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Take an Inventory of Your Obligations

  • Writer: Deric Hollings
    Deric Hollings
  • Aug 6
  • 7 min read

 

I recall working in a loss prevention role for a major retailer many years ago. Part of my duties entailed a tedious annual day of checking inventory (an itemized list of current assets). This occurred annually, as employees generally disliked having to participate.

 

All the same, I took personal responsibility and accountability (collectively “ownership”) for my role in the success of my employer, as that’s who paid my wage. When contemplating this matter, I think of the psychotherapeutic modality I practice and a book that I’ve been reading.

 

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.

 

During the annual inventory event for my former employer, plenty of people griped, whined, bitched, moaned, complained, whinged, vented, etc. Addressing this sort of experience, authors of The Daily Stoic quote ancient Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus who stated (page 80):

 

The person is free who lives as they wish, neither compelled, nor hindered, nor limited—whose choices aren’t hampered, whose desires succeed, and who don’t fall into what repels them.

 

Who wishes to live in deception—tripped up, mistaken, undisciplined, complaining, in a rut? No one. These are base people who don’t live as they wish; and so, no base person is free.

 

Bear in mind, one source states that Epictetus “was born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, in western Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece, where he spent the rest of his life.”

 

This was a man who knew something about slavery versus freedom. This is a starkly different matter than so-called “wage slavery,” about which one source states:

 

Wage slavery is a term used to criticize exploitation of labour by business, by keeping wages low or stagnant in order to maximize profits. The situation of wage slavery can be loosely defined as a person's dependence on wages (or a salary) for their livelihood, especially when wages are low, treatment and conditions are poor, and there are few chances of upward mobility.

 

One presumes that a major distinction between chattel slavery and indentured servitude is that people subjected to the former aren’t/weren’t paid for their labor, thus negating the term “wage slavery.” Nevertheless, one is also aware of how another source states:

 

Generally speaking, slaves enjoyed few material benefits beyond crude lodgings, basic foods and cotton clothing. Still, some plantation slaves were able to earn small amounts of cash by telling fortunes or playing the fiddle at dances.

 

Others sold poultry, meats and liquor or peddled handicrafts. In some cases, slaves could earn money from their master if they performed tasks with particular skill.

 

Understandably, words such as “ownership” and “slavery” may evoke mental depictions of a cruel blight on human history (and even the present). Still, it serves a purpose herein. For instance, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 80):

 

It is sad to consider how much time many people spend in the course of a day doing things they “have” to do—not necessary obligations like work or family, but the obligations we needlessly accept out of vanity or ignorance. Consider the actions we take in order to impress other people or the lengths we’ll go to fulfill urges or sate desires we don’t even question.

 

In one of his famous letters, Seneca observes how often powerful people are slaves to their money, to their positions, to their mistresses, even—as was legal in Rome—to their slaves. “No slavery is more disgraceful,” he quipped, “than one which is self-imposed.”

 

When reading Seneca’s perspective, I imagine a justice-minded individual scoffing. If that’s you, dear reader, I encourage you to critically think about your reaction. After all, only you maintain personal ownership regarding your responses to matters with which you disagree in life.

 

Can you comprehend what Seneca advocated was that self-imposed disempowerment serves as a form of hyperbolic slavery by which you remain bound to your own self-disturbing beliefs? Regarding this topic, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 80):

 

We see this slavery all the time—a codependent person who can’t help but clean up after a dysfunctional friend, a boss who micromanages employees and sweats every penny. The countless causes, events, and get-togethers we’re too busy to attend but agree to anyway.

 

Not as a matter of diluting how atrocious actual slavery was and is—because there are still people throughout the world who are literally enslaved—I invite you to consider that when irrational beliefs about how you evidently have to do this or that manifest, you enslave yourself.

 

Of course, there are some flexible demandingness personal narratives which facilitate what we actually should, must, or ought to (i.e., have to) do in life. As an example, when I was a husband and had a stepdaughter, I had to support my family. Therefore, I worked for a major retailer.

 

Even though I was paid a relatively low wage for my role in loss prevention, I wasn’t a wage slave. I volunteered for the position, took personal ownership of my obligations, and fulfilled my personal demandingness narrative in what I consider to have been a satisfactory manner.

 

How was I able to accomplish that during a time when I knew nothing about REBT? Even when I hadn’t read The Daily Stoic, how was I empowered to support my family? Authors of the book answer these questions by stating, and then in turn asking (page 80):

 

Take an inventory of your obligations from time to time. How many of these are self-imposed? How many of them are truly necessary? Are you as free as you think?

 

I was freed from self-disturbed beliefs during a tedious annual day of checking inventory by taking personal inventory of my obligations. Did I want to carefully go over every single item in stock? No. Did I need to do so in order to support my family? Yes. Then, what else mattered?

 

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

 

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

 

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

 

 

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW


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References:

 

Cossins, D. (2011, April 4). Were enslaved people in America ever paid for their work? History Extra. Retrieved from https://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/slave-labour/

Daily Stoic. (n.d.). Translating the Stoics: An interview with “The Daily Stoic” co-author Stephen Hanselman. Retrieved from https://dailystoic.com/stephen-hanselman-interview/

Holiday, R. and Hanselman, S. (2016). The daily stoic: 366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living. Penguin Random House LLC. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-daily-stoic-366-meditations-on-wisdom-perseverance-and-the-art-of-living-d61378067.html

Hollings, D. (2024, November 4). Critical thinking. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/critical-thinking

Hollings, D. (2022, October 31). Demandingness. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/demandingness

Hollings, D. (2024, October 21). Desire. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/desire

Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer

Hollings, D. (2024, December 30). Empowerment. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/empowerment

Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use

Hollings, D. (2024, May 17). Feeling better vs. getting better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/feeling-better-vs-getting-better-1

Hollings, D. (2025, March 5). Five major characteristics of four major irrational beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/five-major-characteristics-of-four-major-irrational-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better

Hollings, D. (2025, June 15). Griping, whining, bitching, moaning, complaining, whinging, venting, etc. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/ griping-whining-bitching-moaning-complaining-whinging,-venting-etc

Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/

Hollings, D. (2025, January 26). Ignorance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/ignorance

Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching

Hollings, D. (2022, November 7). Personal ownership. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/personal-ownership

Hollings, D. (2023, September 15). Psychotherapeutic modalities. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapeutic-modalities

Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist

Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt

Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance

Hollings, D. (2022, October 7). Should, must, and ought. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/should-must-and-ought

Hollings, D. (2024, April 21). Stoicism. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/stoicism

Hollings, D. (2025, January 2). The distinction between law and justice. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-distinction-between-law-and-justice

Hollings, D. (2025, February 28). To try is my goal. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/to-try-is-my-goal

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Epictetus. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epictetus

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Ryan Holiday. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Holiday

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Wikipedia. (n.d.). Wage slavery. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_slavery

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