Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast The Stoic Responder
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| You Don't Have to Have an Opinion | 24 Sep 2024 | 00:17:59 | |
“You always own the option of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can't control. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone.” - Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
It’s an old media trick on Capitol Hill. Every time a politician gets caught doing something controversial, reporters seek comment from every passing Senator or Representative and use the responses to fuel the next news cycle.
Politicians love to talk, so they always take the bait, and soon the story evolves from news about an incident into the he said-she said sniping that keeps partisan viewers tuned in. But, what if they didn’t take the bait? What if they simply said, “I don’t have an opinion,” and then got on with the business of serving their constituents? We’d probably have a more effective government and a healthier public discourse.
We talk about the importance of ignoring the noise and getting on with your job on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| True Freedom | 20 Sep 2024 | 00:13:23 | |
“[It is] like seeing roasted meat and other dishes in front of you and suddenly realizing: This is a dead fish. A dead bird. A dead pig. Or that this noble vintage [wine] is rotted grapes… perceptions like that... latching onto things and piercing through them, to see what they really are… to strip away the legend that encrusts them.” - Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
What is the world around you when it is stripped of the values that you place upon it? Your badge? A piece of stamped metal.
Your authority? Words on a piece of paper.
Fancy meals, designer clothing and the custom motorcycle you’ve had your eye on? Their value is created by your perceptions, judgements, emotions and societal norms. It’s all illusory.
We talk about the importance of overcoming the superficial and illusory on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Master or Slave? | 19 Sep 2024 | 00:11:32 | |
“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him. “ – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
We have sovereignty over a few things in this life - our choices, our attitude, our actions and our reactions. But we are quick to give away that sovereignty the moment our fragile ego is threatened by a perceived slight or insult. In those moments, when we let the anger rise and boil over, we surrender our agency and empower our tormentor. That is a choice. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
We talk about personal sovereignty on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Loyalty in Adversity | 18 Sep 2024 | 00:14:15 | |
“In prosperity it is very easy to find a friend; but in adversity it is the most difficult of all things” – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
At the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the cadre at the Physical Techniques Division love to meter out punishment for minor transgressions. Students learn, in short order, that there is no benefit in standing out from the crowd and classes quickly band together to up level everyone’s performance for the good of the whole. Through this shared adversity, true friendships are built on principles of trust, empathy, and mutual support.
We talk about how shared adversity can make us greater on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| You Are Not Rich | 17 Sep 2024 | 00:24:42 | |
“When a youth was giving himself airs in the theater and saying, “I am wise for I have conversed with many wise men,” Epictetus said, “I too have conversed with many rich men, yet I am not rich.” – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
To Stoics, the wise man is the ideal. And though it is the ideal, it is exceedingly rare and only born out of constant practice and humility. It is vital to seek the ideal, striving every day to gain perfect consistency of our rational faculties so that we may see the world as it is and act in accordance with nature, yet we often give ourselves too much credit for how far we have advanced.
We use recent comments from a prominent podcast host to talk about the nature of wisdom on the podcast today!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Do Something | 16 Sep 2024 | 00:09:39 | |
E065: Do Something
“When men choose to do nothing, they also learn to do evil.” – Cato
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
Cato inspired our founding fathers with his steadfast integrity and fealty to the Republic. Like them, he understood that in the face of wrongdoing and injustice, remaining passive or indifferent could lead individuals down a perilous path of moral decline.
Law enforcement needs more men like Cato. In today’s hyper-political policing environment, the profession is plagued by too many officers who are willing to ‘go along to get along’ to avoid scrutiny and gain acceptance from their peers and supervisors.
We talk about the importance of choosing Cato’s path on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Dust to Dust | 12 Sep 2024 | 00:11:26 | |
E064: Dust to Dust
“Alexander the Great and his mule driver both died and the same thing happened to both. “ – Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
Built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom period, around 2580–2560 BC, the Great Pyramid was commissioned by Pharaoh Khufu as a tomb, intended to house his mummified body and treasures for the afterlife. Historians estimate that the project took at least 20 years to complete and required the labor of some 20,000 full time workers supplemented by as many as 100,000 seasonal workers.
It is ironic then, that despite commissioning the decades long construction of a building that stood for 39 centuries as the earth’s tallest manmade structure, all but a few fragmentary details of Khufu’s reign, as well as his mummified remains, have been lost to history.
We talk about leaving a legacy that endures on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Friction is Essential | 11 Sep 2024 | 00:09:02 | |
E063: Friction is Essential
“A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.” – Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
Picture a gemstone in its natural state. Raw, uncut, and hidden beneath layers of imperfection. Though full of potential brilliance, it remains obscured and unrealized. It is only through friction—the act of polishing—that its innate beauty becomes manifest.
We often think of friction as a bad thing, but we’ll talk about the benefits of friction on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Curb Your Desires | 10 Sep 2024 | 00:16:17 | |
E062: Curb Your Desires
"Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire." – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
Our desires and attachments to external things are a significant source of our discontent and a potential obstacle to our freedom. Just ask Jonathan Trevino. In 2006, at the age of 22, Trevino, a Mission, Texas police officer, was placed in charge of a hybrid task force of Mission PD and Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Deputies called the Panama Unit.
Over the next few years, Trevino’s desires and attachments led to the unraveling of dozens of lives. We talk about the Panama Unit and the dangers of desire on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Discipline Yourself | 06 Sep 2024 | 00:11:09 | |
“Discipline yourself, and others won’t need to.” – John Wooden
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
In other words, we get a whole lot luckier when we are consistently prepared. And that takes discipline.
Want to be luckier? Be more disciplined. We talk about luck and discipline on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Show Them Their Mistake | 05 Sep 2024 | 00:12:58 | |
“Shall any man hate me? That will be his affair. But I will be mild and benevolent toward every man, and ready to show even him his mistake, not reproachfully, nor yet as making a display of my endurance, but nobly and honestly.” – Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
When faced with prejudice against our profession it can be easy to get defensive. After all, you didn’t do anything deserving of the enmity. But does that defensiveness win any hearts and minds? No. Marcus Aurelius invites us to, instead, consider the transformative potential of responding to hate with love and benevolence.
We talk about how to rise above hatred on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Sweat the Small Stuff | 04 Sep 2024 | 00:14:06 | |
“Well-being is realized by small steps, but is truly no small thing.” – Zeno
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, is known for his work on habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement. In his writing he emphasizes the importance of small, incremental changes as the key to achieving significant and lasting progress in life, and advocates for the concept of continuous improvement as a way to make consistent and sustainable advancements.
We talk about the importance of sweating the small stuff on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| What is Your Vision? | 03 Sep 2024 | 00:12:59 | |
“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About: A vision board is usually a collage of images that represent goals and dreams. It can include cut-out pictures from magazines and words that help inspire you to manifest your dreams and get where you want to go. The primary goal of the board is to help us gain self-awareness and self-reflection on what is important to us, and many entrepreneurs and business mentors swear by the concept as a means to inspiring growth.
On the job, you may use a tactical plan to identify the target of an operation and plan for the deployment of people and assets. Like a vision board, a tactical plan helps you gain perspective and operational awareness so that you can execute the mission effectively. The tools are very different but the concept is the same visualize and execute.
We talk about the importance of laying out your vision on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| The World Does Not Care | 30 Aug 2024 | 00:10:20 | |
Things stand outside of us, themselves by themselves, neither knowing anything of themselves nor expressing any judgment.” – Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
The universe around us possesses no consciousness, nor does it pass judgments. It is fundamentally neutral and indifferent to our presence. It doesn't act with any particular intention or motive, whether to benefit or to harm us. Rather, it is our judgments and reactions to the world around us that assign value, meaning and emotional weight to events.
We talk about how to embrace indifference on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Why So Serious? | 29 Aug 2024 | 00:11:05 | |
“He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at.” – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
So much is outside of our control both on the job and off, but one thing that is in our control is the ability to see the humor in the absurdity of it all. Through the lens of laughter we gain perspective and solace in the recognition that life is often as absurd as it is beautiful, and as unpredictable as it is profound.
We talk about how laughter can build resilience on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Check Your Hatred | 28 Aug 2024 | 00:15:29 | |
“We advise a man to regard his friends as highly as himself, to reflect that an enemy may become a friend, to stimulate love in the friend, and to check hatred in the enemy.” — Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
A Stoic approach to relationships emphasizes the importance of cultivating virtue, fostering goodwill, and maintaining a sense of equanimity and reason in interactions with others while cautioning us against the dangers of hatred.
Seneca, like his first century contemporary, Jesus, regularly spoke on the corrosive nature of hatred, noting how it is often as destructive to the hater as it is to the hated. Better, he reasoned, to forgive those that have harmed you.
We talk about the corrosive danger of hatred on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Age Versus Experience | 27 Aug 2024 | 00:15:17 | |
“A man with white hair and wrinkles hasn’t lived long – he has just existed long” - Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
The Stoics believed that time is our most valuable resource, and it is the only thing that we can never get back. Therefore, we must seek to constantly develop ourselves in the time that we have.
In Atomic Habits, James Clear tells the story of the British cycling team who took this theory to the extreme with impressive results when they hired Dave Brailsford as their performance director in 2003. At the time of Brailsford’s hiring, British cyclists had won just one gold medal at the Olympic Games since 1908, and no British cyclist had ever won the Tour de France.
On today’s podcast, we talk about how Brailsford created success in a fraction of the time by focusing on marginal gains!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Adapt and Overcome | 23 Aug 2024 | 00:11:12 | |
“To improve is to change. To be perfect is to have changed often.” – Winston Churchill
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
Improvement demands the courage to embrace transformation—to shed old habits, reevaluate strategies, and confront the unknown. It is the recognition that perfection is not a static state but a fluid evolution that transcends complacency.
Instead of envisioning perfection as an unattainable ideal, we should see it as a continuous journey and an expression of our willingness to adapt, learn, and evolve—often.
We talk about how to embrace transformative change on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Know Nothing | 22 Aug 2024 | 00:10:10 | |
“The first thing a pretender to philosophy must do is get rid of their presuppositions; a person is not going to undertake to learn anything that they think they already know.” – Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
Presuppositions are the ideas, biases, and assumptions that we hold about the world based on our past experiences, beliefs, and cultural influences. They shape our perceptions of reality and influence how we interpret new information and experiences. However, clinging too tightly to these presuppositions can hinder our ability to truly learn and grow.
We talk about how Marine Corps leadership principles and Marcus Aurelius put an emphasis on seeking self-improvement through knowledge transfer on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Flip the Script | 21 Aug 2024 | 00:09:19 | |
“It’s unfortunate that this has happened. No. It’s fortunate that this has happened and I’ve remained unharmed by it—not shattered by the present or frightened of the future. It could have happened to anyone. But not everyone could have remained unharmed by it.” – Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
The Stoics believed that events themselves are neutral, and it is our responses and attitudes that shape their impact on our lives. Yes, there are unfortunate events that are inherently difficult and challenging, but we must never get trapped in a victimhood mindset over things beyond our control.
We talk about flipping the script on your obstacles on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role!
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| Master Yourself | 20 Aug 2024 | 00:14:21 | |
"No man is free who is not master of himself." – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
Part of what makes Stoicism so fascinating is that its early adherents were representative of the extremes of both Greek and Roman society. Some, like Cato, Zeno of Citium, Helvidius Priscus and Seneca were wealthy merchants, Senators, playwrights and civic leaders. One, Marcus Aurelius, was the most powerful man on earth, rising to the position of Emperor of Rome. But on the other hand, many came from more humble origins. Cleanthes was a simple laborer, Chrysippus a runner, and Epictetus a slave. The varied lives of the progenitors of the philosophy show us that regardless of one’s station in life, some things are universally true.
When Epictetus said, "No man is free who is not master of himself," he conveyed a fundamental principle of Stoic philosophy that transcends class and caste, namely that inner freedom and self-mastery are the true source of liberty.
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Stay in Your Lane | 16 Aug 2024 | 00:13:10 | |
“The heart is great which shows moderation in the midst of prosperity.“ – Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
How many of us have had a desire to do something audacious to change our lives, but convinced ourselves to quit out of fear of being judged? The new career path, the weight loss journey, the new hobby. We will abandon it all at the first hint of imagined whispers and disapproval from our friends, family or colleagues. But why?Because we allow our views of things to disturb us.
We talk about how Olympic sprinters keep their focus on the finish line and stay in their lane on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| The Best Answer to Anger | 15 Aug 2024 | 00:09:13 | |
“The best answer to anger is silence.” – Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
The term HALT in Alcoholics Anonymous is a reference to the most common triggers for relapse - hunger, anger, loneliness and tiredness. The mnemonic device helps remind individuals in recovery to manage their emotional and physical states, as these can influence their vulnerability to relapse.
Anger can be the hardest of these triggers to overcome, and while there are times when anger is an absolutely appropriate response to a provocation, it can also lead to impulsive and destructive behavior that causes harm to our reputations and relationships. Silence, on the other hand, can have the opposite effect.
We talk about the antidote to anger on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Go Out and Get It | 14 Aug 2024 | 00:09:33 | |
E047: Go Out and Get It
“God laid down this law, saying: if you want some good, get it from yourself.” – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
By the time he became a key figure in the American Revolution and played an instrumental role in drafting the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution Benjamin Franklin was already known worldwide as an author, satirist, scientist, publisher, inventor and statesman.
Franklin accomplished so much in his life because of his deep commitment to self-improvement.
We talk about Franklin’s self-discipline on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Deeds Not Words | 13 Aug 2024 | 00:06:20 | |
“Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it.” – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
The Stoics believed that philosophy was not merely an intellectual exercise or a set of abstract ideas but a practical guide for living a virtuous and meaningful life. It was not enough to engage in theoretical discussions or provide elaborate explanations of one's philosophical beliefs to a roomful of students. Instead, they encouraged individuals to embody their philosophy by integrating its principles into their everyday actions, behaviors, and attitudes.
Actions, as the saying goes, speak louder than words.
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Moderation in Prosperity | 09 Aug 2024 | 00:14:33 | |
“The heart is great which shows moderation in the midst of prosperity.“ – Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
The humility shown by leaders like Calvin Coolidge and Marcus Aurelius is woefully absent in a modern world where politicians campaign on doing good, but, once in office, become far more interested in doing well. So too in the ranks of law enforcement.
To be a leader worth following, one must constantly ask themselves while ascending the career ladder, ‘Do I want this position to serve others or do I want this position to serve myself?’
We talk about what humble leadership looks like on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| It's All Perspective | 08 Aug 2024 | 00:13:54 | |
“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. – Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
In September 2021, images and videos circulated showing Border Patrol Agents on horseback confronting illegal immigrants from Haiti on the banks of the Rio Grande River outside of Del Rio, Texas. As a rush of Haitians attempted to illegally enter the United States, the agents worked to manage the crowd and push them back, using their long leather reins to control their mounts.
Unfortunately, still photographs of the incident were characterized by media organizations and the White House as showing the agents “whipping” or “strapping” people. It didn’t matter that video proved that characterization was an outright lie, the narrative, once established, drowned out the truth. And when the investigation into the agents' conduct eventually cleared them of any wrongdoing, there were no apologies from the smear merchants who had long since moved on.
This incident is a good reminder that we work in a dynamic environment where deceptively edited images and videos can create an anti-police fervor in the blink of an eye. And while we cannot control the actions of dishonest brokers who profit from spinning up societal outrage, we can take a lesson from how they operate: If they frame police conduct this way, what else are they manipulating?
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Find Out Who Your Friends Are | 07 Aug 2024 | 00:10:23 | |
“With the exception of wisdom, I’m inclined to believe that the immortal gods have given nothing better to humanity than friendship.” — Cicero
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
In 2006, country music star Tracy Lawrence released the single “Find Out Who Your Friends Are” that featured the lyrics “Everybody wants to slap your back, wants to shake your hand when you're up on top of that mountain. But let one of those rocks give way, then you slide back down, look up and see who's around then.”
A few thousand years before Lawrence topped the charts, Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote his own treatises covering a wide range of subjects, including loyalty, fidelity and friendship. We dig into the importance of finding out who your friends are in today’s episode!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| You Can Always Change Yourself | 06 Aug 2024 | 00:18:19 | |
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Viktor Frankl
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About: Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl endured unimaginable loss at the hands of the Nazis, but rather than become consumed by despair or resignation to a hopeless situation beyond his control, Frankl endeavored to cultivate resilience in himself, taking responsibility of his own emotional and mental well being and seeking meaning in every moment of living.
We talk about Frankl and his incredible book Man’s Search for Meaning on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Don't Be So Quick to Judge | 02 Aug 2024 | 00:13:57 | |
“Someone bathes in haste; don’t say he bathes badly, but in haste. Someone drinks a lot of wine; don’t say he drinks badly, but a lot. Until you know their reasons, how do you know that their actions are vicious? This will save you from perceiving one thing clearly, but then assenting to something different.” – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About: In a world quick to categorize, cancel and condemn, the Stoic path invites us to inquire and seek the reasons behind actions before passing judgment. By adopting this mindset, we shield ourselves from the trap of seeing one thing clearly but then assenting to something different. We talk about it on the podcast today!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Be Tranquil | 01 Aug 2024 | 00:11:11 | |
“Occupy thyself with few things, says the philosopher, if thou wouldst be tranquil.“ – Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About: It is only by decluttering our minds and lives, that we can create space for clarity, purpose, and serenity to flourish. This requires discipline, self-awareness, and a willingness to embrace simplicity in our thoughts, actions, and possessions. We talk about it on the podcast today!
Resources + Links: Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here! Sponsor Discounts: Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Bear The Trials | 31 Jul 2024 | 00:13:41 | |
“To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden.” – Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About: Facing trials is an inevitable part of the human experience. Avoiding them is not an option, and attempting to do so only leads to further suffering. Worse yet, emotional responses to adversity often intensify the experience.
So what do we do instead? We talk about it on the podcast today!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways
Until Next Time…out of role!
| |||
| A Slave to Impulse | 30 Jul 2024 | 00:14:00 | |
“Stop allowing your mind to be a slave, to be jerked about by selfish impulses, to kick against fate and the present, and to mistrust the future." – Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About: Over time, stressors and the lack of relief can increase the chances of police engaging in unhealthy behaviors, such as overuse of alcohol. This overuse can lead to dependency or full blown substance abuse disorders and the associated behavioral, financial and legal issues that often come with them. Some studies suggest that as many as 30 percent of law enforcement officers have a substance abuse disorder.
But we don’t have to be slaves to the stressors we experience. We discuss stoic tips to stop bad behaviors before they start on the podcast today.
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Sponsor Discounts:
Friend of the show Dan Hickman (@danieljasonhickman on Instagram) hosts the Competitive Edge Podcast and is a father, entrepreneur and hybrid athlete. As a MyZone Ambassador, Dan is offering The Stoic Responder Podcast listeners $60 off of a MyZone heart rate monitor using discount code TMZUS001-51445-60. If you aren’t using a heart rate monitor to train, you’re missing out on critical data. Through accurate heart rate tracking and real-time feedback, all effort counts.
Takeaways
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| The Power of Proximity | 26 Jul 2024 | 00:08:05 | |
E037: The Power of Proximity
“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.” – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
What we surround ourselves with is deeply influential to that which we become. Our associations matter more than we care to admit. It is the power of proximity. And this is especially true in law enforcement. We talk about the power of proximity on today’s podcast!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Bear With Them | 25 Jul 2024 | 00:08:23 | |
“Either teach them better if it be in thy power; or if it be not, remember that for this use, to bear with them patiently, was mildness and goodness granted unto thee.“ – Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
The concept of patience as a virtue is deeply rooted in religious and philosophical traditions. In Christianity, patience is considered one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit and is extolled as a virtue in the New Testament. The Stoic philosophers, too, emphasized the importance of patience in enduring life's hardships with equanimity and resilience. How can we implement this virtue in our modern lives?
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Seize What Flees | 24 Jul 2024 | 00:11:02 | |
E035: Seize What Flees
“Let us therefore set out whole-heartedly, leaving aside our many distractions and exert ourselves in this single purpose before we realize too late the swift and unstoppable flight of time and are left behind. As each day arises, welcome it as the very best day of all, and make it your own possession. We must seize what flees.” – Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
The sand will run out on each of our hour glasses. What can we do to seize what flees? We talk about it on the podcast today.
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Out of Role: Addressing Sexual Assault Allegations in the Health and Fitness Industry and Providing Resources for Victims | 23 Jul 2024 | 00:34:46 | |
In this special OUT OF ROLE episode, we discuss a recurrance of allegations of sexual assault and gross misconduct in the online health and fitness industry and provide guidance and resources for women who may have experienced such incidents while explaining the various legal options available to them. If you believe you have been a victim of sexual assault, sex trafficking or sexploitation, the following resources are available to you: Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN): RAINN offers prevention programs and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (1-800-656-4673) and a confidential online chat. The RAINN website can be located at www.rainn.org. National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence: This 24-hour hotline for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, confidential service offers crisis intervention and support, message service and re-ferrals. National Domestic Violence hotline (1-800-799-SAFE) or the National Sexual Assault hotline Internet at (1-800-656-HOPE). www.ncdsv.org. Polaris Project: Polaris project works directly with victims, host tip and crisis hotlines and offers solutions to victims of human trafficking. National Human Trafficking Hotline, 1 (888) 373-7888. www.polarisproject.org. TEXT “BE FREE” 233733 VictimConnect Resource Center: is a referral helpline where crime victims can learn about their rights and options confidentially and compassionately. A program of the National Center for Victims of Crime, it combines: a traditional telephone-based helpline: 855-4-VICTIM (855-484-2846), an innovative online chat: www.chat.victimsofcrime.org and a web-based information and service referrals: www.VictimConnect.org. National Suicide Hotline Prevention Line: This a United States–based suicide prevention network of 161 crisis centers that provides a 24/7, toll-free hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. After dialing 1-800-273-TALK, the caller is routed to their nearest crisis center to receive immediate counseling and local mental health referrals. And if you are a man who wants to help spread awareness and stop physical and sexual violence against women, please check out the following: Men Can Stop Rape: Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR) is the leading national organization mobilizing boys and young men to prevent all forms of physical and sexual violence, especially violence against women. Contact Men Can Stop Rape by calling 202-265-6530 or log on at www.mcsr.org. Takeaways
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| True Happiness | 23 Jul 2024 | 00:08:53 | |
“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
We cannot dictate or change the world around us to fit our desires or expectations. And trying to control these external factors only leads to frustration, anxiety, and discontentment. So what do we do? We talk about it on the podcast today.
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Get Off the Treadmill | 19 Jul 2024 | 00:12:41 | |
E033: Get Off The Treadmill
"Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body." – Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About: There is a psychological theory called the hedonic treadmill that describes the tendency of humans to return to a relatively stable level of happiness or satisfaction following temporary changes in life circumstances. In other words, we can turn the speed of our happiness up or down with our pursuits of pleasure, but in the end, we just keep running in place.
So, how do we do get off of this treadmill? By focusing on eudaimonic pursuits over hedonic ones.
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Call a Timeout | 18 Jul 2024 | 00:14:15 | |
“Reason goes for nothing when once passion has been admitted to the mind, and has by our own free will been given a certain authority.” – Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
While anger may be a natural and unavoidable emotion, our response to it is still within our control. By cultivating the habit of delaying our reaction to anger, we can, instead, harness the power of patience and restraint. We talk about it today on the podcast.
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| OUT OF ROLE: Breaking Down the Trump Assassination Attempt, Security Failures, the USSS Response and Investigative Aftermath with Former Special Agent Jeff Fields | 17 Jul 2024 | 01:26:18 | |
Given my background as a Special Agent I have been getting a lot of questions about the Trump shooting on Saturday and my opinion on security failures, the Secret Service response, staffing issues and what comes next. I brought my friend and classmate Jeff Fields on to discuss this incident and provide some insight from two former Special Agents who have worked with (and investigated) Secret Service. The conversation discusses the Trump assassination attempt and the role of the Secret Service in protecting the President and other high-profile individuals. We dive into the different divisions within the Secret Service and their responsibilities. We analyze the incident and the potential lapses in security that allowed the gunman to get within 400 feet of the President. We highlight the coordination between the Secret Service and local law enforcement agencies and emphasize the extensive training and vetting process that Secret Service agents undergo. We also discuss the criticism and misconceptions surrounding the female agents involved in the incident and address the training and skills of female agents, the challenges of using certain holsters, and the importance of communication and coordination during high-stress situations. The conversation also explores the allocation of resources and the limitations faced by the Secret Service in terms of hiring and budget and highlights the complexity of presidential protection and the need for a comprehensive understanding of the operational challenges. The conversation explores the issues and challenges within the Secret Service including recruitment and retention problems, resource allocation, communication failures, and the need for accountability. while highlighting the sacrifices and challenges faced by Secret Service agents, such as constant travel and missed family events. Finally, we dig into the potential separation of criminal investigative responsibilities from the Secret Service and the impact of being absorbed into the Department of Homeland Security while laying out what we hope to see for changes and accountability going forward.
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| What Are You Waiting For? | 17 Jul 2024 | 00:10:28 | |
“Live not as though there were a thousand years ahead of you. Fate is at your elbow; make yourself good while life and power are still yours.” – Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
First responders understand the unpredictability of life better than most. Every call reinforces that our circumstances can change in an instant. This knowledge can be a gift, if we choose to accept it.
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| It Isn't Worth the Argument | 16 Jul 2024 | 00:20:35 | |
“The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.” – Epictetus
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About: In the Stoic framework, things within our control are often referred to as “internal” things. These include our thoughts, beliefs, values, attitudes, choices, and actions. They are aspects of our lives that we have the power to influence and direct according to our own will. The more we focus on them, the more control we have.
Resources + Links: Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Meet it Bravely | 12 Jul 2024 | 00:18:01 | |
“Let us meet with bravery whatever may befall us. Let us never feel a shudder at the thought of being wounded or of being made a prisoner, or of poverty or persecution.” – Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
Stoicism acknowledges that suffering is an inherent part of the human experience. Rather than shying away from or fearing these trials, Stoics embrace them as opportunities for personal growth and the development of inner strength. We dig into Stoic sacrifice on the podcast today!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Learn As You Teach | 11 Jul 2024 | 00:08:44 | |
“Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can. Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself can improve. The process is mutual; for men learn while they teach.” – Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
The role of a Field Training Officer is crucial in helping new officers transition from the academic and theoretical aspects of police training to the practical and real-world scenarios they will encounter on the job. Unfortunately, for many rookies the only real world scenarios they encountered with an FTO was where to get a uniform discount at lunch time and the best place to catch a cat nap on duty. Let’s talk about how we be better teachers while also learning.
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Live For Your Neighbor | 10 Jul 2024 | 00:11:46 | |
“There is no such thing as good or bad fortune for the individual; we live in common. And no one can live happily who has regard to himself alone and transforms everything into a question of his own utility; you must live for your neighbor, if you would live for yourself. ” — Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
In 1955, the Los Angeles Police Department held a contest to identify a motto that would express the ideals that the LAPD was dedicated to. The winning entry was the motto, “To Protect and to Serve” submitted by Officer Joseph S. Dorobek. Many departments have since adopted the slogan for themselves because of how succinctly it describes the relationship between police and the societies that they watch over. So what do the Stoics have to say about how we should protect and serve?
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Will it Make the Boat Go Faster | 09 Jul 2024 | 00:12:59 | |
"Enjoy present pleasures in such a way as not to injure future ones." – Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
Asking oneself a single filtering question like "Will it make the boat go faster?" involves considering the potential impact of each decision or action on the desired outcome. It requires a focus on efficiency, effectiveness, and eliminating distractions. It encourages us to stay disciplined, make sacrifices, and prioritize the actions in the present that have the greatest potential to contribute to our future success. We dig into it in today’s episode!
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Emergency Reload | 05 Jul 2024 | 00:10:26 | |
“And as long as nothing satisfies you, you yourself cannot satisfy others ” - Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
It has been said by many a firearms instructor that an empty gun is little more than a poorly designed impact weapon. That’s why we practice emergency reloads and immediate action drills - so that we can get back in the fight. But what happens when your personal magazine runs dry?
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| True North | 04 Jul 2024 | 00:17:43 | |
“If a man knows not which port he sails, no wind is favorable.” – Seneca
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
As first responders, we all like to think that we are rooted in principles of integrity, honesty, and compassion, guiding us to act with kindness and empathy towards others. But like the sailor in Seneca’s quip, without a clear destination or purpose, we can easily become adrift, tossed about by the currents of circumstance and chance. And just as a ship requires a destination to steer towards, so too do we need a sense of purpose and direction to guide our actions and decisions.
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||
| Facts First | 03 Jul 2024 | 00:09:51 | |
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are." – Marcus Aurelius
In This Episode, We Get Stoic About:
To keep an untroubled spirit is to cultivate emotional resilience and the ability to withstand life's trials without being overwhelmed by negative emotions like anger, fear, or despair. But to succeed in this endeavor we must first be rational and reality-based in our thinking.
Facing reality directly makes us more effective problem-solvers. By understanding the true nature of a situation, we can devise thoughtful and pragmatic solutions and approach our challenges with serenity and insight.
Resources + Links:
Connect with Kristofor | www.kristoforhealey.com Connect with Kristofor on Instagram | @team_healey Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on Substack | https://thestoicresponder.substack.com Subscribe to The Stoic Responder on YouTube | The Stoic Responder Buy your copy of In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, here! Buy your copy of Indispensable: A Tactical Plan for the Modern Man, here! Book Kristofor for a speaking event, here!
Takeaways:
Until Next Time…out of role! | |||