1 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: Yes, Yes, I am Dramas And this is the Street 2 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: Stoic Podcast, bring your daily dose of Tomless Stoic philosophy 3 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,920 Speaker 1: remix for the hip hop generation. Now, with that in mind, 4 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: let us get things started with your daily shot of inspiration. 5 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:37,880 Speaker 1: Now today we are going to be talking all about 6 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: the stoke practice of taking action. And we're gonna pull 7 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:47,480 Speaker 1: a lyric, a couple lyrics from probably my absolute favorite kid, Cutting, 8 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,479 Speaker 1: and this is the track New Mode, And in it 9 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: he says, finally got my head right. It's a new me. 10 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: It's like I got heaven in my sights. Now beauty 11 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: I see. And then further in the song, he says, 12 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: I sit with thoughts so sober I do just another 13 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: night alone. I decide, I decide finally accepting me, loving 14 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,440 Speaker 1: who I am inside. This is obviously just a beautiful 15 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 1: sort of declaration of choosing to love yourself right, But 16 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:21,199 Speaker 1: I think it speaks to the idea that happiness requires 17 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:26,400 Speaker 1: consistent action. Happiness is a decision. And this isn't too 18 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: discredit anybody dealing with depression, anxiety, mental health issues. All 19 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: of those things are incredibly real. But just like talking 20 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: to a therapist, getting medication, getting help, whatever it might be, 21 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: all of those things are forms of taking action, right, 22 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: And that leads perfectly to a quote from one of 23 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: the stoics, Seneca, where he says, a man is as 24 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: miserable as he thinks he is. And obviously this on 25 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: its surface is a bit overly simplified, right, but at 26 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: core it's a very true statement, because even when you're 27 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: depressed or sad, you have a choice in that moment, right. 28 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: You can sit back in that sadness, or you can 29 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: decide to fight back. And again, I'm not saying it's easy. 30 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: What I'm reminding you of is you always have a 31 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: choice at the end of the day, right. And it 32 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: doesn't mean that it's a light switch where all of 33 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:23,399 Speaker 1: a sudden you know you're just like, Okay, I'm gonna 34 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,920 Speaker 1: fight now, I'm happy. But again, you have the ability 35 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: to make a series of decisions that will hopefully eventually 36 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 1: get you to that place or get you into a 37 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:36,080 Speaker 1: better place. Right. And I relate to this deeply on 38 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: a very personal level. You know, I've talked about my 39 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 1: own struggles with depression and anxiety a lot, right, And 40 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:44,959 Speaker 1: you know I was on antidepressants for the better part 41 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:46,679 Speaker 1: of a year and a few months ago, towards the 42 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 1: end of last year, you know, with my my psychiatrist 43 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,519 Speaker 1: and therapist, we wean me off of those things, right, 44 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: And that was the plan from the beginning, right, was like, 45 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 1: I'm gonna sort of do the work, use the anti 46 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 1: depress essence to kind of like quell what's going on, 47 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: and then kind of figure out from there what actually 48 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 1: works for me in terms of like coping with my 49 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:13,079 Speaker 1: depression and anxiety and things like that. Right. And it's 50 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,079 Speaker 1: amazing because now on the other side of it, I've 51 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: learned coping strategies through therapy, through a lot of self 52 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: work that helped me when I begin to feel the 53 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: depression coming on, right, I now have a toolkit that 54 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 1: allows me to immediately go into action. Right. And I 55 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 1: think that's what I'm speaking to here, And that's what 56 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: you know, Cutty is talking about having those those sort 57 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: of moments alone where he's thinking to himself at night 58 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 1: and deciding that he's now going to love himself. Right, 59 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: He's not going to allow the negative thoughts to be 60 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: louder than the positive ones, right. And that's all that 61 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: we're talking about today with this idea of taking action 62 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: and recognizing that happiness, you know, requires consistent action. Right 63 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: it is it is something that you choose to be 64 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: rather than something that just naturally sort of happens for you, 65 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: you know all the time. Now we've heard from kid Cutt, 66 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: you've heard of want to stow e Seneca, you've heard 67 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: from myself. Now let's talk about how you can make 68 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: it your mantra for today. But first to take a 69 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:29,479 Speaker 1: quick break and then we'll be right, all right, So 70 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:31,799 Speaker 1: today we have been focusing all around the stove practice 71 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: of taking action and through the lens of happiness, right, 72 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: understanding that happiness requires action. And you've heard from Kid 73 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: cut you've ever want to stow e Seneca, you've heard 74 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 1: from myself. Now let's talk about how you can make 75 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:47,280 Speaker 1: it your mantra for today. Now, I think the one 76 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: thing if I wanted you to like, remember one thing 77 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: from this entire episode is remember you always have a choice, right, 78 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: You have a choice to fight or to give in, 79 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: to take action, or to be complacent. Beat yourself up 80 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: if certain days you choose to give into it, Right, 81 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: if you choose to again disconnect from the world and 82 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: sleep all day and you feel like that's what you need. 83 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: Don't beat yourself up about that, but recognize that that's 84 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: a temporary solution. Whereas if you can train your brain 85 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: to constantly take action, to keep looking for things to 86 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:25,360 Speaker 1: be happy about, to keep poking holes in the sort 87 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: of narrative, the negative narratives that your brain begins to 88 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,159 Speaker 1: invent about yourself. When you can train yourself to consistently 89 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,160 Speaker 1: take that sort of action, then you're really on the 90 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:38,039 Speaker 1: road of consistent happiness or at least things like depression 91 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:40,920 Speaker 1: or sadness, not feeling quite as heavy right, feeling far 92 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: more manageable. And that's sort of what I'm trying to push, 93 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 1: is like the mindset that we begin to get in 94 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:49,560 Speaker 1: is you know, understanding that happiness is not just going 95 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 1: to fall on our laps, particularly those of us who 96 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 1: might deal with some sort of mental you know, struggle, 97 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: mental health issue. It's all about creating a toolkit for 98 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,360 Speaker 1: yourself right coping mechan and again, all of that requires action. 99 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: And the beauty I think in all that we're talking 100 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 1: about today is, I think for a lot of people, 101 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:12,320 Speaker 1: it's very easy to feel hopeless when you are struggling 102 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 1: with these things on a consistent basis, right. But I 103 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 1: think the beauty in the idea of our life just 104 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:23,279 Speaker 1: being a series of actions and life itself just requiring 105 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: constant action. It's a reminder that you have the power 106 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: to take the steps towards healing yourself as well. Now 107 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: to recap all we're talking about today, I just love 108 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,040 Speaker 1: this cutting record. I love these lines like finally got 109 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: my head right, you know, just another night alone deciding 110 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,599 Speaker 1: finally accepting me, loving who I am inside, right, making 111 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 1: that declaration, deciding that loving himself is going to be 112 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: an action that he's going to consistently take. And Senega 113 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: breaking it down very simply, right when a Stokes saying 114 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: a man is as miserable as he thinks he is. Right, 115 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:00,919 Speaker 1: it all starts in our mind. Yeah, is that overly 116 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: sort of simplifying it, of course, But at its core 117 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,680 Speaker 1: that is true. Our happiness and in our quality of life. 118 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: It all first and foremost starts with the quality of 119 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 1: our thoughts. That's a very real thing. And even me 120 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: kind of my own struggle that I've talked about with depression, anxiety, 121 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 1: things of that nature. What's made it better, what's made 122 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 1: my life so much happier, is recognizing the power I have, 123 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: taking the actions needed to learn and to develop the 124 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: skills needed to cope, and again, just continuing to push 125 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: myself to go into action mode, to go into fight 126 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 1: mode when I feel something come on and it's changed 127 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 1: the quality of my life entirely, right, And that's all 128 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 1: through those small series of actions that I know are 129 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: within my control and that I continue to take on 130 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: a regular basis because I remember that happiness requires a 131 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 1: series of consistent actions. And this is just your reminder 132 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: today for whoever it needs it. Now, with that said, 133 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: thank you so much for checking out the Street Stoke Podcast. 134 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: Do your best to apply these concepts into everyday life, 135 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 1: and I'll catch you banks time. The Street Stoke Podcast 136 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: is a production of Iheart's Macula podcast network.