24 Stoic Self Worth Meditation for the Holiday Season | Philosophy and Literature - Female Empowerment - Bluestocking Society -Women's intellectual history. The Female Stoic Podcast.
Welcome to the Female Stoic podcast.
My name is Stephanie Poppins and I am an advocate for literary empowerment.
That means I believe the example set by the literary masters can broaden life perspective, create increased self-awareness, and empower us to overcome the obstacles we encounter here in the 21st century.
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By listening and referring what we hear to Stoic philosophy, we can foster a strong sense of self and navigate the world more effectively.
This podcast takes the form of both discussions and meditations, and if you like what you hear, you might consider looking me up on my socials where I post empowering videos every day.
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Or you may like my classic audiobooks and original stories available on my website, newworldbooks.uk.
Happy listening.
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Welcome to today's episode of the Female Stoic Podcast.
This week I have prepared for you a Stoic meditation to help you stay in alignment over the busy holiday period.
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I hope you find it beneficial for rest and relaxation during this busy time.
Please let me know in the comments if it helped.
And don't forget, if you were looking for a last minute holiday gift, my many audio books are available for purchase on Google Play where they can be gifted for a loved one.
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I wish you all the compliments of the season.
Happy listening.
Welcome to this Stoic meditation.
This meditation allows us to focus on understanding our true value.
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It is performed by Stephanie Poppins, the female Stoic.
Take a deep breath in through your nose, then let it out on a long side.
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That's it.
It is time to relax and fully let go.
There is nothing you need to be doing now and nowhere you need to go.
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Today's meditation is all about how highly you value yourself, how you perceive your worth.
Worth is defined by the principles a person chooses to live by, and their ability to remain steadfast to those principles regardless of what's happening around them.
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As Stoics, we understand a compliment today can quite easily turn into criticism tomorrow simply because other people change their perspective or change their investment in US.
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If we let our self worth rise and fall with every emotional change, we become a drifting boat that loses direction every time they breathe, shifts direction.
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The external forces that are other people's opinions and beliefs about us are something we cannot change.
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It is tempting to be drawn into the habit of measuring ourselves through social feedback, seeking validation in order to feel good, and then adjusting our actions to please others, even if this conflicts with what we believe is right.
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But as Stoics, we understand it is our job to protect our principles, our virtues, above all else, in order to maintain our inner peace.
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If we are clear about which principles guide us, we will keep going no matter who is applauding.
The four principles of Stoicism help us stay consistent.
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When we acknowledge our principles of wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance, we are acknowledging the internal standards we have set for ourselves.
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And when we consider these standards, we are able to make quick, clear decisions because we do not need to consult every opinion to know what we should do.
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True principles are the things we do even when they offer no immediate benefit.
Valuing other people's reactions may make us happy in the short term, but not if we allow them to be our sole measure of worth.
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Just because we are applauded, it doesn't mean we are right.
Just because we are criticised, it doesn't mean we are wrong.
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To understand our true worth, we must ask ourselves whether we acted in accordance with the principles that we chose.
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If we are used to measuring our worth through other people's reactions, we are seeking immediate praise.
But measuring our worth by our principles means we are seeking lasting stability and avoiding the chaos that is caused by placing too much emphasis on external forces.
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When faced with a dilemma, it is important to listen, analyse and then make our decision of which action to take based on our principles, not on the pressure to please the crowd.
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It is easy to confuse perceived worth with real worth.
Perceived worth is what others think of us.
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This can change quickly depending on their perspective on their mood and the information they have available to them.
As Stoics, we understand our real worth is our courage and character, formed from consistent choices and staying true to our principles regardless of the situation.
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A strong bridge is not judged by how highly people speak of it, but by its ability to withstand the traffic that runs over it year after year after year.
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When we consider our worth, we must question whether we want to be remembered because somebody once complimented us for something or in fact, because we lived our life without betraying what we believed in.
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When we are guided by those principles, we set for ourself our own inner value system.
We are led by a compass that will never betray us.
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It is easier for us to avoid the noise and stay true to our path when we have strong principles.
At times it is easy to portray our principal system.
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We may have worked hard at something and expect to be recognised.
We may go through hardship and believe that someone else must help us.
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We may believe the world owes us happiness, and if we don't get these things we feel betrayed.
But the truth is life never signed a contract with us for anything.
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The world, in fact, operates on a much harsher principle either.
We create enough value to earn the result, or we keep working until we do.
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Understanding our worth means we cultivate the ability to create what we want.
We shift from the position of victim to that of creator.
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We understand we will receive all results as a natural part of the process, not as a reward or a punishment.
And if we fail, instead of losing faith in life's fairness, we strengthen our ability to face the challenge the next time round.
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Everything we are seeking for as Stoics, we understand, will come when we build enough value, we prove enough ability and develop enough strength to keep that thing.
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Every day, to redefine our self worth, we must choose action.
We have the choice to close the gap between where we are and where we want to be.
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Every day to build our sense of self worth, we understand it's an opportunity to add another break to the foundation, regardless of whether anyone has acknowledged that or not.
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Small actions repeated consistently produce results far greater and short bursts followed by stopping when there are delays in results.
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We understand there is always going to be a gap between planting and harvesting.
During these times, we must tend the soil without needing to see growth immediately.
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We do not need to compare ourself to others.
We do not need to prove we are more deserving than someone else for our progress.
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Is our only focus the only thing we can truly control is our own pace and the amount of effort we put into our actions.
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We operate on discipline and routine, and we use this discipline to become the fuel that keeps us going.
Therein lies our worth, this daily practice, this continual growth, not moving towards the reward so much as building every day and creating a sense of self worth from that action.
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This is the foundation of inner freedom and we understand there will be hiccups along the way.
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But cultivating a sense of self worth means we can control how we absorb those hiccups and how we choose to turn them into lessons.
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That we become stronger by taking the first step to cultivating our self worth is becoming aware.
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Recognising when we are being pulled away by emotions or outside influences.
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When we are aware, we can call upon our discipline to help us avoid reacting hastily.
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Then, when we feel we have some measure of control, we ensure that every action we take aligns with our chosen goals and values.
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If we allow external forces to dictate our sense of self worth, we are giving away something of our self.
We are voluntarily attacking our inner peace.
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And as Stoics, we remember that mastering our mind is not a single event, but a process.
Every day we work at the reinforcement of our inner citadel.
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We lay brick by brick and we regularly inspect for weak points.
Then, when we notice we have slackened off or we have let instinct or emotion take control of our actions, we pull ourselves back and reinforce another layer of our wall.
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We are aiming to protect our inner world by the reinforcement of our citadel.
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We are aiming to protect our inner peace.
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When we have a clear sense of self worth, we are calm in decision making.
We do not let outside noise drown out our inner voice.
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We understand that no one, no external force, should have the power to dictate our mood without our permission.
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When we feel ourselves being drawn into negative emotion, we question this.
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Not everything that does that is loud or obvious.
Some things work silently by wearing down our confidence and stealing our piece bit by bit.
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This can weaken our sense of worth over a period of time.
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When we compare or place ourself in meaningless competition, we are assigning value to ourselves based on that competition rather than reinforcing our sense of inner self worth.
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As Stoics, we understand pouring energy into goals that shall not ours, comparing ourselves with others, attempting to prove to someone else we are better than them, slowly destroys our sense of self worth.
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If we measure our self worth by external metrics, we cannot experience inner peace.
The only race we should be running is our own race.
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The only comparisons we should be making are between how far we have developed from the person we were to the person we are today.
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The clearer we are about our own self worth, our destination, the direction we are headed, the less likely we are to get pulled off track.
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Because in the end, the only victory that really matters is the one that we have won on our own chosen path.
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Hey Stephanie here, thank you for listening to the Female Stoic podcast.
It is an honour and I just want to say I really appreciate you being here.
It's amazing the power of women in literature and the stoic messages they have to share.
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Please, if you can, return the favour by spreading their words and sharing this podcast far and wide so more of us can benefit from their wisdom.
And don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard.
See you next time.