Stoicism for Beginners

is always much wiser to give thanks for the thing that you do have that to grieve over the things that you do not have.

good stoic is always ready at a moment’s notice to lend a helping hand to anyone in need.

a person should avoid caring about what others think of him or her excessively.

emotions are not right or wrong, they are only felt.

“Men are disturbed not by events, but by their opinions about events.”

life is suffering, and the source of all suffering is wanting

Marcus Aurelius pointed out one of the most illuminating facts convincing us in the west to avoid wasting energy worrying about what others perceive us to be. He famously pointed out that it is always strange that while every person in the world puts his or herself before all others, no person usually puts his or her own opinions of his or herself before the opinions of others. In fact, it is our own opinions of ourselves which all too often take on a subordinate role compared to what others see in us, which is an absurd way to live with oneself.

The cost of existence itself is suffering

It is disappointing that philosophy often receives the reputation of a practice that is more theoretical than practical and that it is more often practiced by academics who do not consider its real-world applications so much as they busy themselves with impressing their colleagues.

The age-old adage “you reap what you sow” applies here as it does anywhere.