I recently listened to an episode of a podcast on Daily Stoic: Why You Do This Work, in this episode, Ryan Holiday started by saying that there is an element of philosophy that is a lot of work, and that we do all this reading, do our morning and evening journaling. Maybe even attend meetup groups or even have pursued an advanced degree, or we’ve joined Daily Stoic Life and participate in discussions, or that we have discourse about Stoicism online wherever we can, and we went further to say that as rewarding as this might be, it’s also true that it comes at considerable commitment and expense, and this is precisely the part I want to talk about, the commitment and why we do the work.
Just as I asked my just few seconds in the episode, Ryan Holiday went further to ask the exact same question, why should one do this? He talked about an exchange in Chicago, the new book by David Mamet (a fan of Stoicism), that captures the reasons well; where the characters, having found themselves on the wrong side of a mob war, are arming themselves and discussing where to hide a pistol for protection; then one reminds the other that “the one phrase you never want to use” when trouble arises, is “Wait here ‘till I fetch it.” Ryne Holiday went further to say in that episode that Marcus Aurelius would say something similar; that philosophy was designed to make us a boxer and not a swordsman, because a boxer is built with his weapon in hand(s) whereas a fencer has to fetch theirs.
And this was also one very striking part for me, your weapon ought to be built in your hands, the reason we practice this, ought to do this, the reason you need to build your weapon in your hands, day in and day out is to keep their lessons handy, not just in philosophy but every other area and in any field of our domain. Ryan Holiday went further to say that “we think about managing our tempers so that when we are provoked, we know how to respond. We make preparations for the twists and turns of fortune to make ourselves immune to the strokes of luck. We meditate on our mortality and the shortness of life in anticipation of that fateful day for us or for loved ones.”
Also that “We keep all this top of mind ‘at hand’ is how the title of Epictetus’s Enchiridion translates, so that we are not scrambling to deal with the difficulties and temptations of life. So that when someone bursts through our door to hurt us we’re not running over to a locked cabinet and fumbling with the key.” We want to be the fighter of our own image, and by ourselves, the one who doesn’t even need a weapon, or have to wait here so that some else can go fetch us a tool, because we’ve made it “our weapon” a part of us, and this is precisely why we do this work. While you read on I will randomly drop quotes from one of the books I just recently finished reading, Atomic Habit by James Clear.
On Small Changes
Atomic Habit by James Clear
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. Getting 1 percent better every day counts for a lot in the long-run. – (Emphasizes consistency over intensity).
Why You Should Do The Work
From the episode of the podcast on Daily Stoic: Why You Do This Work; It’s about the importance of consistent practice and preparation, using metaphors like the boxer versus the swordsman; the key and primary idea is that by internalizing lessons through daily practice, you’re ready when challenges arise.
The big and important question I asked myself is this:“How do I apply this to my field or rather to any field?”Having understood that “Why we need to the work”is about consistent, building skills, showing and entering into mastery, let’s think on this together.
The Daily Grind: Why Mastery Demands Showing Up Even When No One’s Watching
Let me assume you are the type that wakes up early everyday to start being productive early on, but if you are not, please, please and please, start doing so, so like I assumed, you wake up early. You start by being productive early on as early as possible, you code yet another feature no client will ever see, you write deep thoughts and journal, you run laps in the empty gym, and if you are like me, you publish a wonderful blog post, Lol, yeah, I know, I am allowed to hype myself,
Back to being serious, Why? Why do you do this work? Why do you show up? You do so or ought to do so? Because when the curtain rises, the investor asks for your pitch, or the injury sidelines your teammate, you are asked to fill in for another mathematics teacher, you may not have the time to say,“Wait here while I fetch it.”You need to have your weapon in your hands, you need to be a boxer.
And if you have not being showing up, doing the work, if you do not have your weapon in your hand you are very unlike to have overnight, because being a success does not happen overnight, I know we both know this, but yet many people still expect their success to be overnight and that why some of us are not, and maybe for some it happen but for most this is a myth.
What is known as the Grind is the time when working hard ceases to be enjoyable and thrilling and begins becoming boring, exhausting and maybe even demotivating. The way you deal with the Grind is usually the difference between winners and those who give up.
Dr. Jim Taylor, writing for Psychology Today, calls this the Grind. “The Grind is when you’re performing work that takes you far beyond the point at which it is fun and exciting.” The Grind is exhausting, stressful and boring. It is also the moment when it truly matters.
According to Dr Taylor: “Many businesspeople at this stage either relax or quit because they find it too difficult. However, those who are truly motivated will go for The Grind and keep on continuing.”
To defeat The Grind, he recommends finding a balance between the love-hate spectrum. Being able to truly love The Grind – the paper-pushing, the dull meetings, the tired mornings when you have to punch the clock at 9 to 5 after having a late night working on a side project – rarely occurs. However, openly detesting The Grind is a recipe for burnout; this is the reason why Dr Taylor writes: “I suggest that you neither love nor hate The Grind; you simply accept it as part of the deal in striving toward success.” – The Grind – Don’t Ease Up, Don’t Give Up
Continue Reading: Why Hard Work Is Key To Success | Quotes
The Myth of Overnight Genius
Again for some of us we like to think just being doing little work here and there without showing consistency we can become overly successful in such a way that this success comes overnight, but the brutal truth is that behind every flash of brilliance lies years of invisible labor.
The 10,000-hour rule isn’t just for violinists, just as a surgeon doesn’t “find steady hands” during an emergency, they forge them in hundreds of simulated procedures. A teacher doesn’t improvise classroom management during a riot, they build it through 5AM lesson plans.
Identity Shift
Atomic Habit by James Clear
Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. – (Focus on building identity-based habits, not just outcomes).
Your future self and tomorrow is not shaped by your overnight’s work but by many consistent past and today’s repetitions, where each of these repetitions paves the pathways, turning our conscious effort into our unconscious competence, where if we found ourselves on the wrong side of a mob war, test, job opportunity, interview, or giving an unexpected proposal we will be already armed from our consistent effort from building and proactively doing the work, we would NOT be hanging by the rope and waiting for someone to come save us and we would NOT be hoping to hear the phrase when this challenges or trouble arises, and even better opportunity arises, we would NOT be hoping to hear “Wait here ‘till I fetch it,” because he have been showing up, doing the work and consistently and a byproduct of that is that now you have made yourself a boxer and not a swordsman, because again like Ryan Holiday said, a boxer is built with his weapon in hand(s) whereas a fencer has to fetch theirs. So you really need to be a boxer.
Systems > Goals
Atomic Habit by James Clear
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. – (Prioritize sustainable processes over short-term targets).
Why We’re All Boxers Now
Marcus Aurelius’ metaphor transcends philosophy and this is because life, especially, modern life demands we live in a ready stance. Let me make this as personal as possible on “Why We’re All Boxers Now” with examples across disciplines:
Case 1: The Entrepreneur
You’ve analyzed 200 failed products. When a client says, “Your competitor does X,” you don’t panic, your response and rebuttal flows from 10,000 hours of past experiences and post-mortems (an analysis or discussion of an event held soon after it has occurred, especially in order to determine why it was a failure).
Case 2: A Student
You are always making time to read, study and solve questions, not just waiting for exam or test period, so even if an unexpected test comes up, you will not panic, because you have your weapon at hand.
Case 3: The Parent
Those late-night reads on developmental psychology? They become instinct when your teen says, “I hate you.”
Case 4: The Cybersecurity Analyst
Simulates 3 ransomware attacks weekly, so that when hackers breach the network at 2AM, their fingers fly across the keyboard not because they’re geniuses, but because they’ve fought this exact battle in 127 virtual war games.
All these cases show how preparedness and having your weapon in hand gives you an edge in winning most of the time if not all the time. Having your weapon at hand pays but waiting for help or to go and fetch costs.
The Plateau of Latent Potential
Atomic Habit by James Clear
Breakthroughs are the result of many previous actions, which build up the potential required to unleash a major change. – (Habits often feel ineffective until they cross a critical threshold).
The Cost of Fetching
History punishes those unprepared, “Fetching” refers to the time/opportunity cost of scrambling to acquire skills, tools, or composure during critical moments instead of having them pre-loaded.
| Scenario | Visible Cost | Invisible Cost |
| Job Interview | Fumbled answer | Lost offer to candidate who “just knew” |
| Investor Pitch | Unanswered objection | Down-round valuation |
| Medical Emergency | Hesitation delay | Patient mortality risk ↑ 18%* |
| Software Outage | Debugging panic | SLA breaches → contract penalties |
Environment Design
Atomic Habit by James Clear
You don’t have to be the victim of your environment. You can also be the architect of it. – (Optimize surroundings to make good habits inevitable).
How You Can Learn to be Ready, Be The Boxer
Micro-Habits > Grand Gestures
- Writer’s hack: 500 words daily, even if not published.
- Engineer’s edge: Review one failed PR before breakfast.
- Artist’s ritual: Sketch the subway crowd, no erasing.
- Reader: Read at least 2 pages a day.
Let’s break down each one:
The Writer’s hack
500 words daily; the micro-habit is writing 500 words every day. The grand gesture might be aiming to write a whole novel in a month to achieve overnight success, but the outcome would show the benefit of daily writing versus the burnout from the grand effort.
The Engineer’s edge
Reviewing a failed PR before breakfast; the micro-habit is analyzing one failed pull request each morning, and the grand gesture could be planning to overhaul the entire codebase over a weekend, and the outcome would likely highlight incremental learning vs. overwhelming failure.
Habit Tracking
Atomic Habit by James Clear
The most effective form of motivation is progress. – (Visual cues like habit trackers reinforce consistency).
The Artist’s ritual
Sketching subway crowds without erasing; this micro-habit daily sketches embracing imperfections, but the grand gesture might be renting a studio for a masterpiece, and the outcome shows skill improvement through practice versus wasted resources.
And The Reader
Reading at least two pages daily; the micro-habit is consistent reading, and the grand gesture is trying to finish a book in one sitting, and the outcome emphasizes retention and habit formation versus fatigue.
You do all of these getting yourself ready, doing the work, showing up, training and becoming the boxer so that when a time, place, moment or even a person calls your attention or dares you, you have your weapon handy and ready to win, pass, make progress and defeat.
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Conclusion
I will conclude by quoting Ryan Holiday again that: the book by David Mamet captures the reasons well. The characters, having found themselves on the wrong side of a mob war, are arming themselves and discussing where to hide a pistol for protection. Then one reminds the other that “the one phrase you never want to use” when trouble arises, is “Wait here ‘till I fetch it.” Train yourself to be the boxer and not a swordsman, because a boxer is built with his weapon in hand(s) whereas a fencer has to fetch theirs.
Why we do our exercises, work and meditations, day in and day out is to keep these lessons handy, we think about managing our tempers so that when we are provoked, we know how to respond. We make preparations for the twists and turns of fortune to make ourselves immune to the strokes of luck. We meditate on our mortality and the shortness of life in anticipation of that fateful day for us or for loved ones.
We keep all this top of mind–“at hand” so that we are not scrambling to deal with the difficulties, temptations and challenges of life. So that when someone bursts through our door to hurt us we’re not running over to a locked cabinet and fumbling with the key. Better, we want to be the fighter, the boxer, the one who doesn’t even need a weapon, because we’ve made it a part of us. That’s why we do this work!
The Two-Minute Rule
Atomic Habit by James Clear
A habit must be established before it can be improved. – (Start with habits so easy you can’t say no).
You might not always feel “ready” but when the mob boss of life kicks down your door, be it a layoff, a failed product, or a missed diagnosis, you’ll realize that the work wasn’t about avoiding the storm, but it was about becoming the storm.
Every day’s 15 minutes of deliberate practice could be tomorrow’s split-second victory; I say that to say this: DO THE WORK!
