2021 Stoic Survival Quotes
5 Marcus Aurelius quotes to help you conquer the new year
5 Stoic Quotes & Exercises to Help Conquer the year
Marcus Aurelius, the last of the Five Good Emperors who ruled from 161 AD until his death in 180, left behind his inner most thoughts by way of a notebook. Originally titled “Ta eis heauto” which roughly translates to the notion of To Himself, today the work is known as Meditations. Held within the notebook are lessons and advice from one of the wisest people to walk the earth. There is no other work like it. Believed to have been written within the last five years of his life, Meditations can be thought of as a mental gym, a notebook Marcus used to re-center himself in times of crisis, drawing on his Stoic (as well as other philosophical) trainings.
The notebook was for personal growth, used to help gain clarity, and exercise his mind and judgments. He often reflects on the need for gaining clarity in judgments, distancing himself from harmful emotions, and understanding what he could and could not control.
For those who have not read the Meditations, it is mandatory for any antilibrary you’re building.
Here are five quotes and exercises that will help you maintain your clarity and sanity in 2021.
Quote #1 — A Clean Mind for a New Year
“The mind of one set straight and purified: no pus, no dirt, no scabs. ”
Meditations. 3.8
It’s a new year which is a fresh start. Leaving last year behind isn’t easy, but looking forward to a new year and a fresh start is key. If we carry with us the pains and discomforts of last year, it will only weigh us down as it is a lot of baggage.
Starting the new year off right, we can clear our mind and repurpose our time to things that deserve our attention. Break into the new year with a fresh mindset.
Exercise to Apply
Remember that we have right now, this very instant. The future lies in uncertainty and the past is unchangeable. The present moment, which is constantly fleeting, is all we truly have.
It is a new year so reflect upon the past only in an effort to gain knowledge of how to better the present moment.
When life begins to feel overwhelming and out of control, reflect on the notion that the present moment is so very brief and fleeting. Repurpose this to take advantage.
Quote #2 — Action through Principles
“No random actions, none not based on underlying principles.”
Meditations. 4.2
Far too often, we are rocked by unforeseen events. When these come out of nowhere, we often are pushed back on our heals. And far too often this then leads to us abandoning our principles, and cause us to react out of emotion, rather than out of reason and underlying principles.
As we embark into 2021, realize that there may be events that we do not anticipate. There may be times of stress, of suffering, of pain. But by knowing your principles, by reflecting upon them and holding strength in them, we can turn to them in times of crisis and allow them to be our guiding lights.
Lean into your principles and do not allow yourself to react to life’s events through emotion, rather, react to them with equanimity and tranquility because you know your principles.
Exercise to Apply
Today, there are endless ways to journal. Pick whichever one is right for you whether it be paper, Roam Research, or even the notes section of your phone.
As you journal, ask and answer the following questions:
Did I anticipate all that occurred today?
Did I allow myself to lose control to my emotions?
How can I turn this into a positive? (How can I learn from this?)
Did my actions conform with my principles and beliefs?
By writing out your principles, you will be better able to act and react to life’s curveballs. (For anyone looking to better understand what it means to have principles, I highly recommend you read Ray Dalio’s book, Principles: Life and Work.)
Quote #3 — Refer to Your Inner Citadel
“When jarred, unavoidably, by circumstances, revert at once to yourself, and don’t lose the rhythm more than you can help. You’ll have a better grasp of the harmony if you keep on going back to it.”
Meditations. 6.11
There will be curveballs. This is not specific to a year such as 2020 which had far too many curveballs to count. Rather, it is a natural thing to occur in life. No matter how far out we try to plan, it ultimately can all be tossed out with a curveball that gets thrown our way.
In Meditations, Marcus tells himself to be like the rock on the beach with the water crashing over it, unmoved by the constant thrashing of waves.
Exercise to Apply
The Stoics, particularly Marcus Aurelius and Seneca the Younger, believed in always anticipating the adversities which would arise in the day.
In his essay, On Anger (De Ira) Seneca writes:
“Everything might happen; anticipate everything. Even in good there is something rather unsavory. Human nature contains treacherous thoughts, ungrateful ones, greedy and wicked ones. When you assess the character of one person, consider that of the populace. Your greatest fear lies in the same place as your greatest joy. When everything seems serene, the dangers are still present, only sleeping. Always suppose that something offensive to you is going to arise.”
Marcus himself stated in Meditations:
“When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil.”
Take time for yourself to think about the events which may arise throughout the day. If they do arise, they will not have surprised or jarred you as much as you have already begun to take the steps to combat the problem.
Quote #4 — Know What is Within Your Control
“Nothing has meaning to my mind except its own actions. Which are within its own control. And it’s only the immediate ones that matter. Its past and future actions too are meaningless.”
Meditations. 6.32
Not everything is within our control. In fact, we think far more is within our control than it actually is. It is crucial that we understand what we do and do not have power over. Once we understand this, we can better understand that the things we do not have control over really shouldn’t bother us as much.
Exercise to Apply
Take a piece of paper and add three columns. Column One is the event itself. Column Two is whether or not you have direct control over it. Column Three is your reasoning.
As you do this day-after-day, it will begin to become second nature to you and you will no longer need the list.
The more you do this, the more you will learn to focus and pour your energies into the pursuits and activities you do have control over and accept the rest as is.
Quote #5 — Accept Whatever Fate Comes
“That every event is the right one. Look closely and you’ll see. Not just the right one overall, but right. As if someone had weighed it out with scales.”
Meditations. 4.10
Life happens. More often than not, it does not happen the way we anticipate or want. But that doesn’t mean we can just give up on life. It means that it is life and we have to roll with it.
The Stoics believed in accepting all fates, good or bad, and understanding that there was something that could always be taken from the events we faced.
Exercise to Apply
Marcus writes in the Meditations:
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
Regardless of how hard we try and plan, things will inevitably not go our way. When that happens, it’s best we use it as an opportunity for growth.
Other than turning trials into triumphs the way Ryan Holiday describes in his bestselling book, The Obstacle is the Way, the Stoics added a reserve clause.
The Stoic reserve clause means “fate permitting” and was used as a way for the Stoic to accept an outcome.
We all have to inevitably accept that there are external forces at play that may become an impediment to our achieving our desired goal. The reserve clause was a sentiment that reminded the Stoic of this, the clause being added to the end of a sentence such as “I will cross the street, fate permitting.”
As Epictetus stated in The Enchiridion:
“Don’t hope that events will turn out the way you want, welcome events in whichever way they happen: this is the path to peace.”
Five-Bullet Summary
Start the new year with a fresh mind and remind yourself you are living in the present moment which is all you have.
Act through your beliefs and principles, not through emotions.
Anticipate what might occur — this will help relinquish its control over you if it does in fact occur.
Understand what you do and do not control and put your efforts behind the things you can control.
Plan as best you can but accept the fate that you are handed.
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