Taking on Marcus Aurelius' mindset would prepare you to overcome obstacles in your life to reach your maximum potential — Life presents us with countless obstacles as we strive to achieve a specific goal. And we often wonder if we can use a general formula to respond to these enormous obstacles. The ancient Stoics firmly believed that we should always respond with virtue, hard work, honesty, and wisdom no matter…

Is it better to have moderate emotions or none at all? — Seneca on self-control — moral letter 116 Stoics are often considered as nice guys or people who repress their emotions in the name of the dichotomy of control or believing that they can control their emotions. The ancient Stoics believed that the emotions we experience are signs that we have made ourselves believe that things “indifferent” is…

Seneca and Epictetus established a connection between authority in Stoic philosophy and individual agency — As established by the later Stoics, Stoicism is more about individual agency than obedience to authority. There is a high reverence for authority in other schools of thought or religion and more emphasis on obeying the founding fathers. In Christianity, for instance, Jesus Christ is considered the Messianic King, who…

#1 We are here to help each other, so act accordingly — In Christianity, there are 10 commandments from God that we’re given to Moses at Mount Sinai to guide Israelites or Christians in general. For example, the first commandment states that: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him…

General confidence itself is not sufficient, you need to tie it with high performer habits to achieve your goals — “Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.” — Samuel Johnson Confidence is the ingredient that makes you overcome obstacles, and it is one of the keywords high performers often use to describe their consistent emotional state of mind. For instance, “I am confident that I can achieve my goals…

Should we rehearse adversity or avoid it because we suffer more often in imagination than in reality? — Since the birth of Stoicism, some people have been criticizing the Stoics for many things. For example, they often talk about how Stoics are selfish or heartless men and women who only care about themselves because Stoic philosophy is personal ethics. Another common misconception is that Stoics are unemotional or…

There are enormous challenges in a graduate program- almost every student gets stuck for various reasons, but these tips would help you… — Regardless of how smart or organized you are, you will always experience some unfortunate odds or challenges in graduate school, and you will get stuck at some point. It will be challenging to remain motivated. And it is not uncommon to get distracted or challenged by enormous problems. You need…

Holding yourself accountable can help you achieve your goals and unlock your true potential — Setting up goals is easy, but remaining committed to them and achieving them is often challenging. But holding yourself accountable or employing a stimulus control can truly help you achieve your goals, support your peers and develop essential self-management skills to unlock your maximum potential. Also, keeping in mind why…

Anger is a temporary madness, but it is possible to tame your anger from a Stoic perspective — We can’t ignore that we live in a time of immense anger, a period with internal divisions filled with rage on social media posts. And, of course, some of this anger may be justified or warranted, especially in injustices, corruption, or war. …