Handpicked Wisdom: Marcus Aurelius
From 161 to 180 AD, Marcus Aurelius (called the philosopher) ruled ancient Rome. He is the last of the five good emperors of Rome and is known for his practice of stoicism as well as defeating long-standing enemies of the Romans including the Parthians, the Macromanni, and the Sarmatians (to name a few). His personal writings and practices were gathered and later called Meditations, a book available to anyone now. This book is the roots of the ancient practice of stoicism and have contributed to be one of the greatest works in philosophy.
This is more of a series of compelling quotes, analogies, and excerpts I’ve combed through and found that I reference for productivity, mindset, and other areas that I believe could benefit most from some investment. I look at these as a way to recalibrate my mindset and outlook as the world tends to throw things off balance. It’s a great resource and tool I use when I need to access a better version of myself so I hope you find the same benefit.
These are mostly from the book Meditations, a book that many top producers and world-class individuals re-read on an annual basis (it’s that good).
Productivity
No carelessness in your actions. No confusion in your words. No imprecision in your thoughts. No retreating into your own soul, or trying to escape it. No overactivity. They will kill you, cut you with knives, shower you with curses. And that somehow cuts your mind off from clearness, and sanity, and self-control, and justice?
When every action you take is done without carelessness, it fulfills you. When you’re fulfilling yourself one action at a time, you’re much happier. There is no confusion, imprecision in your thoughts, or retreating trying to escape your own soul. Never underestimate the importance of this excerpt. It’s these traits that will take you where you need to be.
A man standing by a spring of clear, sweet water and cursing it. While the fresh water keeps on bubbling up. He can shovel mud into it, or dung, and the stream will carry it away, wash itself clean, remain unstained. To have that. Not a cistern but a perpetual spring. How? By working to win your freedom. Hour by hour. Through patience, honest, humility.
To have this clarity in life is truly a blessing. When you operate on your own bandwidth and not on the world’s, you find a type of peace you’ve never known. A mind that resembles a perpetual spring is unshaken. It’s balanced and centered on itself, jabs don’t effect it. Win your freedom, win everything. It’s the source everyone is seeking, but few are disciplined enough to reach it.
Blot out your imagination. Turn your desire to stone. Quench your appetites. Keep your mind centered on itself.
We are pulled in so many directions in this world, you have to make decisions quickly and squash anything in the way of your ultimate goals. Quench your appetites by keeping your mind centered on itself. Anything else is the equivalent of trying to get a complete, nutritional meal off of a bag of potato chips. The chips taste good at first and they’re easily accessible but they’re not fulfilling. They leave you malnourished and lacking the results you seek, just like bad habits.
Keep in mind that pain often comes in disguise — as drowsiness, fever, loss of appetite. When you’re bothered by things like that, remind yourself, ‘I’m giving in to pain’.
Pain is temporary, persistence is not.
We have various abilities, present in all rational creatures as in the nature of rationality itself. And this is one of them. Just as nature takes every obstacle, every impediment, and works around it — turns it to its purposes, incorporates it into itself — so, too, a rational being can turn each setback into raw material and use it to achieve its goal.
Think about it, how do professional athletes deal with criticism from other athletes or people? If they’re smart they use it as fuel to get better, to work harder, and to crush their opponent. Even setbacks have their value, if you take advantage of it.
Remember that when it withdraws into itself and finds contentment there, the mind is invulnerable. It does nothing against its will, even if its resistance is irrational. And if its judgment is deliberate and grounded in logic? The mind without passions is a fortress. No place is more secure. Once we take refuge there we’re safe forever. Not to see this is ignorance. To see it and not seek safety means misery.
Nothing good ever comes from purely pursuing passions. And nothing that’s worthwhile is easy, so why do we keep stumbling with passion? Make decisions consistently away from passions and work towards something more sustainable and fulfilling. These results compound over time and pay interest on your life — nothing comes close, especially passions. When you operate clear of passions you gain a new perspective. One that isn’t influenced by indulgence but that’s direct and laser-focused. You can use this to accomplish anything, nothing will stand in your way of fulfillment.
The Unshaken Perspective
Achievement is not for the select few. Achievement is simply for those who never quit. It is for those who set goals. It’s for those who put the most steps in front of the others. Achievement is for those who can overcome the greatest obstacle: their mind.
As you think, so shall you become. -Bruce Lee
Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.-John F. Kennedy
Your mindset and beliefs determine everything else in your life. They’re the roots from which everything else grows. Understand everything is changeable through your actions, habits, or lack thereof.
External things are not the problem. It’s your assessment of them. Which you can erase right now.
This one goes back to our beliefs which aren’t always accurate. Ask yourself if you’re simply choosing to believe or if you’re actually compelled to believe what it is, and you will find the real answer.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard Feynman
What are we to make of anyone who cares about the applause of such people, who don’t know where or who they are?
Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like. -Will Smith
In short, human nature is selfish and we care way too much about what other people think. If you could erase just that from your life how much more peace, freedom of thought, and actualization of dreams would you experience?
Stick with first impressions. Don’t extrapolate. And nothing can happen to you. Or extrapolate. From a knowledge of all that can happen in the world.
Don’t overthink things, it’s very easy to do. It’s also a great way to waste time that you could spend being happy. Don’t extrapolate. Or do, from a position of positivity and everything that can happen in the world.
Concrete objects can pull free of the earth more easily than humans can escape humanity.
Understanding human nature is optional, feeling human nature is not. Recognize that certain things in life are unavoidable. Once you realize they’re part of the equation you’re no longer riding the emotional elevator.
Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions-not outside.
Feeling anxious? So is everyone else. It’s programmed in all of our thinking from years of evolution. Focus on how to manage it and get out of your own head. If you’re present and in the moment it’s much harder to over-analyze and scare yourself. It’s the same reason that Navy SEALs will count bullets in their magazines and clips before initiating combat. Force your focus on something else.
