core. It's about taking these big, kind
[6:19] Speaker 2: of intimidating philosophical ideas and making them actually doable.
[6:24] Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not just about thinking about it, it's about
[6:26] Speaker 1: actually applying it exactly. Okay, So give me an example.
[6:29] Speaker 1: Let's say I'm having one of those days, you know,
[6:31] Speaker 1: where everything's going wrong. Traffic's a nightmare. I spilled my
[6:34] Speaker 1: coffee the whole nine yards. What would Marcus Aurelius do?
[6:38] Speaker 2: Okay, First, he'd probably remind you that you've hit traffic before,
[6:42] Speaker 2: you've even spilled coffee before. And guess what, the world
[6:46] Speaker 2: didn't end true?
[6:47] Speaker 1: True?
[6:48] Speaker 2: Is that stoic principle of impermanence in action? Right? Yeah,
[6:51] Speaker 2: And then he'd probably say, okay, but what can you
[6:54] Speaker 2: control in this situation. You can't change the traffic, but
[6:58] Speaker 2: you can choose how you react to it. Right, You
[7:00] Speaker 2: take a few deep breaths, listen to your favorite song,
[7:02] Speaker 2: use that extra time to mentally prepare for your day.
[7:05] Speaker 2: Find those little moments of control within the chaos.
[7:08] Speaker 1: You know, it's funny because it's like that saying, right,
[7:10] Speaker 1: you can't always control what happens to you, but you
[7:12] Speaker 1: can control how you react to it. But hearing it
[7:15] Speaker 1: in the context of like Marks Aurelius in his life,
[7:18] Speaker 1: it just hits different.
[7:19] Speaker 2: It's because he lived it, yeah, and not with just
[7:22] Speaker 2: like minor inconveniences, but real challenges, immense pressure, and he's
[7:27] Speaker 2: still found a way to navigate it all with purpose,
[7:30] Speaker 2: even grace. That's the power of this stuff so inspiring.
[7:34] Speaker 1: So as we wrap up our deep dive into Marcus
[7:35] Speaker 1: Aurelius and Stoicism, what's like the one thing you hope
[7:38] Speaker 1: our listeners take away from this?
[7:40] Speaker 2: I hope it's a sense of possibility that no matter
[7:43] Speaker 2: what they're facing in their lives, there's a different way
[7:45] Speaker 2: to approach it, a way that really taps into their
[7:48] Speaker 2: inner strength, their ability to choose their response. It's like, remember, stoicism,
[7:53] Speaker 2: it's a framework. It's for this crazy thing we call
[7:56] Speaker 2: life spilled coffee and all.
[7:57] Speaker 1: I love that. It's like Aurelius is handing us the
[8:00] Speaker 1: toolbox right forged in the fires of his own experience,
[8:03] Speaker 1: and he's like, here, these helped me, maybe they can
[8:05] Speaker 1: help you too.
[8:06] Speaker 2: Totally, and it's a timeless gift right. It reminds us
[8:09] Speaker 2: that even across centuries, we're all kind of going through
[8:11] Speaker 2: the same things. We're all searching for that wisdom, that
[8:14] Speaker 2: resilience in a world that often feels so unpredictable.
[8:18] Speaker 1: Absolutely so, listeners. Next time you're facing a challenge, big
[8:22] Speaker 1: or small, just take a second ask yourself, what would
[8:25] Speaker 1: Marcus Aurelius do. You might be surprised by the strength
[8:28] Speaker 1: the wisdom you find within yourself. Until next time, keep exploring,
[8:32] Speaker 1: keep learning, and keep diving deep.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.