[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. Throughout The Daily Stoic, references to slavery are used. According to Merriam-Webster, a slave is thusly defined: Noun – 1. someone captured, sold, or born into chattel slavery (slavery in wh

[DISCLAIMER] Photo credit, fair use When attending United States Marine Corps Recruit Training aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego (1996), I received Linear Involuntary Neural-Override Engagement (LINE) training—a hybrid martial arts combat fighting system used by Marines from 1989 to 1998. Unlike the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) training which began in 2001, which focused on incapacitating enemy combatants, LINE training was mainly concentrated on ki

[DISCLAIMER] On his album Wednesday After Next (2019), rapper Chris Webby featured the song “Stuck in My Ways” in which he states, “While these minutes on the clock tickin’, either learn to love me as the man I am, or don’t, but I’m not switching,” and he continues on a chorus by admitting: I’m stuck in my ways, stuck in my ways They saying that I gotta grow up, and to start acting my age I ain’t saying I’ma never change But some things’ll always be the same I’m stuck in

[DISCLAIMER] Photo credit, Designed by Freepik, fair use I invite you to imagine that a current problem you’re facing is akin to a metaphorical cliff which you’re climbing. Other people are also ascending the rock face, as some individuals appear to have an easier time with the climb. What is it you tell yourself during this imaginary journey? One figurative tool you can use along your ascent, which relates to a form of self-narrative, is virtue (a quality or characterist

[ DISCLAIMER ] In common parlance, the term “realistic” relates to being able to see things as they really are and to deal with them in a practical way. For instance, it isn’t realistic to train (to make prepared , as by exercise, for a test of skill) in unrealistic settings (e.g., training to swim while lying in sand). As well, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines “training” as systematic instruction and practice by which an individual acquires compete

[ DISCLAIMER ] From what I was told, I sustained bilateral clavicle breaks during natural childbirth when I weighed 10 pounds and 10 ounces. Thereafter, I was said to have contracted pneumonia which required placement into an incubator. Also, I apparently had an allergy to dairy and breastmilk. Isolated from my mother’s touch and subject to incubation, I reportedly had a photo taken of me with a paragraph written about my case that was placed in a medical book. As the sto

[ 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 Epictetus who stated, “If you are defeated once and tell yourself you will overcome, but carry on as before, know in the end you’ll be so ill and weakened that eventuall