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Kindle Notes & Highlights
As a Stoic student, you learn that only you can ruin your life and only you can refuse to let your inner self be conquered by whatever nasty challenge life throws at you.
The point is, many people don’t get any happier when they grow older, they don’t improve whatsoever.
“If it is not right, do not do it, if it is not true, do not say it.” – Marcus Aurelius
Philosophy is not reserved for wise old men, it’s an essential craft for everybody who wants to learn how to live (and die) well.
A “philosopher” literally translates from the Greek into a “lover of wisdom,” someone who loves to learn how to live, someone who wants to attain practical wisdom concerning how to actually live their life.
Thinking and philosophizing about the blank block of marble won’t teach us how to skillfully use chisel and mallet.
He said that in ancient times, the ideal philosopher was a veritable warrior of the mind, but in modern times, “the philosopher has become something more bookish, not a warrior, but a mere librarian of the mind.”
True philosophy is a matter of little theory and a lot of practice, like wrestling in the ancient and surfing in the modern world.
“Dig within. Within is the wellspring of Good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig.” – Marcus Aurelius
For the Stoics and all other schools of ancient philosophy, the ultimate goal of life was eudaimonia, to become good (eu) with your inner daimon. (Not to be confused with demon, which is a bad spirit.)
We should close the gap between who we’re capable of being (our ideal self) and who we actually are in that moment.
The Stoics’ overarching goal was eudaimonia; to be good with your inner daimon, to live in harmony with your ideal self, to express your highest version of yourself in every moment.
The most common translation of the Greek word eudaimonia is happiness. The translations “flourishing” or “thriving,” however, capture the original meaning better because they indicate a form of continuing action—you can only be good with your daimon when your moment-to-moment actions are in harmony with your ideal self. You flourish at living well, and only as a consequence you’ll feel happy.
“To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden.” – Seneca
