PASSAGE OF THE WEEK:
So yes, let’s call out the cowards and the corrupt—but let’s also hold up the mirror. Let’s make sure we’re not just shouting at the world to change while quietly avoiding the work of changing ourselves. Because if we want better leaders, a better system, a better world…well, it starts with us.
YOUTUBE TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK:
 In a recent video on the Daily Stoic YouTube channel, Ryan Holiday shares his favorite hot takes from the Stoics, including this one on anxiety from Marcus Aurelius:
“Things don’t give us anxiety— we bring our anxiety to things. Think about it. What do all the things that make you anxious have in common? You. You are the common ingredient in all of them. That’s why Marcus Aurelius says in Meditations that he doesn’t escape his anxiety—he discards it because it’s within him. It’s the fault of his perceptions, nothing outside himself.” Subscribe to Daily Stoic YouTube
PODCAST TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK:
 In a recent episode of The Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan Holiday speaks with cognitive scientist Dr. Laurie Santos on humor’s role in Stoicism, negative visualization, and the Buddhist practice of “noticing”:
“The Buddhists talked about this idea of ‘noticing’ quite a bit. Every time I pick up my phone and go on Bluesky, I leave with my chest clenched. I’m ready to scream….But sometimes our emotions change so unconsciously and we can then unconsciously affect other people. It’s a real skill to be noticing what this stuff is doing to you.” Subscribe to Daily Stoic Podcast
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WHAT RYAN HOLIDAY IS READING:
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, ‘Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The ‘hurt’ part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.” — What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
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