“The raw material for the work of a good and excellent person is their own guiding reason, the body is that of the doctor and the physical trainer, and the farm the farmer’s.”
EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.3.1
The next time someone asks you what you’ve been working on, you can say “Myself!” And it will be true.
Farmers work their land, turning it over until it’s fertile enough to produce a bounty of fruits and vegetables. The fitness coach works their (or your) body, improving it to make it a well-oiled machine.
You can do the same with yourself, and your mind. You are the raw material. That’s what you’ve been working on — yourself. That’s the whole reason you (hopefully) are reading The Daily Stoic, and why you’re working to understand yourself.
This is your new craft, your new mission. You are the start-up, and the sole shareholder of this enterprise. The chief executive is you; the beneficiary is you; the product is you; the answer is you.
Remember — the struggle is great, but the task is divine. Keep working to understand and improve yourself. The payoff is massive and absolutely worth it. Decide what you want, and make it happen. Work that raw material!
