The deckhand’s logic was funny—but familiar.
He believed that old bloodwork justified current choices. But in a deeper way, we all cling to old metrics. At work, we rely on yesterday’s performance to excuse today’s complacency. In life, we hold onto an old identity—“I’m fit,” “I’m disciplined,” “I’m a good leader”—long after we’ve stopped living up to it.
We resist measuring ourselves now because it threatens our comfort.
It forces us to face the reality that growth requires effort—today, not decades ago.
Strength, health, character, leadership—all of it decays without attention.
You can’t coast on old wins.
You can’t justify present behaviour with past evidence.
The forge only works on what’s inside it right now.
So the lesson is this:
Update your metrics.
Don’t let your past self do the heavy lifting for your present one.
Re-evaluate. Re-measure. Re-commit.
Real growth isn’t preserved from the past—it’s renewed in the present.
Support the Show
You can expect one free episode of the podcast every single Tuesday. These episodes will either be a 20-minute (or so) solo episode diving deep into a single philosophical topic, or a guest episode, where I bring on incredible guests to chat philosophy.
For the full Strong Stoic experience, I encourage you to consider becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll get access to premium episodes of the Paradoxically Speaking podcast with Joshua Bertolotti, my Truthful Thursday & Friday Forge series, and much more.
If you’d like to become a paid member but cannot afford it, feel free to contact me directly; I’ll happily provide a complimentary membership (no questions asked).