STOIC WISDOM

Great Quote For Your Success Days

How to go through your day according to Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius had a very solid philosophy which he reminded himself of often. The philosophy of stoicism is built on truth as the highest good. One needs to seek truth in order to live a good and fulfilling life.

Seeking truth sounds good, of course, but it does not sound practical. What does sound practical, however, is what Marcus reminds himself of in a clear and simple way:

“Your actions and perceptions need to aim:

At accomplishing practical ends.

At the exercise of thought.

At maintaining a confidence founded on understanding. An unobtrusive confidence — hidden in plain sight.”

— From Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

What he is saying comes down to this:

In everything you do, you need to keep in mind three simple goals.

• To pursue practical ends, so that you will never find yourself learning new knowledge without a clear use for that knowledge. Unused knowledge has no value.
• Every day you need to practise control over your mind. Your mind is a tool to use, and you need to treat it as such.

“ Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” — Abraham Lincoln

Your mind is like the axe, and if you want to live your life fully, it means that you need to sharpen that axe.

• Real confidence is built on knowing and truly understanding. Always seek to understand and keep on questioning your understanding until it is rock-solid. This will give you immense strength to build on.

For my previous quote of the day from Meditations, click here.

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