August 30, 2025
Sometimes the Thought of the Day and Question of the Day pair up in ways that feel less like coincidence and more like a deliberate setup. Today’s Thought asks us to pay attention to what makes people angry. Today’s Question wonders how we respond to society’s general apathy. Put those two together and you’ve got a tension worth wrestling with: we get angry about small things, but shrug at the big ones.
Let’s dive into both.
Thought of the Day: If You Want to Know Someone, Look At What Makes Him Angry. — Seneca
Anger is a truth-teller. I can say I’m patient all I want, but if I snap at my kids for spilling milk while barely raising an eyebrow at an injustice in the world, what does that really say about me?
Seneca’s reminder is brutal in its simplicity: the things that make us angry reveal our values. If traffic sends you into a tailspin but betrayal from a friend earns only a shrug, maybe convenience matters to you more than loyalty. That’s not necessarily wrong—but it’s worth noticing.
Personally, I’ve realized I’m most prone to anger when I feel dismissed. Not disagreed with dismissed. It’s a quiet anger that simmers, not shouts. And that’s the part I need to keep an eye on, because it can erode relationships faster than I realize.
I wrote recently about the kindest thing you can do for someone. Anger works the same way: it starts as an internal choice before it explodes outward.
Question of the Day: How do you deal with the general apathy in society?
Apathy is trickier than anger, because it’s quieter. Nobody posts about apathy. Nobody yells it across a crowded room. It just seeps in, slowly, until you look around and realize people don’t seem to care anymore.
For me, the antidote has always been connection. That’s why I write these posts. Apathy thrives in silence, but it struggles when people talk, even about small things. A shared laugh over an overheard conversation, a thoughtful exchange about changing behavior and staying the same person, or a vulnerable answer to a question like today’s, it all pushes back against the shrug of indifference.
Sometimes I think apathy comes from exhaustion. People aren’t uncaring; they’re just tired. And maybe the best way to deal with that is to model energy in small ways. Ask questions. Share thoughts. Invite people in. Even if most people scroll past, someone pauses. And that pause matters.
I wrote once about how pulling people out of the river is important, but figuring out why they’re falling in matters more. Apathy is the same. We can shake our heads at it, or we can try to understand what’s fueling it.
Join the Conversation
What makes you angry? How do you respond when you sense apathy in the people around you? Leave a comment below—I’d love to hear your take.
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