Marcus Aurelius: Lessons in Stoic Philosophy

Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher king, emphasizes self-discipline, resilience, and essentialism in Stoic philosophy for personal and societal betterment.

### Lessons from Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Philosophy for Everyday Life
* 🪴 Marcus Aurelius, the "philosopher king," is an exception to the rule that **absolute power corrupts absolutely**. He shared power with his brother and is known for his **selfless actions**.
* 🚪 According to Marcus Aurelius, when one path is closed, another remains open. "**The impediment to action advances action**. **What stands in the way becomes the way**."
* 🏋 The Stoics believe that self-discipline is all about taking action. "It's not what you say. It's not what you think. **It's what you do**."
* 😨 Anxiety and stress are often internal. Marcus Aurelius writes, "I escaped anxiety, and then he goes, **No, actually I discarded it because it was within me**."
* 🌅 Marcus Aurelius had a disciplined morning routine, emphasizing the **importance of starting the day right**.
* 👥 Other people can be frustrating and challenging, but they also provide opportunities to practice virtues such as **justice, temperance, and courage**.
* ❓ Marcus Aurelius suggests asking yourself with everything you do and say, "**Is this essential?**" to eliminate non-essential tasks and focus on **doing fewer things better**.
* 💡 Three key lessons from Stoic philosophy that you can apply now are: **amor fati** (accepting and embracing what happens to you), **doing good for others**, and **memento mori** (remembering that life is short).

you could leave life right now as mark surely says let that determine what you do and say and think. Life is short do everything as if it was the thought or action of a dying person marcus says. [Music] I think marcus aurelius is maybe the most fascinating person who ever lived. You know, we have this idea that absolute power corrupts absolutely, but marcus is the exception to this rule. He's not born to a royal family, he's chosen as a young man, actually at the same age as nero, and groomed for power. And what is the first thing he does with the power? He shares it with his brother. So, I've been on this journey studying marcus aurelius since I first read meditations, and it changed my life, and it's changed the life of millions of people in the 2000 years since he lived. I'm ryan holliday, I've written out 12 books, I've been writing about marcus aurelius for more than a decade, I've been lucky enough to talk

about mark surelys to the nba and the nfl special forces to sitting senators to ceos and everyone in between and in today's episode i wanted to give you some of my favorite lessons from the one and only marcus aurelius the philosopher king if you want to learn about the great principles and ideas that this man live by i think this video is for you my favorite story about marcus realist comes at the depths of the antonine plague which is a horrible pandemic that kills millions of people rome's economy has been devastated people are dying in the streets and everyone feels like it can't possibly get better and what does marcus aurelius do he walks through the imperial palace and begins to mark things for sale for two months he sells on the lawn of the great emperor's palace the jewels and robes and couches the finery owned by the emperor he's sending a message he says i'm not gonna put myself first i don't need these fancy things not when people are

struggling. He says, I'm gonna do the little things that make a difference to me. This is like the CEO who takes a pay cut in a bad economy. This is the athlete who renegotiates their contract so the team can bring on new people. This is the leader who sacrifices and struggles, who puts the people first, not their own comfort and needs. That's what greatness is like, and that's why I love this story for Marcus Aurelius. [Music] You're not stuck. I know you think you are, but what the Stoics wanted you to know is that yes, one path might be closed, but another remains open. Right, the impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way. Marcus Aurelius isn't saying that nothing can ever stop you. He's saying that when you're stopped in one capacity, there remains other capacities open to you. You always have the opportunity to practice virtue, practice excellence, to change in some form or another based on what's happening. We don't control what happened.

we control how we respond. That's what Stoic philosophy is about. So yes, one path can be closed, a door can be shut, but the window remains open. You know, someone gets in your way, someone blocks you, someone prevents you. Sure, that happens, but they can't stop you from being patient. They can't stop you from practicing forgiveness. They can't stop you from going in a different direction, from changing your mind, trying something new, growing because of this, learning because of it. The Stoics say no one prevents us from accommodating, adapting, changing, integrating the experiences, the obstacles that are in our path, and turning them into new paths. That's what the obstacle is, the way. It is impossible to get stuck because we always retain our ability to choose and change. [Music] We know what it is we need to do, right? We have the information. The problem is doing it. Marcus Aurelius says, You could be good today. Instead, you choose tomorrow. We put it off. We say, I'm going to get started on the diet. I'm going to get

started on the novel. I'm going to get started cleaning the house. I'm not going to do it today. I'm going to do it tomorrow. If it was about information, no one would be overweight. No one would be unhealthy. Everyone would have six-pack abs. Every project would get completed. We know how to do it. The problem is that we don't do it. We don't take the steps. That's why the stoics have the discipline of action. At the end of the day, it's all about the action. It's not what you say. It's not what you think. It's what you do. What action are you going to take? What step are you going to take? And really, that's how you finish stuff. Step by step. Just take the first step. Marcus really says no one can stop you from that. It takes an immense amount of self-awareness to go like, I'm feeling discomforted because of x or I'm feeling anxious because of x. You know, I think that was something for me that I found.

during the pandemic, where suddenly I wasn't doing anything, so I wasn't having to get to this plane, I wasn't stuck in traffic here, I wasn't having to prepare for this or that, and so you'd think that my anxiety would go way down. That suddenly you'd have a lot less to worry about, and then actually that's not true. And then you realize, oh, the anxiety has nothing to do with any of the things. It's actually Mark Sherlos talks about this in Meditations. He says, I escaped anxiety, and then he goes, No, actually I discarded it. And he writes this during a plague, no less, but he goes, I discarded it because it was within me. That was a breakthrough I sort of had. I was like, Oh, I thought I was stressed and anxious and worried because of all of these very reasonable things that cause those things in your life: work, family stuff. And then when all that gets pared down, you realize it's like, Oh, no, it's me. [Music] Marcus Aurelius has a better morning.

routine than you. I promise. So he gets up early, even though he doesn't want to get up early, even though he doesn't have to get up early. He makes himself get up early. He says, What, were you made to sit here under the covers and keep warm? Were you meant to go do the work of a human being? So he gets up early, and he goes and he does his work. And what is the first thing he do? I think that he sits down with his journal, meditation survives to us because it's the private thoughts of the most powerful man in the world. He wrote down these thoughts because they made him better. And then what did he do? He got to work on his most important task of the day. He says, Concentrate like a roman. He says, Do this as if it's the last thing you're doing in your life. That's what Marcus Aurelius did. His morning routine set him up for success. He didn't approach the day at random. He knew that well begun is half done. And so should you start your day.

with a morning routine that lets you own the day from the beginning. [Music] It's called self-discipline. Nobody else signed up for it. You signed up for it. So you're learning and your study and your self-improvement. You have to be sure that you're applying this only to yourself. Marcus really says, Tolerant with others, strict with yourself. The purpose of all this is to make you a better master of yourself. It's not to make you condescending or patronizing or controlling of other people. It's called self-discipline for a reason. It's your discipline over yourself. You'll leave everyone else and their mistakes and their way of doing things to them. [Music] Marx really didn't like people. I mean, you can't read Meditations and not see this. He opens Meditations with a meditation on how frustrating and obnoxious other people are. And even this idea, this idea of the obstacle is the way, that quote is him talking about other people, about how people get in our

way how people present obstacles. But he says that in that obstacle, there's an opportunity to actually practice this philosophy that you say you believe to be good, in spite of other people, to be just in the face of injustice, to be temperate in the face of intemperance that's being rewarded, to be courageous when everyone else is being cowardly and being rewarded for it. So for the stoics, people are frustrating, people are an obstacle, but like all obstacles, they're also the way, that's a challenge we can rise to meet. We can be better for wrestling with other people's difficulties. So don't resent people, use them to become better. You're busy, I'm busy, but how much of what we're busy with actually matters. Marcus really says, ask yourself with everything you do and say, is this essential? Because most of what we do and say is not essential. And she's so right, most of what we do is because people asked us to do it or people told us to.

do it or that's how we've always done it. Do we actually need to do it? If we found out we were dying tomorrow, would we keep doing it? Would we do it the way we're doing it? Absolutely not. So he says, when you ask yourself, Is this essential? you eliminate so much of what you don't need to be doing. And then he says, you get the double benefit of now doing fewer things better. That's why you ask yourself this question, Is this essential? Do I actually need to be doing it? Am I doing it the way that it needs to be done? And you ask this of everything you do and say and think. Number one, amor fati. It didn't happen to you, it happened for you. Fate chose this for you. Accept it, embrace it, bear it, make something of it. That's the idea of amor fati. Marcus Aurelius says, A fire turns everything into fuel and brightness. That's amor fati. Number two, it's about what you do for other people. Marcus Aurelius says, The fruit of

this life is good character and acts for the common good, right? The Stoics weren't trying to study this philosophy to be better sociopaths, to be able to make more money for their own sake, to be more famous. It was about what they do for other people. Do you contribute to your community, to your country? Are you moving the ball forward for humanity? Number three, this puts the other two in perspective: memento mori. You could leave life right now, as Mark surely says. Let that determine what you do and say and think. Life is short. Do everything as if it was the thought or action of a dying person, Marcus says. Life is fragile. The pandemic has reminded us of this. Live while you can, seize the day. Those are three great lessons from Stoic philosophy you can apply right now. If you want to learn more about Stoic philosophy, totally for free, you can sign up for our daily Stoic email. It's one free email every morning, the best of Stoic wisdom. dailystoic.com.

9 Stoic Rules For A Better Life (From Marcus Aurelius)

Daily Stoic

Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher king, is known for his selfless use of power during the Antonine plague, selling the emperor's possessions to help the struggling people.

He is admired for his philosophy of prioritizing the greater good over personal comfort and needs.

Marcus Aurelius's teachings emphasize the idea that when one path is closed, there are always other opportunities for virtuous action and personal growth.

Embracing Stoic Philosophy for Resilience and Action

Stoic philosophy emphasizes the individual's control over their responses to obstacles and challenges.

It focuses on taking action in the present moment rather than procrastinating, highlighting the importance of self-discipline.

The philosophy also promotes self-awareness and the understanding that internal thoughts and attitudes play a significant role in managing anxiety and stress.

The Power of Marcus Aurelius's Morning Routine

Marcus Aurelius had a disciplined morning routine, including journaling and focusing on his most important task.

His approach was to concentrate and start the day with purpose, setting himself up for success.

The key to his routine was self-discipline, aimed at self-improvement and mastering oneself, rather than controlling others.

Stoicism teaches that obstacles are opportunities to practice virtue and become better individuals.

The philosophy encourages evaluating the essential nature of one's actions to focus on what truly matters and doing them better.

The concept of "amor fati" emphasizes accepting and embracing everything that happens as a means to personal growth.

Stoic philosophy is focused on acting for the common good and contributing to the community.

The philosophy emphasizes the brevity of life and the importance of living in the present moment.

The key lessons from Stoicism are to live for the benefit of others, remember the shortness of life, and seize the day.