Category: Applied Philosophy

38 Life Lessons in 38 Years

4/13/2019

I just celebrated my birthday, so I thought it would be a fun change of pace to write a post about what I have learned in almost 4 decades of life.

I don't want this to read as a list of regrets. Really a more positive take is that I'm hoping these 38 life lessons can help others!

1. Don't Waste So Much Time

Speaking of regrets, this is my biggest one. I wish I had spent more time in my teens and twenties on languages, musical instruments, and generally applying myself than on wasting time with friends, watching TV, etc. Life is short. Use your time wisely. You'll have less time when you start working, and even less for quite a while if you have children!

8 Comments

Parents! Cut Yourselves a Break

2/16/2019

0 Comments

Welcome Holly Hamilton-Bleakley, a philosophy professor and mother of six, to my YouTube channel! Holly is the author of the wonderful blog, Philosophy For Parents.
Here she shares wisdom gleaned from 20 years of motherhood and her extensive knowledge of philosophy.

We discuss:

The difficulty of becoming a parent for the first time.
How to best handle the challenges of parenthood.
The strengths and virtues necessary for being a good parent.
How to slow down and cut yourself a break when you have little kids.
Dealing with the feelings of impermanence that parenting brings.
How the issue of raising children is ignored by most Western philosophers, and more.

0 Comments

A Meditation on Courage: 2 Techniques for Overcoming Anxiety

10/16/2018

2 Comments

In an interview with the World Ethical Data Forum, Julian Assange warned that the generation being born now is the last to be free. The message is quite disturbing. After all, it does seem as though we are headed that way, that long shadows are falling. "Look back over the past with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can forsee the future too," Marcus Aureluis declares. Is this period of time similar to the fall of Rome? Maybe just the end of the Republic?

Anxiety seems to be at the root of the modern condition. Besides the stress that we deal with in our private lives, there are always political and geopolitical concerns (like the above) that stress us as well. Given all of this, I actually don't think that anxiety is by any means an irrational response. It's only when our response is disproportionate to the threat or when anxiety starts to take over our lives that it really becomes a problem.

I can honestly say that with each new child that we have added to our family, my own anxiety has increased. After all, I have my family's wellbeing to look after, not just my own. Courage however, is a decision. It's how we respond to anxiety provoking thoughts that we have control over, not the external situation. Let me share with you the 2 best techniques that I use to overcome anxiety.

2 Comments

Is Self-Compassion Missing From Stoic Philosophy?

9/1/2018

4 Comments

Self-compassion is a common theme in Buddhism, psychotherapy, and various self-help ideaologies. But does it exist in Stoicism? Do Stoics expect themselves to always exercise perfect courage, justice, moderation and wisdom, while considering anything short of this ideal an abysmal failure?

My friend Jonas Salzgeber of NJ Life Hacks noted that self-compassion may be missing from Stoic philosophy when I interviewed him on my YouTube channel. Jonas is right that there certainly seems to be a tendency towards perfectionism in Stoicism. Reading Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, one would get the impression that Marcus was an awfully dour guy who beat himself up when he fell short of the ideal of the Stoic Sage.

But in spite of a strong tendency towards the perfectionism of the Sage, I believe that self-compassion is actually present in Stoicism, and that such self-compassion can give us strength and perspective.

4 Comments

Fearless Parent: How to Raise Kids Using Stoic Philosophy

8/12/2018

2 Comments

Wondering how to be less stressed as a parent? Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy that teaches us how to focus on what we can control in life. Brittany Polat of Apparent Stoic and I discuss how to apply Stoic philosophy to parenting, and how it can make both parents and kids happier.

We discuss:

Overcoming worry and parenting anxiety. Not worrying about what other people think of how you raise your children.
US culture being oriented towards adult lifestyles and careers and not very child friendly.
Thinking that you can control everything and being goal oriented does not work with kids because while you can influence them, you can't control what they do.
You will be happier as a parent/family if you focus on what you can control - the environment, how you respond, getting prepared in advance, etc.
The Golden Rule and other ways to teach kids the value of kindness.

2 Comments

Handbooks: The Most Powerful Tool For Living Your Best Life

6/20/2018

4 Comments

Right now is an amazing time to be alive; not least because because we have instant access to so many helpful resources to achieve the goal of living a good life - books, blogs, videos, digital downloads - the possibilities for learning and personal growth are endless.

My friend Jonas Salzgeber recently commented on the phenomenon where we take the time to learn things that will improve our lives, yet fail to properly apply them. In my experience, a major obstacle to putting what we have learned into practice is information overload and it's accompanying disorganization (not just the force of old habit or the lack of will to change - although these are major obstacles too!) Without proper organization and memorization, what sticks in our head after reading a good book or watching an interesting video is piecemeal. It's a matter of chance whether we remember and apply it, despite our best intentions.

The ancient schools of philosophy had their own solution to this problem - handbooks. These were collections of useful and powerful phrases that the students memorized and kept close "at hand," for when they were most needed - in instances of challenge, stress, or trouble. As we'll see, the handbook is the most powerful tool in our arsenal for growth - both an organizational aid for our hectic lives, and a method for directly improving our habits and thinking.

4 Comments

Video: The Best Philosophy Books For Beginning Readers

5/17/2018

0 Comments

Which philosophy books are the best for people just starting out? Dr. Greg Sadler and I talk about his recent list of the 10 Best Philosophy Books for Beginners, which is now one of the most popular posts on this site.

We dicuss:

Which thinkers are average people most interested in?
The practical philosophy movement and popular philosophies like modern Stoicism and Aristotelianism that are currently being applied in people's lives.
Philosophy's relevance: the disconnect between academic versus applied philosophy, poor outreach among academic philosophers and the public.
Women philosophers - Greg's love of Mary Wollstonecraft, and why some people argue that Aynd Rand is not a philosopher.
Avoiding agenda-driven histories of philosophy and the importance of reading primary texts.
Poor pedagogy in introduction to philosophy classes - the difficulty of teaching, good versus bad teachers.
Existentialism: reading books of philosophy as a teenager and then again as an adult. What appeals to people?
Interesting tidbits about Anselm's On the Fall of the Devil and many other books.

If you like these types of videos please subscribe to my Youtube Channel.

0 Comments

The Happiness Triangle: Stoic Secret for Peace of Mind Video

3/18/2018

7 Comments

What 3 things are necessary for happiness? Leah Goldrick of http://commonsenseethics.com interviews Jonas Salzgeber of http://njlifehacks.com about how to become a tower of strength through Stoic philosophy. (Please note that if you have difficulty hearing the audio, click the "CC," button on the lower right of the Youtube screen to enable subtitles).

We dicuss:

Doing your best/focusing on the process of growth and developing virtue, rather than the outcome.
Is self-compassion missing from Stoic philosophy?
How much do externals/prefered indifferents matter? Is Aristotle correct that we need some externals to be happy or are the Stoics correct that only virtue is necessary for happiness?
Is the Sage a realistic role model?
What is eudamonia?
Jonas' new book

7 Comments

Stoicism and Virtue in Family Culture: A Conversation

2/5/2018

0 Comments

Common Sense Ethics is now on Youtube! Most parents struggle to get their parenting ideals to match their every day family life. In response to my post from December, Brittany Polat of apparentstoic.com interviews me about how to create an ideal family culture based on Stoic and other philosophical virtues. We discuss:

How to make your ideal family culture part of your daily routine without making yourself crazy.
What techniques have worked for our families.
The importance of norms and family culture versus parenting style.
Books for children and the importance of reading to them.
Family activities and traditions based on Stoic philosophy.

Please subscribe to the channel - we will be discussing many exciting topics going forward!

0 Comments

Creating Your Ideal Family Culture

12/19/2017

0 Comments

With the holidays coming up, many of us are focused on family. My recent post Why You Should Create Your Own Culture to Be Happier prompted a discussion on the Stoic Parents Facebook group about how to create a family culture. Family culture, (defined as the way that a group of people think, feel, act and achieve common goals) is tremendously influential. Creating an ideal culture for your family is something that must be done intentionally. Otherwise you will probably operate in default mode just trying to get things done each day since life with kids tends to be busy:

"Parents must decide what quality of family life they will have and then use the necessary discipline to accomplish this. Otherwise life will push the family in diverse directions...Those parents who have carefully examined their values and their view of life are going to be those whose influence on their children is most consistent. Why? Because what they believe is important to them...Our priorities are determined by our values." - Gladys Hunt, Honey for a Child's Heart.

You don't get a second chance at raising your children. Brainstorm what you ideally want for your family life, write it down, and then be disciplined enough to implement it. Build the various aspects of your ideal family culture into your routine and they will come naturally. It may help to think about your ideal family culture in terms of these four broad categories:

0 Comments

<<Previous

Forward>>

38 Life Lessons in 38 Years

Parents! Cut Yourselves a Break

A Meditation on Courage: 2 Techniques for Overcoming Anxiety

Is Self-Compassion Missing From Stoic Philosophy?

Fearless Parent: How to Raise Kids Using Stoic Philosophy

Handbooks: The Most Powerful Tool For Living Your Best Life

Video: The Best Philosophy Books For Beginning Readers

The Happiness Triangle: Stoic Secret for Peace of Mind Video

Stoicism and Virtue in Family Culture: A Conversation

Creating Your Ideal Family Culture

About Me:

Most Popular Blog Posts:

Download My Stoic Printables For Tough Days:

Watch Common Sense Ethics On YouTube:

Support CSE:

Topics:

Archives:

Book of the Month: Journal Like a Stoic by Brittany Polat

Personal Growth Resources:

Understanding and Applying Stoic Ethics In Modern Life:

Follow Common Sense Ethics on Pinterest:

Join the Stoic Parents Facebook Group:

Don't Miss A Post!

Thank You For Subscribing to Common Sense Ethics!

About Me:

Most Popular Blog Posts:

Download My Stoic Printables For Tough Days:

Watch Common Sense Ethics On YouTube:

Support CSE:

Topics:

Archives:

​Book of the Month: Journal Like a Stoic by Brittany Polat

​Personal Growth Resources:

Understanding and Applying Stoic Ethics In Modern Life:

​Follow Common Sense Ethics on Pinterest:

​Join the Stoic Parents Facebook Group:

Book of the Month: Journal Like a Stoic by Brittany Polat

Personal Growth Resources:

Follow Common Sense Ethics on Pinterest:

Join the Stoic Parents Facebook Group: