Welcome to Stoic Snippets,
The track that is short in time but not in depth.
Now this is not a stoic quote but it is one that I love nonetheless.
Keep doing what you've always done and you'll keep getting what you've always got.
A stark reminder that we only change when what we do changes.
And that is quite often preceded by how we think.
And that is where the stoics can be so useful.
What you have to realise is that you are inherently lazy.
Well not you the person listening but rather your brain and your body.
It's actually not laziness but rather efficiency.
If you've ever broken or injured a body part,
Especially your leg,
You'll know how quickly your muscle disappears.
A process called atrophy.
It's very much the process of use it or lose it.
Your body and brain are always looking for ways to save energy.
It's for the same reason that your brain likes the world to be predictable.
So it doesn't have to think too much.
Because thinking requires resources and when we can automate thinking then it can save resources.
This is what is known as habits or unconscious bias.
For both these things we don't need to think too much which our brain likes.
Now this is great for freeing up mental space but it's not so good when those habits or biases don't serve us.
And as anyone who knows trying to give up a habit is hard even when we know that habit is bad for us.
And this comes down to the greater point of today's session.
Routines often outlast rationale and that keeps us stuck.
So sometimes we have to honestly assess what we are doing and ask,
Is this what I really want?
Now this can be very hard because moving towards something new often means giving up something old.
A famous saying in entertainment goes like this,
Don't take my devils lest the angels go too.
I always love that quote.
For all these reasons giving up habits or trying new things is difficult.
But as Zeno,
The founder of Stoicism points out and my son's namesake,
Everything's destiny is to change,
To be transformed,
To perish,
So that new things can be born.
So what is the answer?
Well we do what Stoics do best,
We turn to rationale.
Are you currently getting what you want?
And if that's a no then it's time to change at least one thing.
Again I speak about this guy so much but James Clear's 1% concept really comes to the fore here.
He lays out in his book Atomic Habits that it only takes getting 1% better every day to improve by 37 times by the end of the year.
Small changes,
Big results.
Again Zeno can help us with this when he states,
Well-being is made of many small steps but it itself is no small thing.
If you are looking for something new,
A new way of being,
Be okay with letting the old perish and find the new with one small step at a time.
Good luck out there.
Now if you are ready to take the next step in your Stoicism journey consider checking out my new Stoicism retreat because if you think listening to Stoicism is good you're going to love living it.
Hope to see you there.
