Marcus Aurelius wrote the “Meditations” to paint his soul with the color of his thoughts. He wrote it to examine his life, enforce his principles. He wrote it to move one step closer to becoming the ideal version of himself every day.
“Your soul is painted with the colour of your thoughts” — Marcus Aurelius
This is also the idea that ultimately brought me to journaling. My goal is to paint my soul with the principles and thoughts of my ideal self. I want to have the right mindset for a healthy, wealthy, and happy life.
But what’s the right color?
I want to be productive. I want to be happy. I want to be successful. I want to do the right thing. I haven’t found a better framework for achieving the above than Stoicism.
Want to be productive? Focus on the task at hand, do it the best you can, and don’t worry about the past or the future. Live in the present, do your best work here and now. Understand that today might be the last day you have on this planet. Make it count.
Want to be happy? Don’t worry about the externals, don’t think about the things you don’t control. Create the right mindset and value-judgments about things in life. Focus on the only part you control — your thoughts and your actions in the present. Love your destiny and play its cards like they are your own. Enjoy the ride.
Want to be successful? This is an interesting one. It’s something we control and at the same time something we don’t. No doubt you have to work hard and have some talent if you want to be successful. And then you also need some luck. Understand the things that contribute to increasing the chances of your success and focus on improving them as much as you possibly can. Leave the rest for the universe to play out.
Want to do the right thing? Be a social animal. Do good acts, act according to nature, and leave the world in a slightly better condition than when you entered it.
Now what?
I’ve been an avid learner of Stoicism for around 5 years and I am yet to find a principle that doesn’t help me live a better life. This is why I have decided to enforce Stoic principles in myself.
My daily Stoic newsletter is me doing just that — enforcing the principles and painting my soul with the color of my thoughts. To become the ideal version of myself.
I write almost daily, whenever I have the time and the inspiration to do so.
Welcome to the journey, I hope you find this helpful.