4 Marcus Aurelius Quotes To Inspire You

The Roman Emperor offered several key insights on how to enhance your life on the backbone of cultivating self-discipline.

Marcus Aurelius, who reigned from 161 to 180 AD, was the last of the five good emperors of Rome (after Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and Antonio Pius later). He was also the author of the philosophical work “Meditations”. He still holds a good standing in the modern world because he embodies the Platonic concept of the philosopher-king expressed in Plato’s “Republic”: a ruler who does not seek power for himself but helps his people. Marcus was exposed to philosophy at a young age, and the meditations he created during the campaign at age 50 showed that he held deep philosophical views throughout his life, especially Stoic views.

His writings have given modern philosophers a lot of food for thought. The Roman Emperor offered several key insights on how to enhance your life on the backbone of cultivating self-discipline. If you find them useful, please leave a comment to tell me how you are planning to implement them in your life.

Find your purpose

“I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”

Marcus Aurelius believed that we each have a purpose; something that we were created for. It is our duty to carry out that purpose because it is the purpose that gets you out of bed each morning. If you have a clear understanding of your goals and how your task fits within them, you are much more likely to complete them.

For example, say you have a flat tire and need to change it. Your purpose is clear — change the tire as quickly as possible so you can get on your way. You are going to do that task, no matter how tired you feel. The biggest source of self-discipline is to have a reason to do the task. If you don’t know what to do, just start.

If you want to be a writer, write every day. If you want to be an artist, draw, and create every day. Anything you want to do; you don’t need any more motivation, research, or advice. You just start practicing something you’re interested in and tackle every day as it comes because it is your purpose that will give you an internal desire, drive, and motivation to propel you forward toward your goal. Self-discipline is about finding compelling reasons to do something then committing yourself to see that task or activity through to the very end.

Count on yourself

“Turn your desire to stone. Quench your appetites. Keep your mind centered on itself”

After you have a solid purpose, it's time now to build a practical plan of action to help you accomplish your goal. You shouldn't just commit to your goals but commit to all the little actions you will take along the way in the pursuit of those goals. We must be fully committed to doing whatever it takes to get the job done no matter what challenges get in the way.

Self Discipline is the ability to get yourself to take action — to do what you need to do — regardless of your physical, mental, or emotional state. Everything you want in your life — everything you want to have, be, and do, depends on your ability to get yourself to take the necessary actions to achieve your goals, whether you feel like it or not.

You can start with forming an effective plan of action that is comprised of a deadline for accomplishing your goal. It must also be built on the foundation of mini-milestones that break your goal down into manageable chunks.

Mini-milestones will ensure that you’re working toward your desired outcome in small pieces and time blocks. This tactic puts you in the driver’s seat. It gives you a sense of control over the tasks and projects you’re working on.

What you’re ultimately trying to avoid is succumbing to being overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed can quickly digress to procrastination, and procrastination can subsequently lead to stagnation. And of course, where there is stagnation, self-discipline cannot exist.

Show up every day

“You must build up your life action by action, and be content if each one achieves its goal as far as possible–and no one can keep you from this”.

Even after having a solid purpose and a practical plan, some of us fail to achieve our goals. We fail because we fail to be consistent. We need to show up, every day and put in the work. The simple act of showing up and immersing yourself in your craft does wonders for mental endurance. You build focus and come to terms with the arduous process that it takes to achieve anything great. You have to put in countless hours of work before you reap any of the benefits. Self — Discipline is nothing more than the habit of consistency — finding the motivation to do something again and again until you do it on autopilot and start seeing results.

So even if you fail once for example, if you didn’t exercise when you know you should have, this doesn’t define your character. Your ability to keep going is what molds you into a disciplined and strong person. A bad day doesn’t have to become a bad week, a bad week doesn’t have to become a bad year. The moment you wake up, remember that the new day is a new life and move forward by opening your eyes and focusing on what’s in front of you, which is life itself.

Practice Voluntary Hardship

“We should discipline ourselves in small things, and from their progress to things of greater value. If you have a headache, practice not cursing. Don’t curse every time you have an earache. And I’m not saying that you can’t complain, only don’t complain with your whole being”.

Voluntary Hardship is one of the ways we can build our self-discipline. Voluntary hardship means constantly testing ourselves and by making life routinely uncomfortable in some way, we are hardening ourselves for the day we may need to live it for real. A voluntary hardship might be skipping a meal and going hungry for a night, having a cold shower, not smoking, sleeping on the floor, leaving your jacket at home when you know it’s cold and raining out or donating half of your clothes to charity.

You could choose to go without social media for a few days or throw your Smart Phone in the drawer. Do it often enough and will you begin to understand what scarcity and hardship feel like and that you can live with both if needed.

Recap

In this post, we discussed four ideas given by Marcus Aurelius that are central to improving your life.

- Find your purpose

- Count on yourself

- Show up every day

- Practice voluntary hardship

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