Top 3 Stoicism Rules | That Can Make You Better and Happier

4 months ago one of my friends gave me one incredible book — Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius

It’s an amazing book about stoicism and the really cool principles of a father and one of the persons who put their life and lot of mind work into it.

This book contains a lot of principles of life and really great thoughts. The most important for became understanding how the author thinks and why. That really gives incredible feeling and expend your life view.

From all of those principles, I’d like to underline the next 3 that look most powerful.

Principle #1. Don’t worry about things you can’t control

All events in our life that happen can be controlled by ourselves or not. If something bad happened and we can do something with it — it’s great! Find a way and plan for making it better. In case when nothing can be changed, don’t worry.

The same thing about your past. If something happened a lot of time ago, someone told you something. It passed. Probably you could change it or probably not. But now it doesn’t matter. Live now and think about what happens now! That’s what really important.

Principle #2. Watch your reactions

Actually when something happens in our life the most important thing, in the end, is our reaction. If we were fired from the job, finished our relationships or something else happened. We can think of something bad and return back to think about it again and again and feel bad.

Or we can think like, yeah shit happens. But now I have more opportunities to do in my life. It was an experience that I needed and any life experience will make me better. Now I became wiser and smarter. Watch your reactions. The real result and future depend really on them.

Principle #2. Appreciate what you have

Often we think about things that we don’t have. I don’t have that phone, car, house, etc. Such things are destructive, even in the most positive case. Yeah sometimes we really need something and some things really will make our life better. But just think. All the time you think that you need something, you say to yourself that you don’t have it. So it sounds like I don’t have this cool iPhone, I don’t have this cool vacation, I don’t have anything you’d like to have. Our brains start thinking that something bad happens and bite us and our mood.

Instead of this better to think about things we already have. I have this job and live in such an amazing place. I have cool people around me, I have an amazing voice and nice hair, I have cool clothes and amazing gadgets. I got a lot of things in the last few years and learned a lot of things. Just think about it and concentrate on it. And about new things you want, just think okay it’s a cool thing, I’ll buy it when I have such an opportunity in the future. Or if you have an opportunity and really need it, just do it.

So, that’s the top 3 principles of stoicism that really can influence your life and make it simpler and happier. Hope you enjoyed it.

“Think of the life you have lived until now as over and, as a dead man, see what’s left as a bonus and live it according to Nature. Love the hand that fate deals you and play it as your own, for what could be more fitting?” — Marcus Aurelius