1 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: Yes, Yes, I am Dramas and this is The Street 2 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: Stoic Podcast Season two. We are back and we are 3 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: bringing you your daily dose of timeless stoic philosophy remix 4 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 1: for the hip hop generation. We are combining ancient philosophy 5 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: with liver some quotes from some of the greatest who 6 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: ever Grace a micraffone. Now, with that said, let's get 7 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: this season started with your daily shot of inspiration. Now 8 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 1: today we're gonna be focusing on the stoic idea, the 9 00:00:55,360 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: stoic principle of focusing on what you can troll. And 10 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,080 Speaker 1: something that that popped up as I was kind of, 11 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: you know, prepping and getting ready to kick things off, 12 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: was the idea of anger and the idea of the 13 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,039 Speaker 1: way that we react to situations that upset us or 14 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 1: that that hurt us, right, and the way that those 15 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:22,039 Speaker 1: things oftentimes caused us to lose control in the moment 16 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: and almost always the outcome is never a positive thing. 17 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,960 Speaker 1: So I was kind of just stealing around that idea 18 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: and I summoned across this this teleib quality song called 19 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 1: Manager Anger right, and it's off of a Clinton Sparks 20 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:39,840 Speaker 1: mixtape Anger Management three, And there's a few different quotes 21 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: and lyrics in here that I kind of want to 22 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,759 Speaker 1: pull from that I thought were really just on point 23 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: with the topic of conversation I wanted to have today, 24 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: but the first one being a couple of bars at 25 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: the beginning where Telib says, we're going to show you 26 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: how to manage your anger before you do damage to 27 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: a neighbor or a stranger with the banger Banger. And 28 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: obviously he's talking about some some street stuff here and 29 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: violent activities, right, But I think in terms of what 30 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: he's saying at its core is that oftentimes the short 31 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:17,639 Speaker 1: term reaction that we have, right, the pain that we 32 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:22,520 Speaker 1: end up feeling, then gets put out there onto to 33 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: someone else, and oftentimes it's it's done in an even 34 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,119 Speaker 1: worse situation than the original, right. And in the track 35 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: he goes on to say, let me tell you what's 36 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: gangster when you're doing God's work because it needs to 37 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: be done, not for the thank yous. Let me tell 38 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,520 Speaker 1: you what's thugged out when you show him how to 39 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: get paid without going the drug route. Let me tell 40 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: you what's hard, breaking the cycle that got our sons 41 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: and brothers filling up the prison yards and Obviously, this 42 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: is a continuation kind of that that first line, the 43 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: idea of reacting with with violence, But I think this 44 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: also speaks to the idea that a lot of us 45 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: are walking around with a lot of unhealed pain and trauma, 46 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: and oftentimes we don't know how to properly deal with 47 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: our emotions, you know, things like anger, and because of that, 48 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: we have quick reactions that can have long term consequences. Right. 49 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: And even when he's talking about the drug rout Right, 50 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: nobody gets into selling drugs because it's an enjoyable experience 51 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: for them, But for many people, they think it's the 52 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: only route that they have to get out of their 53 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: own circumstances and their own situations. Right. And when you 54 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: sort of succumb to the idea of not having choices, 55 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 1: you're no longer in control. Right. And this leads perfectly 56 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: to a quote from one of the stoic Seneca, Right, 57 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: and he says, an angry man opens his mouth and 58 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: shuts his eyes, And basically he's saying here, an angry 59 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: person becomes blind to their options. Right. And even beyond 60 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: anger or a desperate person becomes blind to their options. Right. 61 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 1: They forget that they actually have a choice in this. 62 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: They have different paths that they can go down, and 63 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: in forgetting it, they end up losing control. Right And 64 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,840 Speaker 1: for me, all of this is very relatable. I have 65 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: so many circumstances that I think about where maybe anger 66 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: on my part had ruined a potential situation, a potential opportunity. Recently, 67 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,479 Speaker 1: you know, with someone that I had connected with, they 68 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:34,360 Speaker 1: had a reaction to something that we had worked on together. 69 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: You know, we had done a couple like collaborative projects, 70 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: and you know, when the project went up, you know, 71 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,400 Speaker 1: something was like misspelled or it wasn't presented exactly how 72 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 1: they had hoped. And rather than reacting in that situation 73 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,720 Speaker 1: in a healthy, sort of professional way and sort of 74 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 1: you know, being able to say, hey, you know, I 75 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: was I was hoping this might have looked like this. 76 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: Do you think we could do something about it, their 77 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:01,040 Speaker 1: immediate inclination was to be sort of defense and angry, 78 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,239 Speaker 1: as if this was done in you know, in malice, 79 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 1: or I was purposely overlooking what they wanted, and they 80 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: came at me in a way that was very disrespectful. 81 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,480 Speaker 1: And the result of that situation is I won't ever 82 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,600 Speaker 1: look to work with that person again now, right, like 83 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:21,239 Speaker 1: that person will no longer have opportunities through me. And listen, 84 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:23,480 Speaker 1: I'm not saying that I'm somebody who is you know, 85 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: holding their livelihood in the palm of my hands or 86 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:28,280 Speaker 1: something like that, but there could have been plenty of 87 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:30,720 Speaker 1: opportunities that they could have benefited from, you know, from 88 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: us working together. And I no longer will allow them 89 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:36,919 Speaker 1: into my space because I don't trust them to be 90 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,840 Speaker 1: somebody who's a positive force, you know, within whatever I'm doing, 91 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,159 Speaker 1: because they didn't take control of whatever emotion was coming 92 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: up for them and then act appropriate here, right, they 93 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 1: decided to lose control of themselves and think only in 94 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: the short term reaction to whatever was coming up for them, 95 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:57,840 Speaker 1: rather than thinking, how can this potentially affect my long 96 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: term working relationship with this person and if I don't 97 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 1: approach it with a level of respect and discipline. Now 98 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 1: we've heard from one of the absolute grades in Telebquale, 99 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:09,840 Speaker 1: we've heard from one of the stoics. I've given you 100 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: some insight into how this also applies into my own life. 101 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 1: Now let's talk about how how you can make it 102 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 1: your mantra for today. But first let's take a quick 103 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: break and then we'll be right back, all right. So 104 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: today we have been focusing around the idea of focusing 105 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 1: on what you can control, and we have heard words 106 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:38,040 Speaker 1: from Telebquala, you've heard from one of the stoics in Seneca. 107 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,600 Speaker 1: I've given you some insight into my own life. Now 108 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,479 Speaker 1: let's talk about how you can make it your mantra 109 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:46,560 Speaker 1: for today. Now, I'm just going to share with you 110 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: something really practical that I apply to my own life. 111 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: Because I am not above getting angry. I try and 112 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: and like view a space between me and my reaction, 113 00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:59,839 Speaker 1: right Like, I try and and put a distance between 114 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: that initial gut feeling of just like anger, shame, or 115 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: emn it, whatever it might be, and don't allow it 116 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 1: to sort of come out right away. And obviously sometimes 117 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: it's easier to do than other times. You're gonna fall 118 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: short in some cases. But I think just a general 119 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: rule of practice is that if you are feeling overwhelmed 120 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: with some sort of emotion, recognizing that that's not the 121 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 1: time to react or respond, right Like, I never respond 122 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: quickly to an angry text message or email, right I 123 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: try and give myself a little bit of time to 124 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: kind of come down from it and sort of sit 125 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: in those feelings and process them and then think of 126 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:40,920 Speaker 1: the best way to respond, you know, because I want 127 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: to make sure that I am responding from a place 128 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: of calm. Again, it's always making sure that I'm maintaining 129 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: a sense of control and understanding that I want to 130 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: be making decisions with my best interest in mind, and 131 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: my best interest is always going to be you know, 132 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 1: what is the long term goal of whatever it is 133 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: that I am doing, be it a personal relationship, be 134 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: it a potential career opportunity, Like where am I trying 135 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 1: to get to? And how can I respond in a 136 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: way that doesn't, you know, make me deviate from that 137 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: path and doesn't allow me to sort of relinquish my 138 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: own power into the hands of someone else. So all 139 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: things that I consider now to recap what we've been 140 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: talking about today, I mean, you've heard the words of 141 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 1: teleb Quale and him talking about, you know, the effects 142 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:34,319 Speaker 1: of your anger, how it can negatively impact those around 143 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,440 Speaker 1: you or even just innocent bystanders. Right, and in the 144 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 1: words of Seneca right reiterating an anger man opens his 145 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: mouth and shuts his eyes, right, they become blind to 146 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: the power that they still have in that situation, and 147 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: they end up relinquishing it to somebody else or something else. Right, 148 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 1: And even in my own, you know, personal experience, at 149 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: the end of the day, somebody reacting to me in 150 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:01,439 Speaker 1: a way that I felt was disrespectful has immediately ended 151 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 1: what could have been a lucrative business relationship for the 152 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,079 Speaker 1: both of us. Right, And I think again, to summarize 153 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: all that we're talking about, it's thinking in terms of 154 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 1: a long term vision rather than short term reactions. And 155 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: if you decide to give yourself a second and hold 156 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: that power and maintain that power, you're going to give 157 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 1: yourself the best opportunity for this particular situation to not 158 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 1: negatively impact you and those around you. Now, with that said, 159 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 1: thank you so much for checking out the Street Stoke Podcast. Now, 160 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: do your best to apply the concepts that we've discussed 161 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: into you everyday life, and I will catch you next time. 162 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:50,239 Speaker 1: The Street Stoke Podcast is a production of Iheart's Macultura 163 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: podcast network.