personal agency

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Self-Motivation: Trying to Motivate the Unmotivated

[DISCLAIMER] In common parlance, motivation is defined as the act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something. Given this description, I value consideration of thoughts and beliefs which are rational (in accordance with both logic and reason). Here, “logic” is the interrelation or sequence of facts or events when seen as inevitable or predictable, and “reason” is a statement offered in explanation or justification. For instance, a modus ponens syllogism uses

Deric Hollings

Apr 2812 min read

How Flexible Is Your Will?

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. Marcus Aurelius stated, “Remember that to change your mind and to follow someone’s correction are consistent with a free will. For the action is yours alone—to fulfill its purpose in keeping with

The Daily Stoic

Deric Hollings

Apr 276 min read

Pain Away: Learned Helplessness

[DISCLAIMER] On his fifth studio album OMW2 Rexdale (2025) rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer Nav released the song “Pain Away”. Lyrics of the chorus state: (Take all my pain away) You just like medicine, you take my pain away (Take all my pain) You just like therapy, you take good care of me (Take all my pain away) You just like Novocain, you gon’ numb the pain (Take all my pain) You just like therapy, you take good care of me On the track, Nav addresses t

The Daily Stoic

Deric Hollings

Apr 268 min read

Consider Your Choices

[ DISCLAIMER ] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy , this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman . The authors quote ancient Stoic philosopher Epictetus who stated, “Consider who you are. Above all, a human being, carrying no greater power than your own reasoned choice , which oversees

The Daily Stoic

Deric Hollings

Apr 159 min read

"A Young Woman Is a Child"?

[ DISCLAIMER ] Photo credit , fair use I’ve paid close attention to the general public’s reaction to the topic of Jeffrey Epstein . Although I have no personal interest in this matter, I find it fascinating how feminist narratives have corrupted the subject much in the same manner as they toxified the MeToo movement . Specifically, women (adult human females) were deprived personal agency (the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power ). Personally,

Deric Hollings

Jan 228 min read

Own It: Yeah, 'Dat Me!

[ DISCLAIMER ] I use Reddit as a source for daily practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), as I recently came across a subreddit post that spawned within my mind a psychoeducational lesson on personal responsibility and accountability (collectively “ ownership ”). Before proceeding any further, it may be useful to define terms. For improved understanding , responsibility is defined as the quality or state of being responsible, such as a moral , legal ,

Hip Hop and REBT

Deric Hollings

Jan 178 min read

I Chose What Type of Child I Was

[ DISCLAIMER ] As far back as I can remember, following the divorce of my parents when I was three-years-old, my late mom frequently threatened to send me and my sisters to live a children’s home. It was clear that she lamented having us. Often, we’d go on car rides past the residential facility. “One day,” my mom threatened, “I’m gonna drop y’all off and never come back!” One wonders why a Texas judge presiding over divorce proceedings of my black dad and white mom in th

The Daily Stoic

Deric Hollings

Dec 9, 202512 min read

Do What You Have to Do

[ DISCLAIMER ] In 1996, the classic rap group from Queens, New York, Lost Boyz (“LB”), released Legal Drug Money which one of my favorite old school albums from the golden age of hip hop . It was one of those anthologies which weren’t heavily polluted by useless filler (lower quality songs). On the album was the track “ Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz ”, produced by Easy Mo Bee , which was released as a single in 1995, and on which Mr. Cheeks stated: Keep the shit liv

The Daily Stoic

Deric Hollings

Oct 21, 20258 min read