A Simple Lesson From Stoicism

July 16, 2011
Estimated reading time:
1 minute

One of the books on my reading list in The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. It's a fantastic book, and I've read it probably 7-8 times since I got it a few years ago.

One of the simplest lessons you can take from it is this: complaining about anything is ultimately pointless. Any problem will fall into one of two categories. There's either something you can do about it, or nothing you can do about it.

If there's something you can do about it, stop complaining and go and do it.If there's nothing you can do about it, then complaining about it is a waste of energy. In typical stoic fashion, use this to your advantage. Use this problem as an opportunity to practice humility or patience.

Once you start framing problems in this way, they become much simpler to deal with. Note: simple does not always mean easy.

Related posts

Did you like this?

I write a semi-regular newsletter called Human Capital, to help you become a better, healthier, happier leader.

Sign up below and you’ll get the very next one. No spam, ever, I promise.