Day 145: Why You React Before You Think—And What to Do About It | Dying Every Day

Day 145: Why You React Before You Think—And What to Do About It | Dying Every Day

From Dying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) by Perennial Leader Project

May 6, 2026 · 12 min · Episode 146

About this episode

This episode discusses the concept of assent in Stoicism and how it affects our reactions to impressions.

📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribe Welcome back to Dying Every Day. This is Day 145. Epictetus identified three key disciplines: desire, action, and assent, with assent being the most crucial. He described assent as the mind’s act of accepting an impression—saying yes to it, recognizing it as real and meaningful, and responding accordingly. Every moment, impressions arrive. Not the dramatic ones—those are easy to see coming. The ones that test the discipline are smaller and faster. [...] --- 🖇️ Stay Connected: Newsletter: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perennialmeditations/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PerennialMeditations --- 🦉 Additional Resources: Perennial Meditations archive: https://perennial.substack.com/archive Listen to more podcasts: https://www.perennialleader.com/podcasts

People in this episode

Host: Perennial Leader Project

Topics covered

  • Stoicism
  • assent
  • discipline
  • philosophy
  • self-improvement

Keywords

  • Stoicism
  • Epictetus
  • assent
  • discipline
  • reaction
  • philosophy
  • self-improvement

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