Stoic philosophy keeps getting repackaged as a life hack for productivity, but I think we're missing the core point. When I actually read Marcus Aurelius, it's less about optimizing output and more about accepting what you can't control—which feels opposed to our constant self-improvement culture. Can you genuinely practice Stoicism while chasing ambitious career goals, or does that mindset inevitably lead to passivity? I've tried applying it during tough deadlines and found myself questioning whether I should even care about the outcome.