“Our rational nature moves freely forward in its impressions when it:
MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.7
- accepts nothing false or uncertain;
- directs its impulses only to acts for the common good;
- limits its desires and aversions only to what’s in its own power;
- embraces everything nature assigns it.”
Today’s quote from The Daily Stoic is a little unusual in that it’s a list of four things. Author Ryan Holiday keys in on this, and suggests that Marcus wrote this list for his own benefit, to help him remember.
Perhaps Marcus felt that he had gone astray in his mindset, or that he had made some key mistakes in the days prior. Maybe he had an experience that filled him with conviction that these items needed to be spelled out again — for himself and for anyone who would follow (like you and me). Or maybe he just realized that these are very important points, key tenets of stoicism, and they deserved special mention.
Holiday rephrases these four statements, but I won’t restate them here, you can just buy the book if you haven’t already.
But I will put them in my own words. So here they are — four things to remember as you continue your stoic journey:
- Always seek the truth, and reject everything else.
- Work toward the common good — the good of people who rely on you, your community, and the world.
- Spend your mental energy only on those things which are within your control.
- Love your fate (not grudgingly accept) — whatever is coming your way in the future.
