Simple Stoic Advice
Praise and fame
Praise and fame
The beautiful thing about Stoic philosophy is the advice contained within it is just as applicable today as it was when it was first written all those many years ago. We can learn a great deal from interpreting the advice provided and using it to our advantage as we go throughout our own lives.
Today’s quote comes to us courtesy of Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.3:
Quote
“Or is it your reputation that’s bothering you? But look at how soon we’re all forgotten. The abyss of endless time that swallows it all. The emptiness of all those applauding hands. The people who praise us — how capricious they are, how arbitrary. And the tiny region in which it aIl takes place. The whole earth a point in space — and most of it uninhabited. How many people there will be to admire you, and who they are.”
Advice
Why is it that we seek fame and praise from others? Well, for many of us, we need external validation. Validation provides safety to us because it provides us a (false) sense of security. From an evolutionary perspective, this would probably benefit us — the more people like us and praise us, the less likely we are to be cast from the tribe.
But what about today? What about the fact that we are connected to billions of people? What good does praise do?
None. It is empty.
In fact, Marcus Aurelius, being the most powerful man in the world at the time of his writing, reflected upon praise often, constantly reminding himself that it was just emptiness and provided nothing for him. As Marcus asks himself:
“What use is praise, except to make your lifestyle a little more comfortable?”
None. Nada. Zilch.
As he summarizes in book four of Mediations:
“Beautiful things of any kind are beautiful in themselves and sufficient to themselves. Praise is extraneous. The object of praise remains what it was — no better and no worse.”
Marcus does not want comfort because he knew that as soon as he allowed that praise in, it would be gone. He often looked at all the emperors who had come before him, who had indulged in their vices. He didn’t want this. He wanted more. He wanted to be able to stand on his own, as that is what Rome needed, someone who could rule, an emperor.
When we start accepting praise, we begin to allow in other people’s opinions. These opinions form stilts which we attempt to hang our hats on but they are ultimately lacking in any real structure.
As Marcus says, praise is short lived. It holds no real value other than to make life, in his case, slightly more comfortable. But for the majority of us, it is an illusion.
It is better to build ourselves up and have internal resilience. This has stability. This has strength. That way, when we are needed, when adversity strikes, we can stand up to it.
But with praise?
Even the wind can blow stilts down.
We send a Stoic meditation every Monday morning directly to your inbox. To sign up to receive our Monday Meditations, click here.
Some links contained herein are Amazon affiliate links. Click here for disclosure.