The Goal of This Post

This post is an excerpt from the book The Daily Stoic, by Ryan Holiday.
In this post, I share some of my favorite passages from the month of April, themed Unbiased Thought.

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April: Unbiased Thought

April 1st: The Color of Your Thoughts

“Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought, for the human spirit is colored by such impressions.”

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April 5th: Trust, but Verify

“First off, don’t let the force of the impression carry you away. Say to it, ‘hold up a bit and let me see who you are and where you are from – let me put you to the test’… ”

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April 7th: Expect to Change Your Opinions

“There are two things that must be rooted in human beings – arrogant opinion and mistrust. Arrogant opinion expects that there is nothing further needed, and mistrust assumes that under the torrent of circumstance there can be no happiness.”

• “Honor what you do not know, and then set that against the knowledge you actually have”.
• “To become wise, it comes from questioning and from humility.”

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April 9th: Test Your Impressions

“From the very beginning, make it your practice to say to every harsh impression, ‘you are an impression and not at all what you appear to be.’ Next, examine and test it by the rules you possess, the first and greatest of which is this – whether it belongs to the things in our control or not in our control, and if the latter, be prepared to respond, ‘It is nothing to me.'”

• “Analyze your own senses, question their accuracy, and proceed only with the positive and constructive ones”.

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April 10th: Judgments Cause Disturbance

“It isn’t events themselves that disturb people, but only their judgments about them.”

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April 11th: If You Want To Learn, Be Humble

“Throw out your conceited opinions, for it is impossible for a person to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows.”

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April 13th: Less Is More

“Don’t act grudgingly, selfishly, without due diligence, or to be a contrarian. Don’t overdress your thoughts in fine language. Don’t be a person of too many words and too many deeds… Be cheerful, not wanting outside help or the relief others might bring. A person needs to stand on their own, not be propped up.”

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April 16th: Observe Cause and Effect

“Pay close attention in conversation to what is being said, and to what follows from any action. In the action, immediately look for the target, in words, listen closely to what’s being signaled.”

• “Become an observer of your own thoughts and the actions those thoughts provoke.”

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April 20th: Real Good Is Simple

“Here’s a way to think about what the masses regard as being ‘good’ things. If you would first start by setting your mind upon things that are unquestionably good – wisdom, self-control, justice, courage – with this preconception you’ll no longer be able to listen to the popular refrain that there are too many good things to experience in a lifetime.”

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April 22nd: The Marks of Rational Person

“These are the characteristics of the rational soul: self-awareness, self-examination, and self-determination. It reaps its own harvest… It succeeds in its own purpose..”

“To be rational today, we have to do just three things:

• First, we must look inward.
• Next, we must examine ourselves critically.
• Finally, we must make our own decisions – uninhibited by biases or popular notions.”

April 30th: What Is In Keeping With Your Character?

“Just as what is considered rational or irrational differs for each person, in the same way what is good or evil and useful or useless differs for each person. This is why we need education, so that we might learn how to adjust our preconceived notions of the rational and irrational in harmony with nature. In sorting this out, we don’t simply rely on our estimate of the value of external things, but also apply the rule of what is in keeping with one’s character.”

• “Be your own compass.”
• “Character is a powerful defense…”
• “If you know what you believe and why you believe it.”
• “That’s your education. That’s why you do this work.”

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All content credit goes to the author. I’ve shared the bits I’ve enjoyed the most and found most useful.

Cheers ’till next time! Saludos!
Alberto