The Dialog

Behind mountains, more mountains. Nick Surface loves that Haitian proverb because it describes what happens when you treat life like a problem to solve: you solve one, and the next one is already waiting.

Maybe your number is a salary, a weight, a promotion or a guarantee that your kids turn out fine. Then you get there and want double. Kierkegaard is often credited with the line that life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced. Most of us agree with it, then live the opposite way.

Josh Craft and Nick talk about why we crave certainty, how anxiety tells you what you can't control, and what Lao Tzu, Epictetus and Romans 8:28 say about the part you can.

How do you know what you can't control?
Anxiety is the sign. The things that make us most anxious are things we can't control: our kids' safety, the economy, an election. That doesn't mean you drift through life. You put yourself into what you can control.

What can you actually control?
Your thoughts, your attitudes and your actions. An attitude isn't how you feel. It's what you do with how you feel. You can feel angry and not punch a hole in the wall.

If God works all things together for good, why don't more things work out?
Either it's external and you can't control it, or it's internal and you can. Jesus said to take the log out of your own eye first. Our greatest problem is us.

What should you be certain about?
Yourself. When Josh's wife was rushed into emergency surgery right after their third child was born, he sat alone holding the baby and asked one question: what can I control right now?

Scriptures
Romans 8:28 · Matthew 7:3-5 · Matthew 7:7 · Proverbs 27:17 · Genesis 2:24

Thinkers and books
Søren Kierkegaard · Frank Herbert, Dune · Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching · Epictetus · the Stoics

Chapters
0:00 Show intro
2:33 Do you treat life like a problem to solve?
5:38 Behind mountains, more mountains
6:22 Kierkegaard and Dune: a reality to experience
7:27 Chasing certainty where there is none
13:33 Lao Tzu and the Tao Te Ching: flow like water
15:46 What you can control and what you can't
16:20 Anxiety is a sign you're not in control
20:46 A newborn, an empty hospital room and emergency surgery
25:19 Win with your mind, not your effort
26:27 Beating your head against a closed door
26:59 Your marriage isn't a problem to solve
31:11 Thoughts, attitudes and actions
33:09 Stoicism, logos and Romans 8:28
36:11 Epictetus: it's not events that disturb us
37:50 Be certain about yourself, not the future

Previous: 1.2 / What is true happiness?
Next: 1.4 / Is poverty a mindset? What Jesus told John the Baptist

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Go to my website / https://jkc.is

What is The Dialog?

Ancient philosophers used the dialog to find answers to life’s greatest questions. The Dialog is a search for truth in modern life through the lens of ancient philosophy, history, and theology. This podcast will challenge your assumptions, change your thinking and show you how to master modern living.