- Don’t allow yourself to be heard any longer griping about public life, not even with your own ears! Marcus Aurelius
- It can ruin your life only if it ruins your character. Otherwise it cannot harm you — inside or out. Marcus Aurelius
- “I’ve come to the point where I never feel the need to stop and evaluate whether or not I am happy. I’m just ‘being’, and without question, by default, it works.” ― Criss Jami, Diotima, Battery, Electric Personality
- “Remember to act always as if you were at a symposium. When the food or drink comes around, reach out and take some politely; if it passes you by don’t try pulling it back. And if it has not reached you yet, don’t let your desire run ahead of you, be patient until your turn comes. Adopt a similar attitude with regard to children, wife, wealth and status, and in time, you will be entitled to dine with the gods. Go further and decline these goods even when they are on offer and you will have a share in the gods’ power as well as their company. That is how Diogenes, Heraclitus and philosophers like them came to be called, and considered, divine.” ― Epictetus, The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness and Effectiveness
- Do what you will. Even if you tear yourself apart, most people will continue doing the same things. Marcus Aurelius
- Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. Marcus Aurelius
- Now is the time to get serious about living your ideals. How long can you afford to put off who you really want to be? Your nobler self cannot wait any longer. Put your principles into practice – now. Stop the excuses and the procrastination. This is your life! […] Decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do – now. Epictetus
- Missing a train is only painful if you run after it! Likewise, not matching the idea of success others expect from you is only painful if that’s what you are seeking. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- What is to give light must endure burning. Viktor Frankl
- “When you give your items away, don’t keep the excess of your pride.” ― Bremer Acosta, Stoic Practice
- The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters with the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain. Colin Wilson
- Ensure you endure. Maxime Lagacé
- He who laughs at the human race deserves better of it than he who mourns for it, for the former leaves it some good hopes of improvement, while the latter stupidly weeps over what he has given up all hopes of mending. Seneca
- The universe has been around for a long time, and the universe is a very, very large place. If you’ll study even the smallest bit of science, for all practical purposes we are nothing. Naval Ravikant
- “Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
- “Remember, it is not enough to be hit or insulted to be harmed, you must believe that you are being harmed. If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation. Which is why it is essential that we not respond impulsively to impressions; take a moment before reacting, and you will find it easier to maintain control.” ― Epictetus, The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness and Effectiveness
- “What is the work of a Master?” said a solemn-faced visitor. “To teach people to laugh,” said the Master gravely. Anthony de Mello
- True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. Seneca
- You need not look about for the reward of a just deed; a just deed in itself offers a still greater return. Seneca
- Sometimes saying “fuck it” at the right time can be a very powerful thing. It tells your mind that you are willing to do whatever it takes to get to the other side. David Goggins
- Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself. Marcus Aurelius
- Just that you do the right thing. The rest doesn’t matter. Marcus Aurelius
- Always resignation and acceptance. Always prudence and honour and duty. Jane Austen
- Much of what other people know isn’t worth knowing. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- You will eventually die and the world will keep moving. @LifeMathMoney
- You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. Marcus Aurelius
- There are two of the most immediately useful thoughts you will dip into. First that things cannot touch the mind: they are external and inert; anxieties can only come from your internal judgement. Second, that all these things you see will change almost as you look at them, and then will be no more. Constantly bring to mind all that you yourself have already seen changed. The universe is change: life is judgement. Marcus Aurelius
- Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be, be one. Marcus Aurelius
- Give yourself fully to your endeavors. Decide to construct your character through excellent actions and determine to pay the price of a worthy goal. The trials you encounter will introduce you to your strengths. Epictetus
- Why should we pay so much attention to what the majority thinks? Socrates