The What Is Stoicism? Podcast

This episode reflects on how awareness of mortality sharpens our sense of what truly matters, through the unforgettable lesson Randy Pausch taught with a spilled soda and Marcus Aurelius’s reminder that every day arrives with a due date.

When time is no longer assumed to be endless, possessions lose their grip and postponed priorities come into focus. Far from being morbid, this clarity is freeing—it helps us release what doesn’t matter and act on what does.

The question left hanging is simple and urgent: how will you use today’s opportunity before it quietly expires?

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📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT

Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Don’t Always Be Beginning To Live
https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-dont-always-94c

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode explores the Stoic art of decatastrophizing—learning to meet fear by stripping events down to what they really are, rather than what our imagination makes of them.

From Socrates calmly facing death to Seneca’s reminder that we suffer more in imagination than in reality, we see how clarity dissolves panic.

The practice isn’t denial or blind optimism, but disciplined attention to the present moment. With repetition, the Stoics show, fear loses its grip and the mind regains its power.

👇 👇 👇

📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT

Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Art of Self-Retrieval
https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-art-4d8
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode explores an often-overlooked Stoic lesson: that even wisdom, effort, and reflection must be practiced in moderation.

Through David Hume’s gentle warning against burnout—and his nuanced engagement with Stoic exercises—we see how pushing too hard, whether in work or in contemplating life’s fragility, can undermine the very growth we seek.

Seneca’s counsel to rest the mind and Hume’s reminder that “going slower” can get us there sooner converge on a timeless truth. Flourishing isn’t found in relentless strain or constant gloom, but in the measured balance that preserves both health and gratitude.

👇 👇 👇

📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT

Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Art of Self-Retrieval
https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-art-4d8
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode dives into the Stoic idea of the “passions”—those powerful storms of anger, fear, envy, and grief that arise not from events themselves but from the judgments we attach to them.

Epictetus teaches that emotional turmoil begins in the domain of desire, where unexamined impressions harden into false beliefs about what is good or bad.

By learning to pause, test our impressions, and assent only to what is true, we reclaim mastery over our inner world.

The work is gradual but transformative: each moment of careful attention becomes a step toward clarity, resilience, and the deep calm that comes from governing one’s own mind.

👇 👇 👇

📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT

Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Art of Self-Retrieval
https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-art-4d8

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode explores listening as a form of courage and clarity—an active practice that shapes how we understand the world and ourselves.

From Zeno’s simple reminder that we have “two ears and one mouth” to Epictetus’s deeper lesson on assent, we learn that true listening isn’t passive reception but deliberate attention. It invites empathy, reveals uncomfortable truths, and creates the space in which wisdom can emerge.

When we listen with patience and discernment—to others, to nature, to our own inner signals—we reclaim our freedom to choose our responses and, in doing so, walk a wiser path through life.

👇 👇 👇

📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT

Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Virtue Doesn't Need To Signal
https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-virtue-doesnt-f2d
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.