Daily Stoic Entry #41: What Parts Of My Life Are Driven By Anger?

February 10th 2022

Follow along with my personal daily stoic journal, unfiltered, unedited (except for some spelling mistakes).

Morning Reflection:

Not many parts of my life are driven by anger, I don't think. It's of course difficult to know for sure since this is all self reflection and blind spots are easy in that sense. Perhaps I do have resentments towards past perceived slights that I wish were different. However the worst anger and resentment is aimed at myself. Anger towards myself wishing to be different than I am. Resentful that i can't simply make the change I want to make or that they take so much energy and force. Anger towards certains things that are more difficult for me than others, seemingly. But recognize that these feelings make you spend unnecessary energy, carrying around that negativity. Release and continue.

Evening Reflection:

Am I naive to think I don't hold a lot of anger in me? Is that really correct? I have many other negative emotions that drain fuel from everyday life such as regret, fear, resentment, envy, etc. But I truly think that I'm not incredibly motivated by anger. In the past I've had those classic 'I'll show them' responses. In general, though, my anger rises and falls quickly, and through this constant introspection I feel that it's not out of control or negatively impacts me in huge ways. So that's a win.

Title prompts are taken from The Daily Stoic Journal by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.