I know a few of you use these stoicism quote videos as background music while working, relaxing, or even sleeping, so I made a longer 2 hour version instead of the usual 3-4 minute videos I normally make. Let me know in the comments if you like these 2 hour+ videos, or the shorter 3-4 minute videos. Any feedback is always welcome :
Find strength in adversity the truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable unhappy or unfulfilled or is only in such moments propelled by our discomfort that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers be persistent it’s okay to be discouraged it’s not okay to quit to know you want to quit but to plant your feet and keep inching closer until you take the impenetrable fortress.
You’ve decided to lay siege to in your own life that’s persistence be resilient it is essential to make oneself used to putting up with a little even the wealthy and the well-provided are continually met and frustrated by difficult times and situations it is in no man’s power to have whatever he wants but he has it in his power not to wish for what he hasn’t got and cheerfully make the most of the things that do come his way believe in yourself not to assume it’s impossible because you find it hard but to recognize that if its humanly possible you can do it too.
Live in the present focus on the moment not the monster that may or may not be up ahead practice gratitude we humans are unhappy in large part because we are insatiable after working hard to get what we want we routinely lose interest in the object of our desire rather than feeling satisfied we feel a bit bored and in response to this boredom we go on to form even grander desires be kind life is so hard how can we be anything but kind be the hero in your movie heroes are heroes because they are heroic in behavior not because they won or lost.
Control your mind the wise man is neither raised up by prosperity or cast down by adversity for always he has striven to rely predominantly on himself and to derive all joy from himself adversity strengthens the mind make the mind tougher by exposing it to adversity do not give up in the meantime cling tooth and nail to the following rule not to give in to adversity not to trust prosperity and always take full notes of fortunes habit of behaving just as she pleases be an outlier people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are he ones who do ask questions a wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer take action the way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing never stop learning anyone who stops learning is old.
Whether at 20 or 80 anyone who keeps learning stays young stay optimistic the pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity the optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty I am the wisest man alive for i know one thing and that.
Is that I know nothing a hero is born among a hundred a wise man is found among a thousand but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men people are like dirt they can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die necessity is the mother of invention to be afraid of death is only another form of thinking that one is wise when one is not it is to think that one knows what one does not know no one knows with regard to death whether it is not really the greatest blessing that can happen to man but people dread it as though they were certain it is the greatest evil.
Wealth is the parent of luxury and indolence and poverty of meanness and viciousness and both of discontent the measure of a man is what he does with power good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others there are two things a person should never be angry at what they can help and what they cannot be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle excellence is not a gift but a skill that takes practice we do not act rightly because we are excellent in fact we achieve excellence by acting rightly the untrained mind keeps up a running commentary labeling everything judging everything best to ignore that commentary don’t argue or resist just ignore deprived of attention
and interest this voice gets quieter and quieter and eventually just shuts up number 12 diversify your life a ship should not ride on a single anchor nor life on a single hope 11. stop pointing blame small-minded people blame others average-minded people blame themselves the wise see all blame as foolishness 10. greatness takes time no great thing is created suddenly nine you control your happiness no one is ever unhappy because of someone else eight you control your worries there is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will seven stay positive men are disturbed not by the things which happen but by the opinion about the things 6. invite difficulties the greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it skillful pilots gain their reputation
from storms and tempests five educate yourself only the educated are free 4. be patient.
Nothing great is created suddenly any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig if you tell me that you desire a fig I answer you that there must be time let it first blossom then bear fruits then ripen three attract positivity other people’s views and troubles can be contagious do not sabotage yourself by unwittingly
adopting negative unproductive attitudes through your associations with others two happiness is within your power your happiness depends on three things all of which are within your power your will your ideas concerning the events in which you are involved and the use you make of your ideas number one be content he is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not but rejoices for those which he has number 12 six rules for success one trust yourself two break some rules three don’t be afraid to fail four ignore the naysayers five work like hell six give something back 11. be different the worst thing I can be is the same as everybody else I hate that 10 stay hungry be hungry for success hungry to make your mark hungry to be seen and to be heard and to have an effect 9. the mind is the limit as long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something you can do it as long as you really believe 100 percent eight forge your own path what is the point of being on this earth.
if you are going to be like everyone else seven work hard you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets six educate yourself the more knowledge you have the more you’re free to rely on your instincts five attract positivity positive thinking can be contagious being surrounded by winners helps you develop into a winner four make them jealous you have to remember something everybody pities the weak jealousy you have to earn three do not surrender strength does not come from winning your struggles develop your strengths when you go through hardships and decide not to surrender that is strength two do not quit learned helplessness is the giving up reaction the quitting response that follows from the belief that whatever you do doesn’t matter one live to conquer for me life is continuously being hungry the meaning of life is not simply to exist to survive but to move ahead to go up to achieve to conquer if anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer he was ignorant of my other faults Elsie would not have mentioned these alone wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants don’t explain your philosophy body it if you want to improve be content to be thought foolish and stupid now is the time to get serious about living your ideals how long can you afford to put off who you really want to be your nobler self cannot wait any longer put your principles into practice now stop the excuses and the procrastination this is your life you aren’t a child anymore the sooner you set yourself to your spiritual program the happier you will be the longer you wait the more you’ll be vulnerable to mediocrity and feel filled with shame and regret because you know you are capable of better from this instant on vow to stop disappointing yourself separate yourself from the mob decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do now it’s not what happens to you but how you react to it that matters don’t just say you have read books show that through them you have learned to think better to be a more discriminating and reflective person books are the training weights of the mind man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems there is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will the key is to keep company only with people who uplift you whose presence calls forth your best any person capable of angering you becomes your master he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him freedom is the only worthy goal in life it is one by disregarding things that lie beyond our control I laugh at those who think they can damage me they do not know who I am they do not know what I think they cannot even touch the things which are really mine and with which I live he is a wise man who does not grieve for things which he has not but rejoices for those which he has top 12 greatest stoic quotes Seneca the great 12. do not fall foul of consumerism until we have begun to go without them we fail to realize how unnecessary many things are we’ve been using them not because we needed them but because we had them 11. be content it is not the man who has too little but the man who craves more that is poor 10. work on yourself if you really want to escape the things that harass you what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person nine stop procrastinating while we are postponing life speeds by eight live in the present true happiness is to enjoy the present without anxious dependence upon the future not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have which is sufficient for he that is so wants nothing seven be kind wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for kindness six be prepared luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity 5. overcome weaknesses every day every night before going to sleep we must ask ourselves what weakness did I overcome today what virtue did I acquire 4. exercise your mind difficulties strengthen the mind as labor does the body three be courageous throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack two act virtuously we are bad men living among bad men and the only thing that can calm us we must agree to go easy on one another one fight against adversity the bravest site in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity
setbacks lead to opportunity a setback has often cleared the way for greater prosperity many things have fallen only to rise to more exalted heights suffering can be beautiful suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness not through insensibility but through greatness of mind
separate internal and external matters the chief task in life is simply this to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control and which have to do with the choices I actually control turn setbacks into achievements just as nature takes every obstacle every impediment and works around it turns it to its purposes incorporates it into itself so too a rational being can turn each setback into raw material and use it to achieve its goal expect the unexpected the art of living is more like wrestling than dancing because an artful life requires being prepared to meet and withstand sudden and unexpected attacks persist and resist if anyone would take two words to heart and take pains to govern and watch over themselves by them they will live an impeccable and immensely tranquil life the two words are persist and resist focus it is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light you will always have freedom of choice you can bind up my leg but not even Zeus has the power to break my freedom of choice respond positively to setbacks we cannot choose our external circumstances but we can always choose how we respond to them stop complaining if its endurable then endure it stop complaining live in the present the mind that is anxious about future events is miserable control the imagination we suffer more often in imagination than in reality 10. what really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves but the way in which we think about them it is not things that disturb us but our interpretation of their significance 9. to be stoic is not to be emotionless but to remain unaffected by your emotions 8. difficulty shows what men are therefore when a difficulty falls upon you remember that god like a trainer of wrestlers has matched you with a rough young man why so that you may become an Olympic conqueror but it is not accomplished without sweat seven we should always be asking ourselves is this something that is or is not in my control 6. if you are pained by any external thing it is not this thing that disturbs you but your own judgment about it
and it is in your power to wipe out this judgment now 5. man conquers the world by conquering himself
4. imagine smiling after a slap in the face then think of doing it 24 hours a day 3. people hide their truest nature I understood that I even applauded it what sort of world would it be if people bled all over the sidewalks if they wept under trees smacked whomever they despised kissed strangers revealed themselves two look back over the past with its changing empires that rose and fell and you can foresee the future too.
