Self-Improvement with Best Stoic Quotes from Stoicism
The wisdom of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers.
Let’s learn from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, Zeno of Citium, Aristotle, Heraclitus, and Cleanthes.
Stoicism is a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BC. It is a perspective. Its core is about living in accordance with nature as a whole and four virtues: wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation. Stoic means a member of stoicism.
“He suffers more than necessary who suffers before it is necessary” — Seneca
“If a man knows not which port he sails, no wind is favorable” — Seneca
“Man conquers the world by conquering himself” — Zeno of Citium
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” — Aristotle
“We live only now everything else is either past or is unknown” — Marcus Aurelius
“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality” — Seneca
“People are frugal in guarding their personal property, but as soon as it comes to squandering time, they are most wasteful of one thing in which it is right to be stingy” — Epictetus
“If you live in harmony with nature, you will never be poor. If you live according to what others think, you will never be rich” — Seneca
“The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face, and know them for what they are.” — Marcus Aurelius
“Anyone who can make you angry becomes your master” — Epictetus
“No person has the power to have everything they want, but it is in their power not to want what they don’t have and to cheerfully put to good use what they do have” — Seneca
“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love” — Marcus Aurelius
“You have power over your mind, not outside events realize this and you will find strength.” — Marcus Aurelius
“Be like the cliff against which the waves continually break but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it” — Marcus Aurelius
“Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak” — Epictetus
“Begin at once to live and count each separate day as a separate life” — Marcus Aurelius
“If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place, but to be a different person” — Seneca
“We fail to realize how unnecessary many things are. We have been using them not because we needed them but because we had them”—Seneca
“We all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own” —Marcus Aurelius
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” — Seneca
“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth” — Marcus Aurelius
“It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness” — Seneca
“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be one” — Marcus Aurelius
“The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.” — Marcus Aurelius
“If you want to improve be content to be thought foolish and stupid.” —Epictetus
“The willing are led by fate, the reluctant dragged” — Cleanthes
“Nothing endures but change.” — Heraclitus
“Anger if not restrained is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.” —Seneca
“No man was ever wise by chance.” — Seneca
“He who is brave is free.” — Seneca
“The willing are led by fate, the reluctant dragged” — Cleanthes
“While we wait for life, life passes” —Seneca
“The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time” —Marcus Aurelius
“It’s time you realize that you have something in you more powerful and miraculous than the things that affect you and make you dance like a puppet” —Marcus Aurelius
“All cruelty springs from weakness” — Seneca
“Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life” —Marcus Aurelius
“Don’t explain your philosophy, embody it” — Epictetus
“Because a thing seems difficult for you do not think it is impossible for anyone to accomplish” — Marcus Aurelius
“Circumstances don’t make the man they only reveal him to himself” —Epictetus
“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live” —Marcus Aurelius
“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you whose presence calls forth your best” — Epictetus
“Humans have come into being for the sake of each other so either teach them or learn to bear them.” — Marcus Aurelius
“Life is very short and anxious for those who forget the past, neglect the present, and fear the future” — Seneca
“Mastery of reading and writing requires a master. Still more so life” —Marcus Aurelius
“Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself” —Marcus Aurelius
“The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury” —Marcus Aurelius
“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage” —Seneca
“It’s not that we have little time, but more that we waste a good deal of it” — Seneca
“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it” —Marcus Aurelius
“Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily” —Epictetus
“He is the most powerful who has power over himself” —Marcus Aurelius
“As is a tale so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.” — Seneca
“Life if well lived, is long enough.” — Seneca
“Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul” —Marcus Aurelius
“Receive without conceit, release without struggle” — Marcus Aurelius
“The whole future lies in uncertainty — live immediately” — Seneca
“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end” —Seneca
“If evil be said of thee, and if it be true, correct thyself, if it is a lie, laugh at it.” —Epictetus
“Attach yourself to what is spiritually superior, regardless of what other people think or do. Hold to your true aspirations no matter what is going on around you” — Epictetus
“Confine yourself to the present” —Marcus Aurelius
“No man is free who is not a master of himself” —Epictetus
“Learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference” —Marcus Aurelius
“Small-minded people blame others average people blame themselves the wise see all blame as foolishness” —Epictetus
I wish you a happy day. I write content that can help us have a better and more productive life financially and mentally. You can follow and subscribe to my newsletter to stay updated and receive my stories fresh out of the oven.
