I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.
Marcus AureliusRead
You have to assemble your life yourself - action by action.
Interpretation
Life requires active involvement and personal effort to shape it.
This quote by Marcus Aurelius emphasizes the importance of individual responsibility and proactive engagement in crafting our lives. It suggests that fulfillment and purpose are achieved through deliberate actions, underscoring the idea that we cannot wait for circumstances to change but must take initiative ourselves, step by step.
In practice
In a motivational speech about personal development.
I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.
You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.
Vex not thy spirit at the course of things; they heed not thy vexation. How ludicrous and outlandish is astonishment at anything that may happen in life.
You don't have to turn this into something. It doesn't have to upset you. Things can't shape our decisions by themselves.
A man's worth is no greater than his ambitions.
What do we talk about? Just ordinary things. What happened today, or books we've read, or tomorrow's weather, you know. Don't tell me you're wondering if people jump to their feet and shout stuff like 'It'll rain tomorrow if a polar bear eats the stars tonight!
Only when human sorrows are turned into a toy with glaring colors will baby people become interested - for a while at least. The people are a very fickle baby that must have new toys every day.
When I was younger, not being accepted made me enraged, but now, I am not inclined to dismantle my history. If you banish the dragons, you banish the heroes-and we become attached to the heroic strain in our personal history.
There is not a day but sin foils or is foiled, prevails or is prevailed upon. It will always be so while we live in this world. Sin will not spare for one day. There is no safety but in a constant warfare for those who desire deliverance from sin's perplexing rebellion.
The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man.
What is it that you contain? The Dead. Time. Light patterns of millennia. The expanding universe opening in your gut. Are your twenty-three feet of intestines loaded with stars?
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