Nov 15, 2021
9 Stoic Rules For A Better Life (From Marcus Aurelius) by Ryan Holiday
1. Put people first
Leaders should sacrifice and put their people first, not their own comfort and needs
2. Another path is always open
You always have the opportunity to practice virtue, to practice excellence, to change in some way or another based on what’s happening
You don’t control what happened. You control how we respond
It’s impossible to get stuck because we always retain our ability to choose and change
3. Take it step by step
We know what it is we need to do, the problem is doing it
“You could be good today, instead you choose tomorrow.” — Marcus Aurelius
What action are you going to take? What step are you going to take?
“Just take the first step. No one can stop you from that” — Marcus Aurelius
4. Discard your anxiety
“I didn’t escape anxiety, I discarded it, because anxiety was within me.” — Marcus Aurelius
5. Well begun is half done
He wrote down his thoughts because they made him better
“Concentrate like a Roman, Do this as if it’s the last thing you’re doing in your life.” — Marcus Aurelius
6. Be strict with yourself
Self-discipline. Nobody else signed up for it, you signed up for it
You’re learning, your study, and your self-improvement, be sure you’re only applying it to yourself
“Tolerant with others, strict with yourself.” — Marcus Aurelius
The purpose is to make you a better master of yourself
Leave everyone else, their way of doing things and their mistakes to them
7. Don’t resent people
Be good in spite of other people, be just in the face of injustice, be temperate in the face of intemperance that’s being rewarded, be courageous when everyone else is being cowardly
People are a challenge and an opportunity to become better
8. Ask yourself “Is this essential?”
You’re busy, I’m busy, but how much of what we are busy with actually matters?
“Ask yourself with everything you do and say, is this essential?” — Marcus Aurelius
If we found out we were dying tomorrow, would we keep doing it?
9. Remember these mantras:
Amor fati
It didn’t happen to you, it happened for you. Make something of it
“A fire turns everything into fuel and brightness.” — Marcus Aurelius
It’s about what you do for other people
“The fruit of this life is good character and acts for the common good.” — Marcus Aurelius
Memento mori
“You could leave life right now, let that determine what you do and say and think. Life is short. Do everything as if it is the thought or action of a dying person.” — Marcus Aurelius
Shared from Twos ✌️
