“The greatest portion of peace of mind is doing nothing wrong. Those who lack self-control live disoriented and disturbed lives.”
SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 105.7
Guilt is very powerful. That’s what Ryan Holiday points out in his book, when explaining today’s quote. It’s worse than jail, he says! When you do wrong, even when you know better, it eats you up inside.
Doing the right thing isn’t easy — but it causes you to avoid a lot of anguish and stress in your life which comes from doing wrong. If you can avoid doing wrong, then peace of mind will be within your reach. And peace of mind will bring freedom for you.
How can you ensure you do right, and avoid being devoured by guilt? It comes from self-control. It requires mental self-discipline to be able to wrangle your inner temptations and do what’s right, when you’d rather do something else. And that takes practice, and study, and dedication to self-improvement.
