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What important truth do very few people agree with you on?

In this episode of Modern Meditations, Bruce and JJ begin with Peter Thiel’s famous contrarian question: "What important truth do very few people agree with you on?"

Then the conversation turns to a quieter problem: what do you do when you have already done everything you can?

Drawing from Epictetus, a long wait for a bus, and the uncertainty surrounding a friend’s passport, Bruce explores a better question asked by Epictetus in the Enchiridion Book 10 for difficult moments:

What faculty does this situation require from me?

We then discuss a framework for thinking about life in terms of stocks and flows—what we are trying to build, what scarce resources we are spending, and whether our attention, energy, time, and emotional capacity are actually serving the things we care about.

Because more worry does not necessarily mean more love. More vigilance does not necessarily create more safety. And more effort does not always produce more progress.

Sometimes wisdom means acting decisively.

Sometimes it means courage, restraint, judgment, or patience.

And sometimes the task is simply to become the world's best wait-er.

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Are you being a drama queen by writing your will prematurely? Or are you preparing well? How can you continue your life mission after life? Bruce got "Not Malaria" in Thailand and had a dramatic episode where he wrote his will and we discuss that.

Then we go into how to continue choosing well when choices are limited. Epictetus gives us a great jumping off point in Enchiridion 9 to help us explore the idea of what is truly limited when choices are narrowed.

We explore how to respond correctly when our choices are limited and where to direct and express those emotions in a healthy way that will leave us not embittered at others or reality. We leave off with what Seneca proffers us as the greatest reward for overcoming all things... Will it be a garland? Maybe a wreath or trumpet calls for silence in our name in a ceremonial proclamation? Spoiler: None of these! Also spoiler: It will be something far greater!

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What if the to peace isn't about controlling your life, but changing your relationship with reality?

In this episode, we explore one of the most challenging ideas in Stoicism through a single line from Epictetus:

At first glance, it sounds like surrender. Lower your expectations. Stop caring. Accept mediocrity.

But that's not what the Stoics meant.

We'll explore the difference between giving up and giving your full effort without demanding a particular outcome. Along the way, we'll examine the psychology of control, the Stoic idea of "co-fated" events, and why your actions still matter—even if the future is ultimately outside your control.

We'll also discuss:

• Why suffering often comes from resisting reality.
• The difference between acceptance and passivity.
• Locus of control, the illusion of control, and self-fulfilling prophecies.
• Marcus Aurelius on why labeling outcomes as "good" or "bad" leads to resentment.
• Practical examples from sports, everyday life, and my own experiences.

The central idea is simple:

Act as though everything depends on your effort. Accept that the outcome never did.

When you stop demanding reality be different, you don't become passive—you become free.