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Focusing on the Daily Stoic Meditation for June 29 — No Excuses, as outlined by Ryan Holiday in the bestseller 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance and the Art Of Living.
“It is possible to curb your arrogance, to overcome pleasure and pain, to rise above your ambition, and to not be angry with stupid and ungrateful people — yes, even to care for them.”
— MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.8
Excuses
In today’s world, we make countless excuses for almost every situation.
Sometimes, excuses are completely valid — when you miss your train or you forget to hand in your homework, for example.
In other situations, on the other hand, many people use excuses as a way to justify staying as they are rather than trying to become better;
- People often claim that it’s their parents and families fault they are the the way they are, and that there’s no way they can change anything.
- Sometimes people say that they never learned anything different, and so they don’t know how to act differently.
- People even justify their actions by saying that ‘everyone else does it’, which they seem to think makes it normal and acceptable.
It’s perfectly understandable that you may not have had the opportunity to receive good…
