Marcus Aurelius: A Nearer Look
Marcus Aurelius is broadly considered the daddy of Stoicism. He was a thinker and Roman emperor whose quotes are practically unavoidable on social media. Stoicism relies on the concept that advantage and honor needs to be pursued when you endure the pains and hardships of life with little to no criticism. In a time of pandemics and financial hardships, it’s little surprise why Stoicism has made an enormous comeback in trendy occasions.
Historical past remembers Marcus Aurelius as a philosophical powerhouse. But, in actuality, Marcus Aurelius is simply one of many well-known classical philosophers who adopted the beliefs of Stoicism. He actually outlined what it means to be mentally robust, however how robust was he?
Would Marcus Aurelius be capable of soak up modern-day troubles with the identical stoic spirit that he did whereas he was emperor of Rome?
Was he bodily robust, mentally robust, or simply somebody who wrote about it in his journal?
Let’s take a more in-depth have a look at the life and classes of Marcus Aurelius.
Bodily Toughness
You’ve most likely seen a bodybuilding submit on social media with a quote from Marcus Aurelius. His stoicism quotes are sometimes used to assist inspire individuals to push themselves additional within the health club. One of the common exercise quotes is that this one: “Reject your sense of harm and the harm itself disappears.” – Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations.
You may’ve additionally seen somebody posting about their tireless exercise routine with the caption: “You’ve energy over your thoughts – not exterior occasions. Notice this, and you’ll find power.”
From his well-known quotes, you’d assume that Marcus Aurelius might completely squash a troublesome exercise routine, however was he a bodily imposing man in his actual life? Properly, as a navy man, Marcus Aurelius wasn’t precisely a troublesome soldier like Valerian or Maximinus Thrax. The reign of Marcus Aurelius was troubled with rebellions and international uprisings from the Parthians and Germans. There isn’t any surviving document of Aurelius himself doing any of the combating, however he led a vigorous navy marketing campaign to reassert the dominance of Roman rule.
In accordance with Britannica, Marcus Aurelius wasn’t a person of sturdy bodily well being. A few of his well being issues included chest and abdomen pains, poor urge for food, and issues sleeping. He had to deal with a persistent ulcer and day by day medicines.
So, it’s secure to say that Aurelius’ bodily well being didn’t maintain with the trendy picture of a troublesome man. Though he wasn’t an imposing fighter or navy determine, his struggles to retain good well being definitely benefitted from the beliefs of Stoicism. He might stand up to bodily punishment and he continually handled the idea of his personal mortality.
“Whenever you come up within the morning consider what a privilege it’s to be alive, to assume, to take pleasure in, to like …” – Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations.
“Consider your self as useless. You’ve lived your life. Now, take what’s left and dwell it correctly. What doesn’t transmit gentle creates its personal darkness.” – Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations.
“Don’t act as should you have been going to dwell ten thousand years. Loss of life hangs over you. Whilst you dwell, whereas it’s in your energy, be good.” – Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations.
Psychological Toughness
If you happen to’re combating tough individuals in your life or tough conditions, then Marcus Aurelius quotes can actually be useful. He typically spoke about ignoring negativity from others and focusing by yourself sense of shallowness. Aurelius was a proponent of internalizing problematic conditions and focusing your consideration on issues that you may change by ignoring issues that you may’t change.
Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor in the course of the Golden Age of Rome. He got here from a distinguished political household; practically everybody held some form of excessive workplace earlier than or after Aurelius got here to energy. His transition to energy was peaceable and he was common among the many individuals he dominated over. So, why all of the brooding stoicism quotes from his writings?
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Marcus Aurelius confronted daunting diplomatic challenges. His writings in The Meditations might be considered notes to self. He wasn’t a lot as the daddy of Stoicism as he was the scholar of the philosophy. All his well-known quotes about being mentally robust have been his approach of cultivating these habits inside himself.
“When one other blames you or hates you, or individuals voice related criticisms, go to their souls, penetrate inside and see what kind of individuals they’re. You’ll notice that there is no such thing as a must be racked with nervousness that they need to maintain any specific opinion about you.” – Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations.
“Little or no is required to make a contented life; it’s all inside your self in your mind-set.” – Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations.
The Hyperlink Between CBT and Marcus Aurelius
Some would argue that with out Marcus Aurelius we wouldn’t have Cognitive Behavioural Remedy or CBT. It’s a kind of remedy that has been confirmed efficient in opposition to melancholy, nervousness, phobias, and suicidality. In CBT, there’s an underlying idea that your ideas, actions, and emotions are all related. CBT implores you to problem unfavourable perception methods and ideas to create a brand new actuality for your self. CBT focuses in your present scenario, not a lot your previous, and the method of creating methods to interrupt out of unfavourable patterns.
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Donald Robertson, the creator of The way to Suppose Like a Roman Emperor, has made an in depth examine on the lifetime of Marcus Aurelius. He praises Marcus Aurelius for his contribution to philosophy, psychotherapy, and the idea of psychological toughness. He additionally acknowledges the connection between the Stoics and trendy Cognitive Behavioural Therapists.
In an interview with DailyStoic.com, Robertson famous that, “Greek and Roman Stoicism impressed cognitive remedy, as we’ve seen, which is definitely identified to be an efficient strategy to dealing with ache. The Stoics clearly distinguish the sensations of ache and discomfort, which they view with neutrality and indifference, from our emotional misery in response to ache, which they view as, no less than partly, beneath our voluntary management and value enhancing. Most individuals really feel pissed off with ache, give attention to it, and wrestle with it emotionally, and even by way of their behaviour. The Stoics educate a radical acceptance of ache, which is definitely per trendy evidence-based psychotherapy.”
Emotional Toughness
One of many prevailing elements of Stoicism is anger administration. The truth is, Marcus Aurelius himself struggled to regulate his anger. There’s a whole part of his work, The Meditations, which offers completely with anger administration. So, this e book was a self-help journal for Aurelius.
“From Rusticus, I gained the concept that I used to be in want of correction and remedy for my character,” he wrote.
Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor, and that prime workplace will surely have moments that challenged his potential to regulate his emotional resilience. Stoicism was a terrific approach for him to redirect his power to issues that mattered essentially the most. As an alternative of rising up in anger, he might problem the ideas and emotions to see in the event that they rang true.
“Each time you’re about to search out fault with somebody, ask your self the next query: What fault of mine most practically resembles the one I’m about to criticize?”
And right here’s one other:
“The very best revenge is to not be like your enemy.”
Marcus Aurelius clearly wished to domesticate a way of emotional toughness in himself. It’s one thing that he struggled with in his personal life. The widespread publication of his struggles with emotional toughness makes him worthy of the accolades bestowed to him by later historians.
So, How Powerful Was Marcus Aurelius?
Though Marcus Aurelius will get many of the credit score for being the daddy of Stoicism, he wasn’t the originator of the idea. Aurelius realized Stoicism from Epictetus, Plato, Zeno, Sextus of Chaeronea, and different philosophers that got here earlier than him. But, he excelled at advertising it to the remainder of the world as a result of he was a Roman emperor.
Marcus Aurelius benefitted from residing within the time of Roman greatness often called the Golden Period. He wasn’t a very exemplary statesman or navy commander. His philosophy is common now, nevertheless it borrowed closely from the philosophers that got here earlier than him. Marcus Aurelius’ stoicism is all about conquering anger, overcoming self-doubt, reigning in unhealthy habits, and coming nose to nose with one’s personal mortality.
These are internal demons that males grapple with every day. So, the phrases of Marcus Aurelius have numerous worth for the trendy man though Aurelius wasn’t the robust man that historical past paints him to be. He was resilient and handled private adversities in a really public approach. That alone makes him a mannequin for contemporary males to comply with.