If there is a single take away message it's:
STOP WORRYING.
Worrying won't fix things. Just get on with your life.
Be rational, and with cool head solve the problem, or at least do what you can to limit the negatives.
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He was a Roman Emperor who concerned himself about how to live a virtuous life. (The Philosopher King of Plato).
Stoicism is a type of Hellenistic philosophy first taught by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BC.
Stocism had 3 branches : Logic, Physics & Ethics
The Stoics also believed there were four virtues:
Wisdom
Courage
Temperance
Justice
Of the Four Stoic Virtues, Marcus Aurelius said justice was the most important.
To him, it was “the source of all the other virtues.”
Marcus left us a guide in how to live through his mental journal, Meditations.
He never intended it to be published.
It's a very personal self-help book with lots of practical advice. There is little in the way of philosophical theory or argument. He doesn't discus logic or physics very much. Its mainly all ethics. So many academics argue that its not a serious Stoic work. I think these criticisms are unfair.
I enjoy reading his many thoughts and take great comfort from his words.
Ethics are arguably more of use to the casual reader today, than logic or physics
These are some important points I've taken from the notes
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01. Life is a loop ... history repeats over and over.
This refers to worrying.
“Remember .... that everything has always
been the same, and keeps recurring,
and it makes no difference whether
and it makes no difference whether
you see the same things recur in a
hundred years or two hundred,
or in an infinite period."
and this quote:
Consider for example, the times of
Vespasian. Thou wilt see all these things,
people marrying, bringing up
people marrying, bringing up
children, sick, dying, warring, feasting,
trafficking, cultivating
the ground, flattering, obstinately arrogant,
suspecting, plotting, wishing for some
to die,
grumbling about the present,
loving, heaping up treasure, desiring consulship,
loving, heaping up treasure, desiring consulship,
kingly power.
Well, then, that life of these people no longer exists at all.
Thus excessive worrying is pointless as what you are worrying about has already happened,
many times before ...just in a different form and to possibly many people like you.
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02. Ignore the noise.
the country, by the sea, in the hills -
and you yourself are particularly prone
and you yourself are particularly prone
to this yearning.
But all this is quite unphilosophic,
when it is open to you, at any time
you want, to retreat into yourself.
No retreat offers someone more
quiet and relaxation than
that into his own mind, especially
that into his own mind, especially
if he can dip into thoughts there
which put him at immediate and
complete ease:
and by ease I simply mean a well-ordered life.
So constantly give yourself this retreat, and renew yourself.
The doctrines you will visit there should be few and fundamental,
sufficient at one meeting to wash away all your pain and send you back
free of resentment at what you must rejoin.”
So constantly give yourself this retreat, and renew yourself.
The doctrines you will visit there should be few and fundamental,
sufficient at one meeting to wash away all your pain and send you back
free of resentment at what you must rejoin.”
Stop worrying about what other people think (about you). This will only add to your anxiety.
People pleasing will sabotage your confidence. I see this on social media all the time.
We can never please 100% of people. There will always be someone who is jealous,
or hates you.
We can't control the opinions of others. So stop trying to impress everyone.
Be Yourself always.
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03. Time is a precious commodity
"Life is short ..... that's all there is to say"'
..... get what you can from the present ...
thoughtfully, ... justly."
"Understand that your time has a limit set to it.
Use it, then to advance your enlightenment;
or it will be gone, and never in your power again.”
We don't know how long we each have on this
planet.
Don't waste it.
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04. Do the right thing
“Just (that you) do the right thing.
The rest doesn’t matter.”
and
"Waste no more time arguing what a good
man should be. Be one.”
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05. Don't let things get in the way.
“The impediment to action
advances action.
What stands in the way
becomes the way.”
We all face obstacles in life.
Don't run away. Instead face up
to the challenges that life throws
in your way.
This is how we discover
who we truly are.
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06. Practice mindfulness
" remind yourself that past and future
have no power over you.
Only the present – and even that can
be minimized".
Again this is a reminder to worry less.
Concentrate on the present & make the
most of it. Meditate, focus on whats
around you.
Rather than just worry, focus on the problem
at hand. Be aware, mindful of its causes
and try to sort it out.
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07. Serve others.
“At day’s first light have in readiness, against
disinclination to leave your bed, the thought that
‘I am rising for the work of man.’
‘I am rising for the work of man.’
and
“A man’s true delight is to do the things he was
made for.”
We live to help one another and the more we help
others, the more we gain. It is a win-win.
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