YouTube Tuesday

Every week I share five YouTube videos with my team at work. Content ranges from self improvement, health, communication, business, science, philosophy, or anything else that can spark an interesting conversation. Each Tuesday, I share my favorite video from the past week in the hope that it will make you stop and think. Let’s all keep learning and growing together.

Image from https://modernstoicism.com/on-taking-responsibility-the-stoics-in-exile-by-jonas-salzgeber/

My favorite video this week is How The Stoics Dealt With Anxiety (10 Strategies) on The Daily Stoic YouTube channel by Ryan Holiday. I am currently reading Ryan’s book The Daily Stoic, Letters From a Stoic by Seneca, and have previously read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Stoic philosophy is full of actionable wisdom that can be directly applied to modern life despite being written thousands of years ago. This video is great because Ryan covers a subject that many of us experience on a daily basis; call it anxiety, overwhelm, input overload, or worry. These ten tips on dealing with anxiety can be taken as a whole or you can just select one or two that work for you.

I especially love #6 Don’t Suffer Imagined Troubles. Seneca wrote “we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.” How much of our mental troubles are about things that haven’t happened, are not guaranteed to happen, and probably won’t happen at all? Anxiety can be boiled down to worry about things that have yet to come. Focus on what is right in front of you and the immediate steps you can take towards your goals and leave the unknown future to be discovered when it’s time.

1. Focus On The Little Things
2. Practice Gratitude
3. Have No Opinion
4. Stop Caring About What People Think
5. Process Your Emotions
6. Don’t Suffer Imagined Troubles
7. Choose Not To Be Harmed
8. Go For A Walk
9. Keep A Journal
10. Grab The Right Handle

Associated Links

• The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living, https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Stoic-Meditations-Wisdom-Perseverance/dp/0735211736/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PE1J4EUR5XCO&keywords=the+daily+stoic&qid=1644969054&sprefix=the+daily+stoic%2Caps%2C377&sr=8-1
• Letters from a Stoic, https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Penguin-Classics-Lucius-Annaeus/dp/0140442103/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Y4RGH63URR6Q&keywords=letters+from+a+stoic&qid=1644969092&sprefix=letters+from+%2Caps%2C118&sr=8-1
• Meditations, https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-New-Translation-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/0812968255/ref=sr_1_5?crid=V02A5AKOHRNC&keywords=meditations+marcus+aurelius&qid=1644969135&sprefix=meditatio%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-5