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by Benny Voncken
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- 1 weeks ago13 min
Feeling like a failure? Don't let your mind bring you down
Do you ever feel like everyone else has it figured out and you're the only one falling behind? In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast, we look at where that feeling really comes from and what Stoic philosophy teaches us about separating a setback from your identity.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. Here, Stoic philosophy isn't theory. It's a practical tool for the moments when life feels like too much.Feeling like a failure rarely starts with one event. It starts with the standards we're measuring ourselves against and whether those standards were ever really ours to begin with. When we absorb other people's definitions of success, we hand them the answer key to our own lives.No wonder the results feel wrong. Self-awareness starts the moment we ask: whose expectations am I actually living by? The Stoics were clear. Character and how you act are the only real measures. Not money, not status, not how things look from the outside.This episode is for anyone who has felt stuck, inadequate, or quietly resigned to the idea that this is just who they are. It isn't. That's exactly where your agency begins.Support the show🌐 viastoica.com▶️ YouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com
- 2 weeks ago13 min
Bird Poo and Bad Days — The Stoic Art of Moving On
Bird poo lands on your brand-new hat. What do you do? In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast, a small, absurd moment on a walk in Granada becomes a real test of Stoic philosophy, and a lesson in the art of moving on.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. Here, Stoic philosophy isn't studied; it's lived, tested in the ordinary friction of daily life.A bad day is rarely about what happened. It's about the gap between what you expected and what actually is. The moment you stop fighting that gap and start working with what's in front of you, something shifts. That's not forced optimism. That's self-awareness meeting reality, which is exactly where Stoic philosophy lives. The pause between the trigger and your response isn't automatic. It's a skill. And like any skill, it gets sharper with practice.If you've ever let a small setback color the rest of your day, this one's for you. The Stoic art of moving on isn't about pretending things are fine. It's about stopping the spiral before it starts, and choosing what happens next.Support the show🌐 viastoica.com▶️ YouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com
- 3 weeks ago13 min
Why Happiness Eludes You
Why does happiness feel so hard to hold onto? In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast, we explore what happiness actually means and why most of us have been searching for it in the wrong places.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. This episode sits at the heart of what Stoic philosophy has always asked us to examine: not how to feel more, but how to understand what we're actually feeling.We spend most of our lives chasing peak moments. The trip, the achievement, the rush of external validation. But those peaks fade. And the ancient thinkers had a word for what remains when the excitement clears: eudaimonia. Not excitement. Not pleasure. A deeper sense of meaning and fulfillment that comes from living in alignment with your values.The problem isn't that we're failing at happiness. It's that we've inherited a definition of it that was never quite true. Self-awareness begins with asking what the word actually means to you. Not to culture, not to advertising, but in the quiet moments when you feel most at peace.This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and look honestly at what you're chasing and whether it's worth chasing at all.You can also read the accompanying post on our website: https://viastoica.com/what-is-happiness-in-stoicism/Support the show🌐 viastoica.com▶️ YouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com
- 4 weeks ago16 min
Want less, Live More
Are you chasing a life that doesn't feel like yours? In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast, we explore what it means to want less, and why that might be the most direct path to living more. Stoic philosophy has always asked this question. Most of us just haven't stopped long enough to hear it.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. This episode sits with something most of us sense but rarely name: that the things we're working toward might not actually be what we want. Stoicism, as a lived practice, begins exactly there.We spend years chasing promotions, salaries, and possessions, rarely asking where those wants came from in the first place. Were they chosen, or inherited? Stoic philosophy invites a specific kind of self-awareness here: not more discipline, but more honesty. There's a question worth sitting with this week. What would you do with your time if money weren't the obstacle? That question isn't a thought experiment. It's a mirror. What it reflects tells you more about your personal values and sense of meaning than most things will. And once you see it clearly, the noise around it gets a little quieter.This episode won't tell you to quit your job or strip your life back overnight. It's a quieter invitation to examine what you're actually chasing, and whether it's leading somewhere that feels like you.Support the show🌐 viastoica.com▶️ YouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com
- Apr 13, 202616 min
Why Life Feels So Hard: Stop Making It More Difficult
Why does life feel so hard, and how much of that difficulty are we actually creating ourselves? In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast, we look at the gap between our desires and reality, and why closing that gap is one of the most practical things Stoic philosophy offers us.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. Each episode explores what it means to live well: not as theory, but as something you practice in the life you actually have.We have been sold a version of happiness that keeps moving. The perfect job, the right moment, the life that looks good from the outside. But that pursuit quietly makes everything harder. Stoic philosophy points to something more stable: contentment, not as a consolation prize, but as the actual goal. The wider the gap between what we want and what is, the heavier and more chaotic life feels. Desire and suffering are more connected than we usually admit. And a lot of what we carry, the anxiety, the overthinking, the sense that we are falling short, is something we are adding rather than something being done to us.That is confronting. It is also liberating. Because if we are making it harder, we can also start making it easier.This is an episode about finding inner peace, not by fixing your circumstances, but by looking honestly at what you are asking life to be.Support the show🌐 viastoica.com▶️ YouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com
- Apr 6, 202618 min
We Need More Love — And Stoicism Shows Us Where to Start
We need more love in the world. That was the statement, made quietly on a walk along the river in Granada, that stayed with us long after the conversation ended. In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast, we explore what Stoic philosophy actually says about love, kindness, and where to begin when the world feels like it's moving in the wrong direction.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. This episode grew out of a real Stoic walk and one simple statement that turned into a genuine reflection on what sincere kindness looks like in practice.It is easy to feel overwhelmed. The news pulls us toward division. Social media rewards performed kindness over the real kind. And human goodness starts to feel like it is losing ground. But the Stoics had a word for what this moment is asking of us: philanthropia, a love for humankind that does not wait for an audience. Marcus Aurelius returned to this again and again. Epictetus located it in prohairesis, that quiet place where self-awareness and personal values meet, where our real choices are formed. The starting point is not out there. It is here, in the small acts that nobody records, done simply because they are the right thing to do.You do not need power or influence to shift something. You only need to start where you are.Support the show🌐 viastoica.com▶️ YouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com
- Mar 30, 202618 min
Why Stoicism Isn't Working For You - Time to Meet Yourself
Why does Stoicism resonate so deeply when you read it, yet change so little when you try to live it? In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast, we look honestly at why Stoic philosophy stops working for most people, and where self-awareness becomes the real starting point.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. This is not a place for theory at a safe distance. It is a place for the harder, more honest work of actually applying Stoic philosophy to real life.The self-help world tends to promise that the right mindset will eventually bend the world toward what you want. The Stoics said the opposite. The world will not cooperate with your desires, and real progress begins the moment you stop expecting it to. That shift requires genuine self-examination, not more content consumption. Marcus Aurelius did not write his Meditations to feel inspired. He wrote them to hold himself accountable, to face what was uncomfortable, and to see clearly where his work still needed to be done. Most people skip exactly that part.If Stoic philosophy has not moved the needle for you yet, this episode is a good place to sit and reflect. Not to find quick answers, but to start asking the questions that actually matter.Read the related article: https://viastoica.com/why-stoicism-isnt-working-for-you/Support the show🌐 viastoica.com▶️ YouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com
- Mar 23, 202627 min
Six Years Sober: A Stoic Reflection on Alcohol, Identity, and Deliberate Living
What does it mean to build your identity around alcohol, and who do you become when you walk away from it?In this personal episode of the Via Stoica Podcast, Benny reflects on six years sober: the slow unraveling of a drinking identity, the moment that changed everything, and how Stoic philosophy helped him find solid ground on the other side.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism.This isn't a recovery programme or a how-to guide. It's an honest reflection on self-awareness, learning to see your relationship with alcohol clearly, and asking whether it belongs in the life you actually want to live.Benny traces his story from heavy social drinking in the Netherlands to a quiet turning point in a Dubai hotel room, and the evening years later when he finally made the decision for good. Along the way, he explores the difference between white-knuckling willpower and building genuine intrinsic motivation, and shares how the Stoic practice of negative visualization became a practical anchor in moments of temptation. Pause. Trace the consequences. Ask yourself honestly if that's a price worth paying.What he feared most, losing his place in the group, became his greatest gain.If this story resonates, take a moment to reflect on your own.Support the show🌐 viastoica.com▶️ YouTube: @viastoicaProduced by: Badmic.com#Sober #SoberLife #SoberLiving #Sobriety #SobrietyJourney #AlcoholFree #QuitDrinking #MindfulLiving #Stoicism #StoicPhilosophy #ViaStoica #NegativeVisualization #DeliberateLiving #SelfAwareness #MentalHealth #PersonalGrowth #MindsetShift #PhilosophyPodcast #StoicPodcast #SoberPodcast
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About The Via Stoica Podcast — A Stoic Way of Life
The Via Stoica Podcast is a Stoicism podcast focused on practical Stoicism for modern life. Together, we explore how ancient Stoic philosophy can be applied to everyday challenges such as emotional reactivity, discipline, purpose, relationships, and adversity.On Tuesdays, we discuss practical Stoic topics and occasional interviews. On Fridays, we reflect on a single Stoic quote, exploring its meaning and how it can guide daily practice. Via Stoica is not just philosophy we study, it is a way of life we practice together. Learn more at viastoica.com.Virtue is the only good.
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