Wisdom from Marcus Aurelius
10 thoughts to improve the mind
Those of you who’ve been tolerating me for a while will know that I recommend the Ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism as a cure to many of the problems we face in the digital age.
Well, today is the birthday of Marcus Aurelius, one of the most quotable Stoics. So I thought I’d share ten of his most useful quotes, together with brief annotations of my own.
“It is not death that one should fear, but never beginning to live.”
How many of the posts you recently scrolled through on social media do you remember? Not many? Then was there much difference between scrolling and being a corpse?
“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
“Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.”
The majority of our suffering is caused not by events but by our interpretations of them.
“Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought, for the human spirit is colored by such impressions.”
You live wherever your attention is, and become whatever you most focus on, so steer your curiosity toward your desired fate.
“Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.”
Gratitude for what you have can cure the endless desire for what you have not.
“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.”
Anger is like trying to burn someone else by setting yourself on fire.
“The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.”
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then differentiation is the sincerest form of insult.
“We love ourselves above all others, yet we put more stock in other people’s opinions of us than in our own.”
No one is paying as much attention to you as you are. Everyone is too busy worrying how they appear to others to worry how you appear to them.
“You always have the option of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can't control. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone.”
I have no opinion about this.
“Think of the life you have lived until now as over and, as a dead person, see what’s left as a bonus and live it accordingly.”
We grow so accustomed to life that we forget how miraculous it is. Imagine you were about to die right now, how desperate you’d be to keep living, how much you’d wish you hadn’t taken things for granted. Now embrace life with that same energy.
And that’s it for now. If you’re interested in learning more about Stoicism, check out my deep-dive.
Thanks for reading. Peace.
G.
I've been reading some of the stoics while dying from a squamous cell carcinoma infestation: https://jakeseliger.com/2023/09/18/stoic-philosophy-finding-a-meaningful-life-and-the-cancer-treatment-struggle/
"Anger is like trying to burn someone else by setting yourself on fire." This couldn't have been said better and is unfortunately all too true. You should explore bed-rotting if you haven't done so already. It falls under the same category, trying to spite someone or anyone with your misery, but only harming yourself instead.