The Daily Stoic

Seneca on Groundless Fears

Jul 3, 2022

Seneca, a renowned Roman Stoic philosopher, dives deep into the intricate dance between fear and imagination. He argues that our minds often magnify worries, causing us more pain than actual events. Seneca advocates the Stoic practice of premeditatio malorum, encouraging us to confront our irrational fears and prepare for adversity. He emphasizes resilience and highlights the transformative power of tackling life's challenges head-on. Ultimately, living in the moment and embracing hope are key to overcoming groundless anxieties.

18:33

Episode guests

Seneca

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

4min

Confronting the Illusions of Fear

3min

Confronting Groundless Fears

10min

Confronting Groundless Fears and Embracing Life

3min

Promotions and Historical Narratives

3min

Today’s episode is an excerpt from The Tao Of Seneca produced by Tim Ferriss’ Audio. In this letter Seneca explores our irrational relationship with fear, how fear is the thing that is holding us back, and how we suffer more in imagination than reality.

The Daily Stoic is now available as a Shortcast on Blinkist. You can revisit past episodes or get through ones you missed—all with a fresh perspective and even a few updates in insight-packed listens of around 15 minutes. Check it out at blinkist.com

80,000 Hours is a nonprofit that provides free research and support to help people have a positive impact with their career. To get started planning a career that works on one of the world’s most pressing problems, sign up now at 80000hours.org/stoic.

✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.

📱Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.