Last week my bike was stolen, which is apparently a very common thing here in Amsterdam.
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But I couldn’t help but take it personally.
Why me? Why my bike?
There are 847,000 bikes in Amsterdam (fun fact: that is nearly twice the number of households!). But why my bike?
When bad things happen, it’s easy to take it personally.
On the flip side, when good things happen, it’s easy to take that personally too.
The truth is, we are better off not taking either personally.
Ryan Holiday, a Stoic scholar and author of Ego is the Enemy, shared recently:
“Do not take the slights of the day personally—or the exciting rewards and recognitions either. Trivial details like the rise and fall of your position say nothing about you as a person. Treat both success and failure with indifference—focus on doing and being your best. The effort has to be enough. Become immune to the seduction of external events. As Marcus Aurelius put it, 'Receive without pride, let go without attachment.'"
I like to remember this with a bolded note in my journal:
“Take life seriously, but not personally.”
Dave Radparvar
Co-Founder, Holstee
P.S. We are big fans of Stoic philosophy, and you can see echoes of it throughout our Holstee Membership. Interested in giving it a try? Become a member today →
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