The High Horse
Ryan Holiday is the bestselling author of Trust Me, I’m Lying, The Obstacle Is The Way, Ego Is The Enemy, and other books about marketing, culture, and the human condition. His work has been translated into thirty languages and has appeared everywhere from the Columbia Journalism Review to Fast Company. His company, Brass Check, has advised companies such as Google, TASER, and Complex, as well as Grammy Award winning musicians and some of the biggest authors in the world. He lives in Austin, Texas.
Could you please elaborate by explaining your ‘principles’ and ‘natural disposition’.
You always have thought provoking posts, thank you.
Think about whatever values you hold to be most important – are they the opposite or pretty similar to how you naturally are? Is your resting personality wildly immoral or does it come pretty easy to you?
Shouldn’t your natural disposition lead you to principles that work comfortably with yourself? Or does that not always lead to a moral area?
I’m legitimately curious about this. I’ve always read and thought that a balanced sense of identity is attached to certain moral principles. Maybe I’ve been naive in that area.
You’re missing my point. What do you think came first, the way in which you judge/perceive/view the world or what your personality inclines you to act?
The point is to understand how conveniently your idea of what is ‘right’ seems to fit with how you are. And to realize when you judge other people, that if you were different your notion would be different too.
Are you saying that my perception of the world and morality fits into my personality not as a coincidence but as a consequence? This seems like the moralistic fallacy of individual world views, if I’m getting what you’re saying.
I’d really appreciate some help because I’m having trouble with this and it’s definitely a point I’d like to understand.
As Nietzsche put it in a slightly different context, every philosophy has been the personal confession of its philosopher. Most of the time, your views on life reflect more on you than on life.
Could it be that your principles are what helped form your disposition in the first place? How often is it that a person grows up with a certain rule from their parents that they take as law forever? I believe that who you are forms as a function of the circumstances you were raised in, so your personality fits more into the morals and principles automatically to keep mental conflict to a minimum. Note also that these principles are subject to change with the changing of the environment in which you operate, whether it be at work or where you live or even if you switch schools. For an example of what I’m talking about, think back to all those stories of people changing themselves in certain situations, like nerds into “cool kids” and so on and so forth.
Say your principles fit with your natural disposition, as with most people they most likely will. How do you go about finding what your true principles should be? Regardless of your disposition. If that makes sense.
Riordan gets it.
Look, there is nothing to freak out about here. Nor is there much to explain.
You should always hold yourself to your standard – but don’t go around trying to hold other people to it. Not only is that unfair, it’s impossible and it will drive you crazy. Trust me, I know.
And most importantly, it’s not honest to act like you’re better than them. Why? Because they’re acting on their disposition just as much as you are.
I get it now. Thanks a lot, Ryan.
And thanks for the Nietzsche quote Riordan.
If your dispositions are sort of set, won’t it be a waste of time to read things like your site or Aurelius’ Meditations? I could try to adopt your principles of working hard, trying to be the best version of me that I can and all that. But if I’m naturally lazy and/or plain stupid, adopting those principles would just lead to me being disappointed with myself by not being able to live up to those standards. What are your thoughts on this?
I’ve noticed this recently too. I’ve also noticed that it’s dangerous to borrow someone else’s principles because you don’t own them yet and you feel worse for failing them.
I like how you say we shouldn’t judge others by our own principles – you know, your blog does a good job of introducing someone to what deep empathy is.