Stoicism

You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength – Marcus Aurelius

Don’t spend time with people who are wasting your time

Your time and energy are precious commodities. You have the power to eliminate the naysayers and people who are pulling you down into the abyss. Don’t waste them on what those inconsequential to your life are doing, thinking, and saying, Marcus says.

Instead, surround yourself with people who are optimistic, happy, and helpful. For they are the ones that will help induce positive thoughts in your mind that will lead to positive outcomes for you.

Be present in the moment

Spend time worrying about the past and future, and you shall find yourself stricken with anxiety. Just like fear, thoughts about the future and the past are just products of your own imagination. As you learn to live in the present moment, you will feel happier and more peaceful.

There is nothing beneficial from letting yourself live separately from where your body finds itself. “Each of us lives only now, this brief instant. The rest has been lived already, or is impossible to see,” Marcus writes.

Turn your obstacle into an opportunity

As Marcus writes: “Something happens to you. Good. It was meant for you by nature, woven into the pattern from the beginning… Get what you can from the present — thoughtfully, justly.

Life isn’t a bed of roses. There will be times when you find yourself surrounded by problems and obstacles that you need to overcome. Instead of being a worrywart, try turning your fears into prudence, take your pain and turn it into transformation, and mistakes you made into initiation.

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Recommended Resources

1. Stoicism 101: A Practical Guide for Entrepreneurs by Tim Ferriss
2. The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca: Essays and Letters
3. The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday

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