7 Quotes from Marcus Aurelius That Will Change Your Perspective on Life

Pearls of wisdom from Rome’s greatest emperor.

The first time I learnt about Marcus Aurelius was probably the same time most people became familiar with his name — after watching Gladiator.

In the film, he is portrayed as a wise elder statesmen who knows his reign is coming to an end. Faced with the difficult choice of anointing his narcissistic and sadistic son Commodus, or the General, Maximus, as his successor, he chose the latter.

I won’t spoil the film for you if you haven’t seen it, but things don’t go according to plan.

The Marcus Aurelius that is portrayed in the film is only a glimpse into what the actual figure was like in real-life. He was considered to be the epitome of Plato’s ideal of the philosopher-king.

A leader who did not want to be a leader, but rises to the challenge regardless. The end of Marcus’ reign saw Rome at the height of its power following over 100 years of effective rule by the Five Good Emperors. His death ushered in a slow decline of the Empire and its eventual collapse.

As well as an Emperor, Marcus Aurelius was an avowed follower of the stoic branch of philosophy. Every night he would write down his thoughts into a journal for his own reflection to help improve himself as a leader, father and citizen.

Incredibly, he wrote these thoughts while he was leading the Roman army in battles across Europe. Despite all the stress and turmoil he must have faced, he still found the time each night to philosophise on life and transcribe his thoughts.

These musings were never supposed to see the light of day, but thankfully, they did. They now comprise the published book, Meditations, which is an invaluable resource that anyone committed to personal growth must read.

The book is a window into the mind of a man who, two-thousand years ago, was the most powerful man on the planet. I found this book during a low point in my life, and it helped me pull myself up.

I have no doubt these seven quotes that I’ve picked out can do the same for you too.

“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength.”

In the current climate with the Coronavirus pandemic raging across the globe, the above quote is more relevant than ever.

When I first came across this quote, I was struggling with crippling anxiety. I suffered from panic attacks at least once a week; this was while teaching English at a summer school for international students.

To this day, I still don’t know how I managed to compose myself and get through those three weeks. I was a wreck, a shell of my former self, always worried about when I would have my next panic attack.

It wasn’t until I stumbled across posts praising Meditations, that I began to turn the corner. Reading the book helped me improve mentally, and this quote was a massive help during difficult times.

While we can’t control events such as Coronavirus, football matches or the day-to-day running of our countries, but we do control what goes on in our minds.

Your thoughts influence your life. If you’re always thinking negative thoughts, you will create a negative experience for yourself — and vice versa. Controlling your mind is vital if you want to take authority over your life.

Humans are control freaks by nature, but the only thing we truly have control over is ourselves. Although we cannot command what happens around us, we can always dictate how we choose to respond.

“The needs of a happy life are very few.”

When I first went backpacking around Australia in 2012, I left behind a lot of stuff. I didn’t take a lot of clothes, I had two pairs of shoes, and the only electrical device I had was my iPhone.

It was challenging to adjust to the backpacking lifestyle at first. Sleeping in a room with five other people wasn’t easy, but slowly I adapted.

As the months wore on, I realised that beyond the contents of my backpack, there was very little that I needed to make me happy. The few items I had with me and the ability to buy food were more than enough.

The only item of mine that I missed during my travel was my bike. (Hardly a practical thing to take with you to a country on the other side of the planet.)

What I realised during my travels was something that Marcus Aurelius learned two thousand years earlier. You need very little to make you happy.

Most of the stuff that you own, you don’t need. Happiness does not come from owning an array of possessions; it comes from within, from a deep sense of contentment with your life.

When you realise that you can live off very little, it opens your eyes to what’s essential in life. Health, friends, family and love, all of these are much more important than owning the latest and greatest must-have gadget.

“You don’t have to turn this into something. It doesn’t have to upset you.”

One of the easiest states to lapse into is anger. This has happened to me on many occasions, especially when I returned home after travelling.

When I came back from Australia after a year, I lived with my parents for two months before I jetted off again. I had been able to do whatever I wanted for a year, and I was completely independent.

That changed the moment I came back.

I now had to adhere to the rules of my parents and consider the concerns of three other people. It wasn’t a smooth transition to make, and it was probably the reason I set off again on my travels.

I found it grating having to tell my parents where I was going or being pulled up on some minor incident in the house. Often, I would get angry at my parents for these minuscule things.

Looking back, it’s embarrassing, but I was a lot younger then and a lot more rebellious. Wisdom doesn’t always come with age, but perspective does.

I now realise that you don’t need to pick a fight over every little thing, you don’t need to have an opinion on everything. Sometimes you can just let things be — and you’ll find you feel a lot better for doing so.

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

This is one of Marcus Aurelius’s most famous quotes. It’s become more widely known due to Ryan Holiday’s book The Obstacle is the Way.

It is a fantastic quote that sums up one of the most common issues we face in our lives — things getting in our way. When this happens, it’s easy to become disheartened and give up.

But, that’s not what you should do.

As Marcus states, this is the time when you have to face these challenges head-on. If you give up every time you face an impassable obstacle, then you will never get anywhere.

Obstacles are a part of life. We all suffer in one form or another. Instead of shying away from these challenges, we have to face up to them. It’s in moments such as these when we find out who we truly are.

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”

As I stated above, when I was younger, I tended to get annoyed at the slightest thing. A remark by my parents or other inane things set me off.

It took me a while to stop becoming annoyed by trivial things. Even now, I find myself getting annoyed at things I shouldn’t, but it’s a much rarer occurrence than it used to be.

It’s easy to chastise yourself over and over for not being a good person and focusing on various flaws you may have. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve promised myself I’ll be better after I’ve done something I regret.

It wasn’t until I read this quote that I understood how much time I had wasted debating the rights and wrongs of my actions in my head.

All that time, I could have been a better person instead — right at that moment. We can all say we want to be better, but until we become the living embodiment of this, it’s just hot air.

It’s not what we say that defines our character, it’s our actions.

“Just that you do the right thing. The rest doesn’t matter.”

This is one of the quotes that made me stop in my tracks when I first read it. The advice was so obvious, yet it had never occurred to me before.

We all like to think that we are right, that we are moral, but are we? If we witnessed wrongdoing taking place, would we step in and act?

Nassim Nicholas Taleb has the following to say on this matter: “If you see fraud and do not say fraud, you are a fraud.”

The reason most people don’t live up to this is because of the costs of doing so. Often, speaking up about injustices can lead to you being castigated and ostracised — for merely doing the right thing. It’s one of the reasons people keep quiet when they witness such acts.

However, this results in guilt and resentment, which can fester for years. Despite the costs of speaking up, whatever they may be, it’s better to do so. Even if you suffer at a personal loss, at least you know you did the right thing.

As Marcus says, that’s all that matters. As we have seen with the case of Theranos, Lance Armstrong and Harvey Weinstein, lies and deceit always come home to roost.

When they do, your conscience and your stance will be justified.

“Understand that your time has a limit set to it. Use it, then to advance your enlightenment; or it will be gone, and never in your power again.”

One of the things I remember the most from working in my old office job was how much people wanted their shift to end. It was common to hear, “Only two hours to go!” or something to that effect said every day in the workplace.

It jarred with me the first few times I heard it, and then, when I read this passage in Meditations, it became clear why.

Yes, it wasn’t the best job, and I didn’t want to be there either, but I never thought like this. Whenever you say something to this effect, you are willing to wish time away that you will never get back.

Time is the most precious commodity we have. It’s something we all possess, but no matter how much money we have or how beautiful we are, none of us can get any more of it.

Each day we have on this planet is a blessing. We are all on a slow descent into our inevitable end. Wishing your time away is hoping to expedite this process.

This is why it’s essential to make the most of your time. You only have a limited amount, and you have no idea when it will run out. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Source: medium.com/mindcafe

Writer: Tom Stevenson