Life
is full of laughs and tears, surprises and disappointments. We cannot control
what happens to us, but Marcus Aurelius said, we can control our reactions to
the events. Your happiness always depends upon the quality of your thoughts.
Here
are five of the most important insights on how to live a happy life from the
writings of Marcus Aurelius:
Appreciate
the shortness of life
“There
is a limit to the time assigned to you and if you don’t use it to free
yourself, it will be gone and will never return.”
True.
We can always earn more money, but money can’t buy more time. The key lesson
from Marcus Aurelius here is to learn to appreciate the little time we have and
to start living our lives today. We often tell ourselves to start our plan
tomorrow: workout, eat healthy, or sleep early. But are we actually starting
tomorrow? Or tomorrow’s tomorrow? Understand the shortness of life and start
living for today! When you focus on your plan, you will start loving your life.
Stop
seeking the praise of other people
“It
doesn’t matter how good a life you’ve led. There’ll still be people standing
around the bed who will welcome the sad event.”
You
can’t please every single person around you. Even when you are being sweet and
kind, there are still people who dislike or disapprove of you. You don’t have
to have the same thoughts or opinions as others. If there is someone that you
really find uncomfortable with, leave them.
Negative
emotions are a result of negative thinking
“Your
ability to control your thoughts—treat it with respect. It’s all that protects
your mind from false perceptions—false to your nature, and that of all rational
beings.”
We
are the one who give ourselves negative emotions. Different people may react
differently to an identical situation. For example, the Movement Control Order.
Some people think that the partial lockdown has completely ruined their lives.
Economies are impacted so badly, and some may feel there is no tomorrow.
Meanwhile, there are people who embrace the MCO. They believe that this is a
good opportunity to spend time for themselves and with their loved ones. The
negative emotions we experience are often just the result of how we interpret
things.
Focus
only on what you have control over and ignore the rest
“The
cucumber is bitter? Then throw it out. There are brambles in the path? Then go
around them. That’s all you need to know. Nothing more.”
There
are only two things in this life we have control over: our thoughts and
actions. That’s it. The rest is out of our hands. But, how often in life do we
waste time and effort, complaining about things in which we simply have no
influence over?
Seek
to build your own character
“The
mind in itself has no needs, except for those it creates.”
People
love a big house or a big car. When you seek happiness in the form of material
possessions, you will never find joy. “If you can’t stop prizing a lot of
other things? Then you’ll never be free—free, independent, imperturbable.
Because you’ll always be envious and jealous, afraid that people might come and
take it all away from you.”
In
short, it is up to you to decide whether you want a happy life: how you see
your life and how you live your life. Understand yourself: what you like or
dislike and leave all the “toxic” persons or emotions behind. If something you
can’t control has happened? Forget about it!
Reference:
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