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we're all pretty used to rain we're either prepared for it with an umbrella or raincoat or just get wet rarely does it genuinely upset us but what about when it rains for days and the streets flood so you can't go outside or when you realize you can't afford the interest rate on that home you want to purchase how do you react when your Investments plummet in value or you're laid off without Severance these are genuine modern problems that plague us at every turn problems that haunt our nights with nightmares and fill our days with despair

but it doesn't have to be this way we can learn to remain grounded despite all the problems plaguing our society today this is how to become stoic in the modern world stoicism is of course an ancient Greek philosophy that aims to take us from being vulnerable to the chaotic nature of the universe to being calm and indifferent to it it's a way to fortify yourself for lasting peace of mind but as with every practice that involves changing your attitude or disposition work is involved in often sacrifice the stoic work is to recognize what's in our

control and what isn't and the only thing in our control is our reaction to What Happens not the event itself obviously we can influence what happens but nothing is entirely in our control misfortunes are unpredictable and often inevitable the stoic philosopher Zeno of sedium used an analogy of a dog being tied by a cart to clarify the stoic position when a dog is tied to a cart if it wants to follow it is pulled and follows making its spontaneous act coincide with necessity but if the dog doesn't follow it'll be compelled so it is with

men too even if they don't want to they will be compelled to follow what is destined the cart represents anything beyond our control all the various happenings of the universe a leash attaches us to this universe our options are to run with it or to resist and be dragged to become stoic is to run with the cart imagine you're at work and your supervisor informs you that the espresso machine you rely on is being removed your free daily coffee is suddenly gone for most of us this would be pretty devastating your reaction here is what's

up to you you have no control whether the machine is there or not you can either run with a cart by accepting that the change is beyond your control or wallow in the misery of no more coffee you can be dragged the ultimate goal is to improve upon your inner self as relying on external things for happiness leaves you at the mercy of a turbulent Universe a universe that is outside your control stoic philosophers subscribe to a semi-deterministic worldview or compatibilism everything that happens has a cause but sometimes we can't control that cause only the

action we take for example we can choose to not give into an Impulse to eat cake but but the existence of that impulse is beyond our control let's not to suggest we shouldn't try to improve our external circumstances but that we can't rely on desirable outcomes if we want the result of fixing our car we still have to pick up the phone to book an appointment it's not going to fix itself still we can measure how much effort we're putting in because that's what is in our control If the mechanic happens to be a charlatan

who runs off with your car you shouldn't blame yourself that was beyond your control discussing the ancient philosophy of stoicism is one thing but what about tangibly implementing it into our modern lives after all at the time of its conception stoicism was for everyone from slaves to the emperor of Rome so why not today most of us get caught up in material things and we expect them to bring us joy we tell ourselves that the next purchase is what will finally make us happy a new car the latest smartphone the expensive watch when we're unable

to get these things because well we can't afford them we feel bad like the universe is opposed to us being happy and that there's nothing we can do about it but the truth is that material things only bring temporary happiness your car will break down and your phone will eventually freeze up and even when our possessions still work perfectly hedonic adaptation steps in and we start to want something newer and shinier it's a NeverEnding cycle to escape the Trap of consumerism we need to adopt a different attitude towards our purchases and the dopamine hit we

get from them to do this you can practice what the stoics call voluntary discomfort this is when you subject yourself to discomfort in something you typically enjoy the most common way people do this is by taking a cold shower instead of a warm one but you could also hold on to your new phone until it's no longer usable suffer through the cracks and lags and let each new phone launch pass you by if that's too much Start small next time you go to the bathroom leave your phone on your nightstand or your desk or wherever

sit with your thoughts on the toilet instead of trying to amuse or torture yourself by Doom scrolling driving somewhere on a hot day roll up the windows and drive with the AC off or better yet walk Marcus aurelus emperor of Rome was a practitioner of stoic philosophy he ruled the Empire from 161 CE until his death in 180 CE and was widely considered a great philosopher king although that may be a historical exaggeration as a leader he wrote down his stoic influenced meditations likely as a way of assuring himself while handling significant responsibilities they were

intended for his own use and not meant to be published widely but fortunately we have access to them today the collection is called meditations also called the inner Citadel in it you can see how Marcus aelius applied his learned stoicism to his daily life as Emperor here are some of those quotes that might be able to help get you into a stoic mindset the we should employ the mine in all parts of life when things occur which at first seem worthy of high estimation we should strip them naked and view their meanness and cast aside

these pompous descriptions of them by which they seem so glorious Marcus relius would routinely reflect on the nature of his food as devoid of the pleasures and Sensations he instinctively derived of it a fish is just flesh necessary to sustain you ignore the pleasing tastes and satisfaction of filling up when you bring your favorite lunch to work break it into its most basic components the salad is just leaves and the fruit of a plant croutons are just wheat smashed into flour and combined with yeast to make bread bread is then cut into pieces and dried

in oven by doing this when you're stuck with a lunch you don't love or the waiter gets your order wrong you won't be as burdened by the thought of eating it or feeling the absence of something more delicious lunch is just raw materials to give you energy Marcus aelius wrote a great deal about how we interpret and interact with others he adopted the metaphysics of stoicism as a way of thinking about our interactions and emotions for stoic philosophers the universe is made from an intelligent design humans too are part of that same intelligence it doesn't

make sense to hate the same intelligence in another because it's the same intelligence in you it's similar to the Hindu concept of Brahman the deity that permeates everything I can't be angry at my Kinsmen or hate them we were naturally formed for Mutual assistance as the two feet the hands the eyelids and the upper and lower rows of the teeth opposition to each other is contrary to Nature all anger and aversion is in opposition we may think of ourselves as Inc competition with others we compete for better grades at school and put down others to

get a leadership role at a company but that's a Surefire way to live a life of envy and Malice if you see everyone as part of the same intelligence trying to put others below you would be foolish you are the same in treating others as lesser is contrary to Nature seldom are any found unhappy for not observing the motions and intentions in The Souls of others but such as observe not well the Motions of their own souls or their affections must necessarily be unhappy this reminds us to focus on what is in our control our

attitude trying to analyze others will often lead to Misery we spend too long considering why people behave the way they do in a state of resentment we question their motives and success most of us know someone who can't stop complaining or gossiping about others at their job they're obsessed with what their co-workers have and never seem particularly happy their time would probably be better spent addressing their own mind as the minds of others are outside of their control let us as I said be on our guard without suspicion or enmity arelius is cautioning himself to

be prepared for any attack or betrayal while at the same time not presuming that others have bad intentions again we shouldn't dwell too much on the intentions of others but we shouldn't blindly assume that no one will mean harm as any experienced student knows when working with peers on a group project be prepared for someone to not pull their weight at the same time though you should never assume and judge that someone won't you can needlessly cause dysfunction in the group while allowing others to occupy too much of your mind but seriously if you're working

with three others one or more of them statistically won't do their fair share be prepared for it but without suspicion or hostility when you are angry at the mistakes and wrong actions of men for all are carried toward what appears to them their proper good but say you it is not their proper good well instruct them then and teach them better and don't be angry with them basically we can disagree with others knowing with near certainty that we're right but getting angry with them invites more pain and is an ineffective mode of persu they have

what they think is the right way in mind so we shouldn't think poorly of them we should try to educate them rather than show our frustration this quote from aelia speaks to the ongoing culture War both sides have an idea of what's right and allow themselves to get angry and insult the other party this isn't to suggest that both sides are correct but that especially on social media nowadays genuine attempts at persuasion have taken a backseat there are plenty of attempts to educate in the culture War but they often come dripping with condescension and likely

serve a purpose other than genuine persuasion they seem more about scoring likes shares and validations from existing Believers than extending an olive branch if we treated others like parts of an intelligent design we wouldn't feel the need to mock them we would try to help them see the right way forward with these mental tools stos systm can guide you through the pain of life so that you face it with a temperament people would describe as stoic regardless of what the Universe has in store your goal is to remain emotionally indifferent youve reinforced your inner Citadel

and are prepared for both good and bad fortune now stoicism isn't a philosophy to take ourselves off the hook for the problems we can influence but it does acknowledge that so much is beyond our individual control we can only judge ourselves based on our effort if we consider the world's biggest problems the solutions are far Out Of Reach for the average person we can only do our part make moves where we can and judge our efforts we can only change what is in our control if you're wondering why bother with any of this when the

universe itself doesn't make sense click the video on your screen right now to understand the philosophy of absurdism life is meaningless in the city of Cypress in 300 BC there lived a very wealthy Trader called Zeno while on a voyage from Phoenicia to pus his boat sank along with all of his cargo because of that single event an event that was entirely out of Zeno's or anyone's control this very wealthy man suddenly became poor in an instant imagine you were Zeno how would you react to your entire life's work getting flushed down the drain by

the sheer force of nature what is the proper reaction would you be angry sad would you feel life has cheated you for most of us these would all be normal reactions but not for Zeno the father of stoicism One Small Change lasts in eternity and one small reframing of your mindset can Cascade into larger and more impactful changes later down the line the core of stoicism is the very definition of acceptance and indifference after reading the works of Socrates and other great philosophers Zeno created and taught stoicism according to Zeno although we don't have much

control over what happens to us we do have control of of how it affects us and we must use this control to great effect rather than crying over spilled milk or in this case drowned Goods Zeno focused on maintaining his composure over the situation remaining calm and neutral despite his predicament today people inadvertently view stoics as people who cannot be broken people who don't often linger to the emotional extremes going through things like fits of Rage or bouts of anxiety but the original idea behind stoicism was much more than that rather than just a wait

to describe people who are unemotional stoicism was a way to view describe and understand the world it was a way of life and that way of life has lasted for centuries stoic philosophy can be applied to situations today the same way it was applied thousands of years ago and its benefits are just as impactful stoicism allows us to process these negative emotions from negative experiences and turn them into the thoughts that give us a unique perspective of the world perspective is everything and everyone in the world has different experiences and thus different perspectives on things

since the stoics gathered discussed and taught philosophy in a public place their General philosophy was widely known they believe that the stoic principles could greatly benefit anyone and everyone and so it didn't make sense for them to hide that knowledge behind the four walls of a school or of the palace Courtyards as a result everyone from slave to Emperor could learn and become a stoic and they did some of the world's most notable stoics include epicus which translates to acquired as he was once owned as a slave senica who was a well-renowned Statesman and Marcus

Aurelius a Roman Emperor and one of the most powerful men to have ever lived the early stoics practiced what they preached avoiding all forms of segregation and leading the fight against inequality they even invented the word Cosmopolitan which literally means citizen of the world when people hear that word now we think of cities like New York Toronto Dubai and London because of how diverse they are this was the type of unity and togetherness that the stoics preached even at a time when it wasn't popular women were allowed to freely learn about stoicism and become stoics

themselves so why do so many people adopt stoicism as a way of life in a world full of unexpected turns of events our emotions can tend to get in the way of things in reality we don't really get sad because bad things happen to us we get sad because unexpected bad things happen to us Rain Is a Good Thing it helps to water our plants provides water for livestock and keeps the temperature cool and humid but the truth is when that dark cloud catches you outside without an umbrella it's never a good experience so why

don't we start crying once it starts to rain it's because although the situation is bad we've learned to expect rain it's something that is unavoidable we can't control the weather although it sucks the rain passes and the light returns stoicism teaches us that in the same way we should expect that everything bad that can happen will happen picture the worst outcome and be content knowing it could happen one of the stoic exercises is known as voluntary discomfort an exercise aimed at increasing feelings of gratitude sleep on the floor of your kitchen taking cold showers when

you normally take hot ones eat nothing but potatoes for a few days things like this this exercise helps you to understand that no matter how hard it gets you'll still survive and potentially Thrive if your mindset is right by being able to withstand these uncomfortable situations we indirectly prepare our mental for future misfortunes with the current state of the world where advertisements are constantly being shoved down our throats we're made to believe that if we don't have the next best thing look a certain way or make a certain amount of money that we will never

be happy this message is more important now than ever we enter the world not knowing much of anything we grow up being taught things that at home in school and by observing the world for ourselves the thing is a lot of times all three of these sources of knowledge teach us in different ways the question is do we need to internalize all of this knowledge if we do we could unknowingly be setting unrealistic expectations for our lives leaving us ultimately disappointed and unsatisfied in the end that's no way to live we should instead focus on

improving ourselves for ourselves we should do things for ourselves and only for that reason attaching any external hope or secondary attachments to the actions we take almost always lead to disappointment most of the time we end up trying to fulfill that emptiness with external things blowing all your money on a fancy car a house or even starting a family sometimes we do all of these things for their external value and not their internal value but stoicism teaches that if you approach life this way you place your happiness in the hands of external forces forces that

can always fail cars almost always break down natural disasters wipe away entire cities and divorce rates climb higher and higher each year but even the free things in life come at a cost the cost of space both physical and mental as senica once wrote learning to live with less will create space in your life for the things that truly matter to you instead we must place our happiness on our intrinsic value as humans and on nothing we have or can physically acquire we must choose to do our best to keep a cool head regardless of

what life throws at us because regardless of what it is we want at the end of the day we don't have any control over the majority of things that happen to us but we do have all the control over how we react to those things that is the dichotomy of control the most important principle in stoic philosophy stoics teach that we must learn to separate what we control from what we cannot control we need to determine our value not from things we can't control but from the things we can striving towards goals is a a

good trait but breaking down when those things don't go your way is in a stoics point of view useless making YouTube videos is well a lot easier than being a Roman Emperor but it can still prove to be challenging sometimes first you must form your idea which takes forever then research that idea scrap it because it sucks start over script the video create the video edit it make the title thumbnail and everything else before you hit upload everything up until the point where you click up load is all up to you however once you click

that upload button the power shifts to the YouTube algorithm still a lot of people judge the success of their YouTube channel or Instagram account based on how many views and subscribers or followers they have metrics of which for the most part are beyond your control stoic teach that instead you should judge the success of your work based on the amount of effort you put in and not on the outcome of your external hopes trust the process think about a person who has beening working hard at their job for the past 6 months he now feels

he deserves a promotion and so he walks up to his boss with this performance report the boss says thanks doesn't Grant him the promotion and he goes home thinking he must suck at his job he doesn't consider that the boss might have simply woken up angry someone else might have been better qualified at the time or maybe the company was just losing money and couldn't afford it he doesn't know the reason but he's still upset if he simply placed his value on the quality of the performance report he turned in kept doing what he was

doing to earn the promotion he wanted he could have been much happier overall with the right perspective his goal wouldn't have been diminished but just postponed it's this reframing of your mindset that is crucial a true stoic does not view their successes based on the financial gain of their Ventures but is comforted by the fact that they can live a comfortable life without all the things money can buy these are the four main virtues of stoicism wisdom courage Temperance and Justice wisdom is being able to separate between what is internal and what is external and

the ability to choose our reaction to the things that happen to us as Victor Frankle said between stimulus and response there is a space and that space is our power to choose our response courage two words persist and resist Temperance or moderation is what I just did there doing more with the less saying more with fewer words while Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are fighting at the top of the Forbes list stoics believe that the limit of wealth should simply be having what is essential and then having what is enough Justice is the most important

of all the virtues it instructs that no one should do harm to another because we were all born for each other to do good to one another and not to ourselves Nelson Mandela was one of the most famous African leaders in the world while he was fighting against apartheid he got sentenced to life in prisonment where he stayed for 27 years before finally being released when he was released from prison he was elected president of South Africa and thus many people thought he was going to brutally punish all the people that had anything to do

with apartheid or his imprisonment but of course he did not throughout his time in prison Mandela read The Works of Marcus Aurelius and learned many of the core values of stoicism all of which he practiced throughout his life instead of calling for the heads of the wrongdoers Nelson Mandela his people to instead seek the opposite to relax and rebuild he stressed that the past was now beyond their control and that the only thing they could do was find a way to move forward and build a better Nation this is the way of the stoic in

modern-day medicine stoicism is at the core of procedures like rational emotive behavioral therapy and Logo therapy rebt helps patients to identify negative thought patterns that might be causing emotional and behavioral issues it allows you to challenge the reasoning behind all these negative Thoughts with logic and when you realize that many of them are unfounded you can then replace them with more productive and healthier beliefs logotherapy on the other hand is based on the stoic principle that humans are driven by purpose even in the darkest of situations we can fill our lives with meaning and Happiness

by simply finding out what that purpose is as many of us know though this is easier said than done it's a process much like everything else we have to rewire the way we think out with the old in with the new to fix our problems with happiness we must practice self forth by redirecting our definition of value to the things that we can control we can stop getting fixated on the things we cannot control and overall we can lead a much happier and more fulfilling life sto ISM helps us steer through past and present storms

into calmer and more Peaceful Waters and if our ship sinks and we all drown we can take peace in the fact that we lived a good life albeit not as long as we had hoped because remember everything has an itend I made my first video on this channel in July 2017 after months of going back and forth on whether or not I actually wanted to create a YouTube channel what would people think what if people hate the videos and tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about who am I to talk about these

topics these were the thoughts that flooded my head if you've ever been in a situation where you have to start something or give a presentation in front of a group of people then I'm sure you've had a similar emotion it's the fear of being judged the fear that keeps us in Chains and holds us bound from a achieving our true potential to understand why we care so much about what others think about us we have to go back to the beginning of human history man like many other animals evolved to be social our survival was

dependent on close-knit communities tribes and clans we would hunt together make shelter and protect one another from predators should they dare strike being together made us Thrive so at the time being cast out of the clan almost always meant death without the Technologies we have today making shelter hunting and protecting yourself from Wildlife was almost impossible for one person to do alone sadly even now that our society has evolved to a point where we no longer have to worry about predators and we have the tools and resources to provide food clothing and shelter for ourselves

the need to be part of a group still has been maladapted to our current reality then we were scared of being left out in the cold today we're scared of getting canceled on Twitter because of something we said or getting insulted for repeating clothes on Instagram or getting hate comments on your YouTube video of people telling you your voice is becoming redundant and boring you see this feeling of being ostracized has worsened woefully because of social media by creating likes and dislikes we brought to light this need to feel validated and seen in an instant

you can see just how many people support you and that number can be addicting it gets to the point to where we stop saying what we really want to say and instead start saying the things we know will get us the most likes before you know it you're posting certain thoughts photos and writing specific statements to get that attention and validation from others how many times have you seen your favorite influencers and creators online suddenly sell out where it feels like they're no longer authentic only doing or saying the things they know will please the

algorithm I made a video about Unit 731 and the Despicable things the Japanese government did in the second world war however because it was not Advertiser friendly content according to YouTube the video didn't perform extremely well and that's fine this is the kind of aeriz and social conditioning that makes people fall in line and stop saying anything that might offend the people with money it's like they tell you there's freedom of speech but only when your microphone is turned off growing up I always felt different of course I had friends and wanted to be part

of the social group but I had questions about the universe that people just didn't like to discuss who wants to talk about death and the afterlife on the school playground after all because of that I felt different from everyone else like a piece of a puzzle but from another set and so I grew up worried that everyone would look at me as weird and different so I tried my best to hide my existential dread to fit in like everyone else if you're watching this video right now there's a high chance that you were also once

a kid like me who was so worried about being disliked that you Shield the real you just so you wouldn't be thought of as different if you're still in that position listen stop caring so much about what other people think and start living your life authentically yes caring what others think is healthy however it becomes hurtful when we try to change ourselves just to be liked by others you would enjoy your time on this floating Rock far more if you choose to live your authentic self and if someone rejects you because of it you'll know

that they were never meant for you in the first place now if that sounds like a lofty dream and not really grounded in reality I understand because the sad truth of this entire thing is that we do need to be judged fairly by others at its core that's what makes our society work we agree that something is Law and whoever breaks it gets judged we agree on certain moral principles and whoever breaks them gets socially ostracized we're judged at our places of work in school in our society as a whole as sad as it sounds

gossip and ostracism helped the greater good of the group in 2014 Sanford professor Rob Willer L A study that explored the relation of gossip and ostracism to the Harmony and functionality of experimental groups in this study Rob found out that groups that allowed their members to gossip and fold out underperforming members were able to sustain cooperation and prevent selfishness much better than groups that weren't allowed to do so when we think of ostracism we almost always see it in a bad light however this study proved that it does have a much more important role in

preventing the weak and vulnerable from being bullied and written upon have you ever been in a group for a schoool project only to quickly realize that there's one person who just wouldn't do anything because they know the group will pick up their slack how's that make you feel now imagine you could remove these people from the group and then gossip to other groups about how bad of a team player they are it might seem harsh at first but because of our innate fear of being ostracized more often than not these people would see the reality

of what they're doing and actually act better when reinvites into the group it also prevents these selfish people from exploiting the more vulnerable people in the group and allows them to reach their full potential without fear of being taken advantage of the researchers concluded that exclusion compelled participants to conform to the more Cooperative behavior of the rest of the group so yes we need to be good team players for the proper functioning of society however being part of a group should never be at the expense of our own individuality we should never get so scared

of being ostracized that we do not say the things that matter to us for the fear of being judged we need to realize that we will get to a point in our lives where we'll begin to assess everything that we've been taught as children when you start to outgrow old beliefs and walk into new ones do not be held back by the fear of what everyone who you grew up with would think caring about what other people think is necessary for the proper functioning of society but when caring what other people think affects our abilities

to make decisions for ourselves that's when you need to pause and reconsider you're a person with their own thoughts ideas dreams and goals don't let the fear of being disliked hold you back from expressing that you want to drop out of school to become a comedian what would people think you want to start a YouTube channel what would people think you want to be with someone from a different culture or religion what would people think this one question holds so many people back from doing what they love it's like a chain that binds our neck

and leaves us no room to breathe we're like circus elephants held back by rope that might only exist in our imagination ultimate freedom is having the courage to be disliked the boldness to stand firm in what you believe in even when the crowd is saying something else the courage to stand when everyone else is sitting and run when everyone else is standing the courage to be your authentic self regardless of what everyone around you tells you to be instead developing the courage to be disliked is not easy remember that it's in our nature to care

what other people think so to stray from that even minutely would mean going against our very own biology and that's never very easy but the good news is is that we can actually do it the first and most important thing to realize is that everyone just like you is worried about their own insecurities when we go out into the world we're often so consumed with our own insecurities that we feel like everyone else is thinking about us and condemning us but the reality is more often than not just like you people are so worried about

themselves that they aren't really thinking about anyone else and when they do speak out against us they're often projecting their insecurities on us trying to bring us down to better about themselves don't let them do that the difference between ostracization in early humans and what we have today is that with the early humans it was only your closest relatives and members of your clan that could cast you out however today because of social media anyone and everyone can have an opinion about us share that opinion and we're forced to take notice of it the problem

with this is that we're taking criticism from people we wouldn't take advice from think about it if you wouldn't let this Stranger in into your house for fear of invading your privacy why would you let them into your head the most private place of all sometimes the people judging you and not letting you live your true potential aren't strangers they're childhood friends and relatives when that's the case we need to remind ourselves that the consequences of living outside the group is not as Sinister as it used to be you have the tools and resources to

thrive away from your primary group and in fact you can find another group to join one that would accept you for who you are and not try to force you into being something you're not I know I've said some negative things about social media in this video and many others but there are some positives as well in this scenario where you no longer feel part of the group you were born into or grew up in the internet offers you a community of people who are willing to accept you from all over the world you just

have to take the time to find them Lau wrote ining care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner the courage to be disliked is the key that opens the prison doors and set you free to be the person you've always wanted to be in the year 165 CE a black wave of death Rose from the East and quickly spread across the globe faster than anyone could have ever imagined they called it the antonine plague after the reigning Roman Emperor at the time Caesar Marcus rius antoninus Augustus lasting throughout the time of his rule

this plague claimed upwards of 18 million lives and nearly destroyed the Roman Empire that entire armies could barely scathe but it didn't under Marcus rus' rule the Empire thrived despite the economic crisis the numerous invasions and the grueling pandemic it is precisely during times of distress that true leaders are tested and the Caesar Rose to the occasion every single time Aurelius was a philosopher before anything else regarded as the last of the five good Emperors of ancient Rome a term coined by Nicolo makovi in the 15th century it was his stoic philosophy that differentiated him

from his predecessors during the plague he set his ego aside and broke the mold surrounding himself with talented and experienced public servants instead of aristocrats and Nobles he listened to advice and empowered those around him to make decisions he hired the best physicians to lead the battle against the disease decimating Roman populations and to give him the opportunity to focus on the growing economic crisis he canceled debts sold Imperial effects and possessions and confiscated capital from Rome's upper class to keep the economy afloat at a time when fear infiltrated the Empire Marcus practiced self-control and

inspired his people to remain calm as if things couldn't get any worse late in his Reign Marcus received news that an old friend and former General aidus casus had staged to rebellion and declared himself Caesar in an attempt to overthrow him Marcus's response was unusual considering the circumstances but as disciplined and stoic as he was ever known to be instead of getting angry and immediately setting out to destroy the man that threatened the Empire his family and his legacy Marcus waited to give The Defector a chance to come to his senses when he did not

Marcus demanded that Casas be captured but not kill him in true stoic fashion he said concerning the matter forgive a man who has wronged one to remain a friend to one who has transgressed friendship to continue faithful to one who has broken Faith the last of the five good Emperors was a student of stoic philosophy he was greatly influenced by the writings of senica and Epic tetus as evident from his personal Reflections during campaigning and administration he didn't get angry he didn't allow his emotions to guide his judgments and he didn't despise his enemy he

acted firmly and justly a posture that calmed an already nervous Empire in times of extreme tensions stoicism provided Marcus aelius with a guideline to use when facing the stress of life and as the leader of the most powerful Empire in history you know that his stressors were plenty this guideline was compiled into meditations Marcus aurelius's personal Diaries the private thoughts of the world's most powerful man giving advice on how to be wise in our decisions just in our judgments Brave in our actions temperate in all of our doings to practice self-control discipline and modesty in

short meditations as a Timeless piece of stoic philosophy that is as relevant today as it was in the ancient days of Rome it is a guide to the key principles of stoicism from the philosopher king himself one of the most prominent principles of stoicism that Marcus Rus continually reiterates in the piece of literature revolves around the dichotomy of control despite all of his power the Caesar of Rome constantly reminded himself that he couldn't control all that happened around him but he could always control how he responded to those things flowing from this concept there are

five key and profound lessons we can learn from Marcus's meditations that are a testament to the practicality of stoicism as a philosophy and by understanding these lessons we can lead healthier and more fulfilling lives even Millennia after aurelus reign [Music] the things you think about determine the quality of your mind it's all in how you perceive it you're in control you can dispense with misperception at will like rounding the point Serenity total calm safe enourage before marcusa relas this time epicus and senica both wrote vast amounts on the power of perception it's no wonder then

that rebellious echoed these thoughts as it is one of the most essential tenants of stoicism our perceptions influence all that we experience your car may not start before your important meeting or your boss may not give you the promotion you think you deserve just like Marcus had a choice when the plague hit you also have a choice to make whenever you are facing a troubling situation you can choose to feel angry scorned depressed or defeated which will accomplish nothing or you can train your perception to not be influenced by what is outside your control it's

a form of self-discipline that places the quality of your life in your hands instead of in the hands of other people or situ tions Marcus's entire Reign rested on this guiding principle as a formidable leader he understood the power he had and always separated his perceptions from his emotions he faced invasions from dramatic tribes and internal uprisings within his kingdom but he knew he could not alter these situations to his favor his true power came from within from how he perceived these Grievous situations so instead of reacting rashly he didn't allow these horrible negative effects

to affect him instead he seized his own mind and was able to make just decisions that were void of any emotional attachment even in the face of the most troubling [Music] situations to refrain from imitation is the best revenge when someone despises us the easy thing to do is to despise them back but what would that accomplish when dealing with casas's Rebellion it would have been easy for Marcus to order his troops to seize and brutally murder him for his insurgence to use him as a message to all who dare attempt to take his crown

instead he was compassionate and chose to forgive him people will never meet our expectations so instead of letting their behavior evoke our emotions it's more prudent to Resort back to what is in our control which is being virtuous a better stoic and a better human 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 a raw material and use it to achieve its goal before anything the stoics were realist they understood life's challenges but instead

of shying away from them they embraced them the truth is that struggle is an essential part of life it builds character develops resilience and ultimately leads to success again this principle is centered around perception we can either perceive an obstacle as a hindrance to our progress a knockout punch that will never be able to recover from or a virtue a test of our ability to respond to adversity it will be foolish to go through life avoiding struggle and conflict instead we should welcome them as an opportunity to strengthen our character the obstacle is never in

the way the obstacle is the [Music] way accept the things to which fate binds you and love the people with whom fate brings you together but do so with all your heart Marcus Reus believ that the formula for human greatness is to accept Our Fate no matter what it is this notion is deeply rooted in stoic philosophy whatever happens to you you must love it for it is your fate epicus faced countless adversities throughout his life but still embraced his Destiny without complaining he was tortured by a master who twisted his leg and broke it

permanently crippling him instead of spending the rest of his life feeling remorseful for himself Epic he just took control of his mind instead and said do not seek for things to happen the way you want them to rather wish that what happens happens the way it happens then you will be happy the true Testament to being a stoic is wanting nothing to be different not better or worse strength of a person isn't accepting what the universe has in store for you and not resisting it you could leave life right now let that determine what you

do do and say and think no one understood their Destiny and loved their fate more than senica in 59 CE Rome was ruled by an insecure and unjust Emperor Nero he was an uncaring dictator who spared no one from his wrath including his own mother and sister after a failed attempt on his life Nero gathered all the suspected conspirators and either banished or executed them senica was wrongly accused as being one of those plotting against Nero's life and even though he had served as his leading adviser Naro did not spare him and ordered him to

take his own life instead of fighting the hand that fate dealt him senica not only accepted his fate but was stoic to the final moment of his existence as he famously said what need deser to weep over parts of life when the whole of it calls for Tears senica then cut the veins in his arms and bled to death despite being one of the most powerful men in the world Marcus relius reflected on the fleetness of his life anyone in his position could very easily get drunk on power but he reminded himself all the time

of those who have come and gone who have left behind nothing of the power they ever so greedily accumulated throughout their lives in meditations Marcus thinks of morality as an inspiration to live his best life and let go of trivial things he did not see death as morbid but rather as a motivator to live a life of virtue and gratitude for the time we have Marcus aelius led a Roman Empire that went through both with hardship and prosperity he was criticized and praised and loved and hated but through it all he always reminded himself of

the teachings of stoicism and the dichotomy of control there are things in our control and others that are not which ones will you focus on if we can learn to emulate marcus' lessons by mastering our perceptions accepting others for who they are embracing the inevitable challenges as an opportunity for growth loving Our Fate and finally accepting our morality the we can truly live a virtuous life just like that of the philosopher king himself waste no time arguing what a good man should be B1 the secret to Financial Freedom in today's economic crisis isn't found in

some get-rich quick scheme or through social media charlatans trying to sell you their latest course the truth is the most essential principles about Building Wealth can be learn from the 2,000-year-old philosophy of stoicism whether you want to be as rich as Elon or just have enough to not worry about money anymore by the end of this video you'll understand what the philosophy of stoicism teaches us about how to get rich but also why becoming rich might not be what you truly desire how often do you come across somebody on social media claiming they have all

the answers to every financial problem you have people claim to be expert investors successful entrepreneurs and economic Visionaries if you're like me you just want to roll your eyes at these get-rich quick schemes but a part of you still considers it even if just for a moment the reason we pause and think even when we don't believe these fake gurus is that we all want to be rich in some way you might be struggling with debt or looking for a way out or just generally unhappy about your financial situation you might be dreaming of lavish

vacations in a penthouse with a nice view whatever it is society has conditioned us to want to be rich because there's not much we can do without money so how do we go about making it the most fundamental principle of stoicism is to focus on what you you can control we don't always have control over what happens to us but we do have control over how we react to those things this simple idea of regulating our emotions when it comes to money could be the key to the Financial Freedom we desire let's just take Warren

Buffett for a quick example he's worth $77 billion but still lives in the house he bought 59 years ago for $31,500 as he grew wealthier he didn't let emotion and impulse lead him towards buying expensive things he didn't need to show off to people he didn't care about he was able to stay grounded and not let the money control him and maintain control over his finances one of the keys to success that most people tend to gloss over is being healthy the saying health is wealth is popular because it's true and when you're healthy you're

able to think clearly work harder and enjoy the fruits of your labor when they blossom the path to wealth isn't a straight line it's filled with challenging situations and a lot of obstacles to succeed you need to learn to embrace discomfort and Forge ahead even when things get tough so is ISM teaches us to embrace discomfort by making ourselves uncomfortable before life does it for us this is called voluntary discomfort the stoics of the past would take a few days to wear rags and eat nothing but potatoes the idea is that if you know you

can survive on the bare minimum discomfort doesn't phase you as much you don't have to throw away all your clothes to practice voluntary discomfort simple things like taking cold showers or purposely eating bland food can teach you to be uncomfortable and not only will this prepare you for when things inevitably don't go your way but it can also increase your gratitude another way to embrace discomfort is to think of the worst case scenario and accept it as a real possibility this will help you when you realize that even if the worst case does happen you'll

still be okay the lack of money is already riddled with discomfort whether it's the embarrassment when you can't join your friends for a meal at a fancy restaurant or when you can't find a job that pays you what you know you're worth it seems that money can drive disappointment left and right if you're prepared for this disappointment you'll find a new sense of freedom from from the hold money has on you and once you risk Breaking Free from that hold you'll be more inclined to take measured risks risk taking can be uncomfortable and scary and

mainly because it comes with the possibility or likelihood of failure but once you accept that failure is always possible you can push yourself to be more entrepreneurial and Innovative just look at the top of the Forbes list it's filled with people who are willing to take these huge risks Elon Musk made reusable Rockets when people thought it was impossible Mark Zuckerberg entered into a market with big players and wasn't scared to compete and Jeff Bezos popularized online shopping at a time when people thought the internet was just a fat failure doesn't have to be scary

stoics believe it's an opportunity for growth how we respond to failure shapes our resilience and it teaches us about who we are and what we can become to adopt this sentiment we need to learn to disconnect the journey to Financial Freedom from the ultimate result we need to stay present instead of thinking about how a big specific investment might grow in 5 years or how amazing it must be to own a fancy car focus on the values actions and habits that will guide you towards financial success the stoic stress four important values wisdom courage Temperance

and Justice we can apply these principles to our Financial Freedom Journey wisdom helps us stay resourceful along the way educating ourselves and allowing us to weigh risk versus reward of certain decisions we want to make courage allows us to take those risks whether it's asking for a promotion switching jobs or trusting an experienced adviser to help you grow your wealth Temperance refers to the self-control we have to find when spending money knowing that while rewards are important so is being Frugal and Justice the one that can elude some of us is how we pay it

forward when we get good luck and our investments pay off whether it's by helping set your family up and Friends giving to charity or simply educating others about how you got to where you are the stoics Liv by the phrase carpedm which means seize the day to remain present waday gratification focusing on the present also allows us to tune out distractions that might take us off course for almost everyone wealth comes from hard work and if we can learn to immerse ourselves in deep work we're more likely to reach our goals and enjoy the journey

of getting there being present though doesn't mean acting on impulse stoicism tells us just the opposite controlling our impulses and relying on reason is an essential stoic principle these days it's easy to get caught up in material things thinking that a pair of jeans or a new cell phone will make us happy then when we can afford whatever that thing is We're Dreaming of we get upset but material things don't really bring us happiness they give us a quick hit of dope mean that makes us think we're happy but that chemical release quickly Fades and

we're right back where we started from resisting the impulse to buy something or feeling bad about being unable to is critical when it comes to Financial Freedom if you really want something make it a special treat as a reward for a goal plan a nice dinner after graduation or a dinner to celebrate a successful meeting at work when making purchases wait a few weeks to be sure you really want the item and you don't just want the feeling of getting Something New by doing this you take the impulsive nature out of the purchase and let

the actual pleasure of the material thing sit with you Nelson Mandela famously lived by stoic principles that helped guide his leadership style after he was released from prison and was elected president of South Africa people expected him to execute those who wrongfully imprisoned him but instead he focused on resetting his country and rebuilding Unity he processed his negative emotions and kept his perspective on his ultimate goal to create a better South Africa for everyone not Revenge similarly when you think about what your financial goals are you need to keep your emotions out of it getting

mad at yourself when a stock you invested in suddenly drops won't change the Stock's value don't cry over spilled milk just learn your lesson and move on to the next one markets are IR rational jobs come and go often for reasons beyond our control the only thing we can do is try and keep a level ahead and this takes discipline because it's it's easy to feel emotional about money it's easy to equate our self worth to how much money we have compromising our peace of mind because of money and a desire to be rich isn't

going to make us more money it'll only make us unhappier and less likely to keep working hard for what we want if we find self-control on our journey towards financial success we'll also find Freedom from being defined by our wealth and with that freedom we can make clear decisions and feel more open to possibilities just as we harness our emotions in order to approach money with a level-headed attitude we also need to stop trying to control the things we can't change we can't change world events recessions or inflation natural disasters happen and people get divorced

the reality is that we don't have control over most of what happens to us the skill of accepting this reality is one of the most essential principles of stoic philosophy it teaches us not to judge ourselves by metrics we can't control instead evaluate your work and success on the effort you put into a particular goal not the outcome by redirecting what we value when we're working towards Financial Freedom we can lead happier lives and alleviate a lot of the stress of not having money because making money is never entirely within our control we can educate

ourselves so that we're eligible for better jobs we can study things we don't know in order to make thought out financial decisions we can put our ego aside and ask for help if we don't understand something but the money itself the wealth we dream of isn't something we can predict or plan for by using the guidelines laid out by the stoic philosophers thousands of years ago you can create a new road map for yourself and then hopefully you'll find what you're looking for it might not be Mega Yachts or chest full of diamonds but it'll

feel better than those things because what you'll find is Freedom Financial Freedom and when you get there you'll still have these principles to continue to live by because by being rich whatever that looks like for you it also comes with temptation the temptation to spend money on things just because you can't which should be wise to remember that things don't make us happen happier budgets are still necessary stoicism's teachings can in fact lead you to riches without having to attempt some get rich quick scheme but what it actually teaches us is that getting rich isn't

really the goal Freedom happiness and contentment are because freedom is a way of life a journey without an end Rich however is just a destination Rich can disappear at a moment's notice Freedom will remain and if what you're looking for is happiness watch this video next to find out a guide on how to actually buy happiness with [Music] money what is your New Year's resolution for some of us it's to be more productive for others it's to lose weight or simply be healthier for you it might be to spend more time with friends and family

or finally write that book that you've been putting off for the past year when the clock strikes midnight on January 1st most of us already have a list of goals we wish to achieve things we hope to be better at and habits we desperately want to let go of all within the next 365 days there's a newfound sense of hope when we flip that last calendar page in reality it's just another day but to most of us it feels like a fresh start a new beginning and so we stack up all the things we want

to change about ourselves and all the goals we hope to accomplish yet year after year most of us fail to achieve all if any of these goals there's staggering lack of follow through with New Year's resolutions most of us find it very difficult to stick to them we start with a bundle of energy and motivation but all that phases as the year goes on gyms that are packed in January are't back to normal capacity by March healthy eating habits stop as soon as a stressful life event occurs and saving habits fade away once an emergency

that requires Financial attention happens to add insult to injury not only do we end up not achieving what we set out to do but that failure makes us feel even less motivated to make the next goal to pursue the next dream it leads us down a path that slowly convinces us that these goals aren't even and worth setting in the first place it's no wonder that the older you get the less likely you are to create New Year's resolutions the screams loud bang of fireworks and light shows in the sky as the clock strikes midnight

get less exciting with every passing year when you think about it like that the situation seems quite Grim but it doesn't have to be this way the truth is one of the biggest reasons most people fall short of the resolutions is they don't have the willpower and mental fortitude to push through the difficult situations but by learning from the stoics we can better understand not just how to follow through on our set agenda for the year but how to create proper goals right off the bat because while it's true that barely 10% of people stick

to their New Year's resolutions nothing says that you can't be one of those people understanding New Year's resolutions from the stoic point of view begins like all things with stoicism with the question of control what is in our control people often like to pin down very ambitious and quite frankly unrealistic goals at the start of the year a lot of times we end up with goals that are beyond our control which sets us up for failure before we've even got the chance to try let's say your goal for the year is to lose weight the

first step in the stoic handbook would be to figure out and acknowledge what isn't in our control eating healthy and exercising regularly are within our control but other things like how ripped we look for example are largely determined by how fat is distributed across our body which in term is determined largely by genetics so if our goal is to look a certain way instead of Simply to lead a healthier lifestyle or setting ourselves up for failure there are other more apparent truths people tend to ignore when drafting the resolutions things like the fact that our

willpower is finite when people decide to become more productive or fight off an addiction they fail to realize that the Machinery that allows us to fight our urges isn't infinite every time we fend off our craving for some unhealthy food for example it becomes that much harder to maintain that discipline later in the day that's one of the main reasons people that start out strong with the resolutions don't end up following through with them to the end at the beginning of the year our willpower is refreshed we're riding on the high of starting from the

beginning but as days turn into weeks and weeks into the months that willpower is drained ever so slowly such that the motivation that we started the year with just can't carry us any further stoicism preaches that we should be aware of these mental and physical limitations pretending that we'll be able to Strongarm our desires is naive a better method of sticking to our goals then would be to minimize Solutions where we have to use willpower humans are naturally wire to take the path of least resistance so let that path be the one that you want

for the year if you want to lead a healthier life start by giving out all the junk food you have in the house and replacing it with healthier options that way when you're hungry for a snack it'll be easier to grab an apple from the fridge than drive to the store to get chips this is a much better approach than trying to make it from one cheat meal to the next if you want to work out more pay for gym membership to the gym that's closest to where you live yes it might not be the

fanciest or have the best trainers but the easier it is for you to get there the more likely you are to keep working consistently through the year for those who have the willpower to push through we're usually stopped by external forces like having a blown AC just as the heat wave of summer rolls around or a bad breakup that forces us to binge eat as we cry ourselves to sleep every night the reasons these things stop us from pursuing our goals aren't because they're inherently bad but more so because they're unexpected it's just like rain

when we're out without an umbrella and it starts to rain we feel bad but we don't cry and stop everything we were doing because while getting drenched is a bad thing we've learned to accept the possibility of rain and in turn had to deal with its consequences we go home dry our clothes make a hot cup of cocoa and get on with our day we need to learn to do the same in every aspect of Our Lives we need to realize that bad things will happen that's just life we can either treat these bad occurrences

like a tsunami Destin to destroy everything we've built or we can treat them like rain just a tiny temporal inconvenience according to the stoics that's the difference between experiencing a setback and suffering from it setbacks are a part of life they're normal routine and we should expect them but we must learn to not get beaten by these setbacks instead philosophy Professor William B Irvine says it might be helpful to think of setbacks as a form of flattery from the stoic Gods a chance to prove to yourself that you are more than that adversary this removes

the knee-jerk reaction of why me and instead allows you to focus more on what needs to be done to scale the hurdle and continue your journey towards your vision most of us think of the year as a Sprint rather than the marathon that it is which is why once we experience any setback we often throw everything out and say that one dreaded sentence I'll just start again next year by switching our minds from a Sprint to a marathon we can focus on the process without worrying too much about the end goal instead of saying you

want to do 20 pull-ups by the end of the year and bidding yourself up when you haven't reached that goal in March it's better to instead give yourself the goal of trying to do one more pull-up as simple as it sounds this allows you to focus more on the process of doing a pull-up and getting better each time without worrying too much about some arbitary end goal the reason we often wait until the new year to set goals is because of something called The Fresh Start effect characterized by its name we're more likely to set

new targets for ourselves when we feel like we're having a fresh start it's why you're more likely to decide to make a life change on Monday or just after a holiday but the truth is that no particular date on the calendar is more special than another Monday isn't better than Wednesday and January 1st isn't any better than March 13th the only thing special about these days and dates is the idea of worth that we've placed on them and while it's good to take full advantage of this Fresh Start effect it's counterproductive to tie ourselves so

strongly to them that we don't make the changes we need until we get a fresh start so if you've already fallen short of your goals you don't have to wait for next year to start again because today is as good as any to start again