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If you’ve spent much time on the internet, you’ll know that stoicism has become popular over the past several years.

And it’s for a good reason: Stoicism is full of time-tested wisdom that will always be relevant.

So if you’re interested in philosophy and how to live better, look no further than Stoicism.

The following quotes are from the three most influential figures of Stoicism:

1. Marcus Aurelius 121-180 AD (a Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor).
2. Seneca The Younger 4 BC – 65 AD ( Roman statesman, stoic philosopher and mentor to Nero and was also ordered to commit suicide by Nero. Seneca is regarded as one of the wealthiest people in ancient Rome).
3. Epictetus 50 AD- 135 AD ( A former slave and Stoic philosopher).

11 Stoic Quotes That Will Make You Invincible

1. “ It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters” – Epictetus
2. “ Choose not to be harmed—and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed—and you haven’t been.” Marcus Aurelius
3. “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.” – Seneca The Younger
4. “Being poor is not having too little, it is wanting more.”-Seneca The Younger
5. “At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work—as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for—the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?” —But it’s nicer here.… So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands? —But we have to sleep sometime.… Agreed. But nature set a limit on that—as it did on eating and drinking. And you’re over the limit. You’ve had more than enough of that. But not of working. There you’re still below your quota. You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you. People who love what they do wear themselves down doing it, they even forget to wash or eat. Do you have less respect for your own nature than the engraver does for engraving, the dancer for the dance, the miser for money or the social climber for status? When they’re really possessed by what they do, they’d rather stop eating and sleeping than give up practicing their arts. Is helping others less valuable to you? Not worth your effort?” – Marcus Aurelius
6. “The best revenge is not to be like that” Marcus Aurelius.
7. “ Certainly, the greater the mob with which we mingle, the greater the danger.” Seneca The Younger
8. “ It is not events that disturb people, it is their judgements concerning them” Epictetus
9. “Invest in good actions. Things can be taken away from us—not good deeds and acts of virtue,” – Seneca The Younger
10. “Ignoring what goes on in other people’s souls—no one ever came to grief that way. But if you won’t keep track of what your own soul’s doing, how can you not be unhappy?“- Marcus Aurelius
11. “Concentrate every minute like a Roman—like a man—on doing what’s in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with justice. And on freeing yourself from all other distractions. Yes, you can—if you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centered, irritable. You see how few things you have to do to live a satisfying and reverent life? If you can manage this, that’s all even the gods can ask of you.” – Marcus Aurelius 

My Hope For You

Reread each quote daily, take heed of this timeless wisdom that’s been around for two thousand years. I find myself, during times of struggle, repeatedly returning to stoicism.

In essence, life is easier with philosophy. Marcus describes it in Meditations: “not to think of philosophy as your instructor, but as the sponge and egg white that relieve ophthalmia—as a soothing ointment.”

Many nights after a stressful day, I’ve re-read chapters of Marcus Aurelius’s meditations, and all feels right with the world.

I also remind myself when things don’t go as expected “ nothing can happen to me that isn’t natural” a quote from Marcus Aurelius’s book Meditations.

In essence, Stoic philosophy provides a practical manual for living filled with heuristics (rule-of-thumb advice) on how to deal with life’s challenges.

I hope you find stoicism as helpful as I have. 

If Stoicism is good enough to be practised by the Emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius, and so many others during the past two thousand years, then it’s good enough for you and me to practice.

If stoicism had not provided value, it would not have endured the test of time.

As a rule of thumb, time is the best BS detector; only the best survive.

If you’re starting to learn about stoicism, I recommend beginning with reading Marcus Aurelius’s Diary Meditations translated by Gregory Hays.

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