Marcus Aurelius was one of the last “good
emperors” of Rome — who genuinely cared for the well-being of his citizens. He lived in a time where death was prevalent—
and chaos was everywhere. He wrote a manual for himself which we now
know as the “Meditations.” Even though he wrote these words around 2,000
years ago — his insights still carry strong weight today. Here are some insights of his stoic philosophy
we can apply to your own life and make it meaningful. 1. Ignore what others are doing
Marcus Aurelius says "Do not waste what remains of your life in speculating about your neighbors. Anything that distracts you from fidelity
to the Ruler within you— means a loss of opportunity for some other task.” It means that our time is very limited so
Why waste our precious energy worrying about our neighbors? Why do we care what they are doing, what they
are up to, and what they think of us? We need to ignore everyone and focus on our
task at hand. What is our task? Whatever is our calling on earth — whether
that means creating art, empowering others, or being a loving parent. Today with social media, we are addicted to
what others are doing. We waste our mental energy being envious of
others and comparing ourselves to them and hence feel frustrated that we aren’t as
successful as our peers. In order to stay focused and ignore what others
are doing, you need to take a break from doing anytthing that concerns others. Uninstall all social media apps from your
phone, and don’t check your Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media network for an entire
week. This does not mean to ignore your friends
and family but this experiment for a week will help you to devote all your time, energy,
and effort to your own needs. It will make you less envious, jealous and
you will stay focused in your own creative work. 2. Your Reality is Made by your opinions. Marcus Aurelius tells us: “Life is but what
you deem it.” “Life is opinion.” It means that There is no “objective”
reality out there— we shape our own reality. We shape our own perception of the world with
our thoughts. No external “reality” exists outside of
our perceptions. The practical way you can apply this mode
of thinking in your life is this: see everything in a positive light. For example, let’s say that someone talks
shit about you to your face. Rather than feeling frustrated, you can tell
yourself: “I’m glad that someone is talking shit about me, it means that I am not boring
— and doing something interesting.” Furthermore, when people insult us, try to
harm us, or criticize us — it isn’t the insult which hurts us. It is our interpretation of what they are
saying which hurts us. If we interpret others’ actions as irrelevant,
how can we feel hurt? Practice it for a week. Interpret every action that happens to you
as positive. For example, if someone insults you, think
to yourself: “How can this insult make me a stronger person?” See every opportunity as a growth opportunity. 3. Do less
Marcus Aurelius reminds us the importance of doing less in life— and cutting out the
superfluous actions from his life: "If thou wouldst know contentment, let thy
deeds be few,’ said the sage. Better still limit them strictly to such as
are essential, and to such as in a social being reason demands, and as it demands.” It means Many of our actions and words are
unnecessary. By not doing superfluous actions, we will
be less stressed. We need to cut out the unnecessary things
in our lives. The less superfluous actions, words, thoughts,
and emotions — the more focus we will have for what is really important to us in life. That might be time with your family, time
to do your creative work, or the chance to help others. For a week, always ask yourself: “Is this
superfluous?” whenever making decisions. You can apply this in many different ways. For example if you have social obligations
— ask yourself, “Is this social meeting superfluous?” Learn how to say “no” — and say it as
often as you can. 4. Death is knocking at your door
“Take it that you have died today, and your life’s story is ended; and henceforward
regard what further time may be given you as an uncovenanted surplus.” Think about all the people who learn they
have cancer or some other disease. Once they discover this, they drop all the
shit they don’t like doing in life — and only focus on what is important to them. When we know that death is close, we don’t
waste our time. We don’t waste our precious leisure time
watching TV or other forms of passive entertainment. We rush into doing what we are passionate
about, and work that is meaningful to us. We spend more time with our loved ones, and
omit superfluous people and actions from our lives. Reminding ourselves of death gives us focus. Today, imagine like it were your last day
on earth. What would you do, and what would you not
do for your day? What would you tell your loved ones? Who would you spend time with, and who would
you not spend time with? What creative act would you do? What would you not do in your day, if you
knew today was the last? Constantly meditate on this — live everyday
as if it were your last. Because one day, it will be. 5. You’re stronger than you think
Whenever someone tries to harm you, think of these words from Marcus Aurelius:
“How lucky I am, that it has left me with no bitterness; unshaken by the present, and
undismayed by the future. The thing could have happened to anyone, but
not everyone would have emerged unembittered.” It means You’re tougher than you think. You can’t prevent others from throwing shit
at you. But you can change your interpretation of
the situation. If you want to be a world-class boxer, you
will have to fight difficult opponents. You will get beaten up, break a few bones,
bleed, and as a result— you will get stronger. Lets be honest - life is hard and Sometimes
to live is an act of courage. Today, Imagine yourself like the strongest
person in the world. You’re stronger than others. Whenever others try to harm you, imagine little
arrows trying to pierce your golden armor. You’re a giant, and others are ants trying
to harm you. Whenever harm comes your way, remind yourself:
“Thank God I’m so strong, this could have broken others, but it hasn’t broken myself.” 6. You are rising for the work of humankind
Marcus Aurelius tells us "A man’s true delight is to do the things he was made for". What were you designed for? It depends. What is your gift? It might be your ability to socialize, to
make others feel loved, your skill for reading or writing, your skill for research, your
skill for synthesizing information and data, your skill for making visual images, your
skill for empowering others, your skill for teaching, or your skill for making the world
a more beautiful place. Discover your gift, and figure out how you
can best share it with others. If you don’t know what your gift is— ask
your friends, family, or your mom. Think about your gifts as a child, and how
you can best use your personal gift to help those around you. How can you best empower humankind with your
gift? Always meditate on this, and don’t get distracted. 7. Never complain
Marcus Aurelius says "Is your cucumber bitter? Throw it away. Are there briars in your path? Turn aside. That is enough" It means why must we complain? If there is someone who annoys you — just
ignore them. Unfollow them from social media, or just cut
your social ties with them. Do you hate your job? Either quit your job, or figure out a way
to make it less painful or miserable. We often cannot change our external situations
in the world — but we can always change our attitude towards it. Most of us don’t have much time, energy,
or money. Yet given our limited means, how can we make
the best of what we have? Instead of complaining about life, think of
how you can best use your limited means to do your life’s task. Let’s say your dream is to start your own
business. But you have no experience, money, or time. How can you turn that into a benefit? Perhaps you don’t have any dogma holding
you back when it comes to business. Perhaps by not having a lot of money, you
can be more creative to be frugal with your business— and create an economical business. Creativity breeds on constraints— so harness
your constraints in a positive way. 8. You Can Live Happy Anywhere
Marcus Aurelius says “Let it be clear to you that the pace of green fields can always
be yours, in this, that or any other spot; and that nothing is any different here from
what it would be either up in the hills, or down by the sea, or wherever else you will.” What causes a lot of misery for many of us
is our homes, where we live, and the wish to be somewhere else. We might live in the suburbs, and wished we
lived in the city. We might live in the city, and prefer living
in the countryside. We live in the countryside, we might wish
living at the beach. We live at the beach, we wish we lived on
an island. If we lived on an island, perhaps we might
prefer the convenience of living in a suburb. If you were happy with where you lived and
the home you lived in — and didn’t desire to live elsewhere, or in a bigger or better
home, how much more energy, money, and attention could you have for better things in life? Write a list of the positives of your home,
your neighborhood, or city. Never think of the negatives. And likewise— think of all the other places
you would prefer to live. Then write the negatives of living in those
other places (the cost of living, traffic, pollution, distance from family and friends,
etc). And then seek to not complain about your home
or where you live. And dedicate all of your creative energy to
doing something personally-meaningful. 9. Help the common good
Marcus Aurelius says “Avoid all actions that are haphazard or purposeless; and secondly,
let every action aim solely at the common good.” It means To be a honorable and purposeful
human being is to help others. To help others not as fortunate as us. To share our gift, our knowledge, and our
resources. Keep doing good towards others, even though
they may hate us. And once you help others, forget it. Better yet— don’t even be conscious that
you’re helping others. Marcus Aurelius tells us to have “no consciousness
of all of what he has done, like the vine which produces a cluster of grapes looks for
no more thanks than a horse that has run his race.” For a week, do good to others, without expecting
any praise. The pleasure of having helped others is good
enough. 10. Be grateful of your blessings
Marcus Aurelius says “Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon
up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would
crave for them if they were not yours.” No matter how wealthy or successful we are,
we can never get everything that we want. Happiness isn’t having everything in the
world. Rather, happiness is being grateful for all
the blessings we already have. Count your blessings, and then vividly imagine
if you didn’t have those blessings. How much would you crave those blessings if
you didn’t have them? I hope that you can also integrate some of
these lessons into your life, to give you less suffering, stress, anxiety, and more
strength to do your life’s task — to serve the common good. Do Subscribe to us for more such weekly videos.
Always good to study the teachings of Aurelius. My Dad is a huge fan of his.
The is a subreddit for this...