6 Lessons From Stoic Philosophy That Can Make Your Life Better Today
If you can’t find your way forward, try looking back — way back to 161 AD
The reign of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius was defined by a pandemic, civil unrest, interminable wars, cultural decadence, and income inequality.
As he would observe in Meditations, people have always been people, and life has always been life. The more things change, the more they stay the same. How true we’ve found this to be.
I’ve spent more than a decade writing about the Stoic philosophy, most recently with my book Lives of the Stoics and my research is filled with unique characters from unique backgrounds — from slaves to generals, lawyers to writers, artists to doctors. Despite all their difficulties, they found a way to be successful, happy, strong, productive, and good. The Stoics were philosophers, but more than that, they were doers. They didn’t have room for big words or big ideas, just stuff that made you better right here, right now.
Like these six simple lessons:
Find a mentor
“Choose a master whose life, conversation, and soul-expressing face have satisfied you … For we must indeed have someone according to whom we may regulate our characters; you can…
