Productivity ninja: 5 powerful tips for getting more stuff done
1. Know when you're at your best
And plan accordingly. To be a productivity ninja focus less on time management, and more on managing your energy.
Charlie Munger, vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, used a system like this to make sure he was always growing. He identified the hours when he was at his best \ and then routinely stole one of those peak hours for learning.
Charlie Munger hit upon one strategy when he was a young lawyer. He decided that whenever his legal work was not as intellectually stimulating as he'd like, "I would sell the best hour of the day to myself." He would take otherwise billable time at the peak of his day and dedicate it to his own thinking and learning. "And only after improving my mind \ only after I'd used my best hour improving myself \ would I sell my time to my professional clients." [The Idea Hunter: How to Find the Best Ideas and Make them Happen]
Are you a morning lark? A night owl? Tired after lunch? Best after a nap? Track what works for you and plan around that.
2. Get enough sleep
No, you can't cheat yourself on sleep. Cutting corners on siesta time has a cascade of negative effects, not the least of which is making you less proactive.
Irrespective of how well you were able to get on with your day after that most recent night without sleep, it is unlikely that you felt especially upbeat and joyous about the world. Your more-negative-than-usual perspective will have resulted from a generalized low mood, which is a normal consequence of being overtired. More important that just the mood, this mind-set is often accompanied by decreases in willingness to think and act proactively, control impulses, feel positive about yourself, empathize with others, and generally use emotional intelligence.[The Secret World of Sleep: The Surprising Science of the Mind at Rest]
In fact, some people's emotions are so disturbed after a night of sleep deprivation that they could be classified as psychopaths. That might make you into a good real ninja but not a productivity ninja.
All of these things combine to change the way they score on clinical mood disorder scales, often tipping perfectly normal people over the edge into the clinically relevant zone, so that, if tested on that particular day, they could be classified as depressed or even as psychopaths. [The Secret World of Sleep: The Surprising Science of the Mind at Rest]
What's the best way to improve your sleep? Learn how astronauts sleep.
3. Distractions will make you stupid
Students whose classroom was situated near a noisy railroad line ended up academically a full year behind students with a quiet classroom. When the noise was dampened, the performance difference vanished.
To measure the impact of this noise on academic performance, two researchers noted that only one side of the school faced the tracks, so the students in classrooms on that side were particularly exposed to the noise but were otherwise similar to their fellow students. They found a striking difference between the two sides of the school. Sixth graders on the train side were a full year behind their counterparts on the quieter side. Further evidence came when the city, prompted by this study, installed noise pads. The researchers found this erased the difference: now students on both sides of the building performed at the same level.[Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much]
Distractions might mean you don't notice gorillas walking by. Seriously.
Here's how to improve focus.
4. Work somewhere that facilitates productivity
Have a spot where you're usually productive? Go there. How about a place where you always screw around and waste time? Avoid it.
Wendy Wood, a professor at USC explains how your environment activates habits \ without your conscious mind even noticing.
Habits emerge from the gradual learning of associations between an action and outcome, and the contexts that have been associated with them. Once the habit is formed, various elements from the context can serve as a cue to activate the behavior, independent of intention and absent of a particular goal... Very often, the conscious mind never gets engaged. [Habit: The 95% of Behavior Marketers Ignore]
Context matters more than you think.
5. Believe in what you do
Sounds like a corny cliche, but the research supports it. What happens when you see your work as a calling, not just a job that pays the bills? You are more thorough, engaged \ and happier.
The research of psychologists Amy Wrzesniewski and Jane Dutton shows just how much of our mind-set \ what we choose to focus on \ affects our experience of work. Wrzesniewski and Dutton followed a group of hospital cleaners, and found that some of the cleaners experienced their work as a job \ as something they did solely for the paycheck \ and described it as boring and meaningless. But another group perceived the same work as a calling \ and experienced the hours they spent at work as engaging and meaningful. This second group of hospital cleaners did things differently from the first group. They engaged in more interactions with nurses, patients, and visitors, taking it upon themselves to make everyone they came in contact with feel better. Generally, they saw their work in its broader context: They were not merely cleaning the wards and removing the trash, but were contributing to the health of patients and the smooth functioning of the hospital. [Choose the Life You Want: The Mindful Way to Happiness]
How do you do this? It's about interacting with the people who experience the benefits of your work.
Wharton professor Adam Grant did research trying to motivate employees at a university call center. When call center workers were shown letters written by grateful students who had received scholarships funded by the workers' calls, their motivation soared. What pushed their motivation even higher? Speaking with those students.
When callers interacted with one scholarship recipient in person, they were even more energized. The average caller doubled in calls per hour and minutes on the phone per week. By working harder the callers reached more alumni, resulting in 144 percent more alumni donating each week. Even more strikingly, revenue quintupled: callers averaged $412 before meeting the scholarship recipient and more than $2000 afterward. [Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success]
Never, ever underestimate the power of the right attitude.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Heng Chee Meng anti-scam 3-point checklist
Heng Chee Meng anti-scam 3-point checklist
1. Is the deal too good to be true?
If answer is No, ends here.
If answer is Yes, go to Q2.
2. Why so good deal come to find me?
If can't answer, ends here.
If can find answer, it is likely to be Q3.
3. What does the person want from me after giving me such good deal? Am I willing to trade that?
If answer is No, ends here.
If answer is Yes, you should find by this time the answer to Q1 is NO.
1. Is the deal too good to be true?
If answer is No, ends here.
If answer is Yes, go to Q2.
2. Why so good deal come to find me?
If can't answer, ends here.
If can find answer, it is likely to be Q3.
3. What does the person want from me after giving me such good deal? Am I willing to trade that?
If answer is No, ends here.
If answer is Yes, you should find by this time the answer to Q1 is NO.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
How to win friends and influence people -- Dale Ca
How to win friends and influence people -- Dale Carnegie
[HANDLING PEOPLE]
1. Don't criticise, condemn or complain.
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.
[MAKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU]
4. Become genuinely interested in other people.
5. Smile.
6. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
7. Be a good listener, encourage others to talk about themselves.
8. Talk in terms of the other person's interest.
9. Make the other people feel important.
[WIN THE PEOPLE TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING]
10. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
11. Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong."
12. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
13. Begin in a friendly way.
14. Get the other person saying "yes", "yes" immediately.
15. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
16. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
17. Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
18. Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
19. Appeal to the nobler motives.
20. Dramatize your ideas.
21. Throw down a challenge (to inspire the desire to excel).
[CHANGE PEOPLE WITHOUT GIVING OFFENSE OR AROUSING RESENTMENT]
22. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
23. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
24. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
25. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
26. Let the other person save face.
27. Praise the slightest improvement and every improvement.
28. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
29. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
30. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.
[HANDLING PEOPLE]
1. Don't criticise, condemn or complain.
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.
[MAKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU]
4. Become genuinely interested in other people.
5. Smile.
6. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
7. Be a good listener, encourage others to talk about themselves.
8. Talk in terms of the other person's interest.
9. Make the other people feel important.
[WIN THE PEOPLE TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING]
10. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
11. Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong."
12. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
13. Begin in a friendly way.
14. Get the other person saying "yes", "yes" immediately.
15. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
16. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
17. Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
18. Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
19. Appeal to the nobler motives.
20. Dramatize your ideas.
21. Throw down a challenge (to inspire the desire to excel).
[CHANGE PEOPLE WITHOUT GIVING OFFENSE OR AROUSING RESENTMENT]
22. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
23. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
24. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
25. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
26. Let the other person save face.
27. Praise the slightest improvement and every improvement.
28. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
29. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
30. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
说到心坎里的肺腑之言
初级的快乐是肉体的快乐，那是饱、暖、物、欲。
中级的快乐是精神的快乐，那是诗词歌赋、琴棋书画、游走天下。
高级的快乐是灵魂的快乐，那是付出、奉献，让他人因为你的存在而快乐！
平庸的人只有一条命，叫性命；
优秀的人有两条命，即性命和生命；
卓越的人则有三条命，性命、生命和使命。它们分别代表着生存、生活和责任！
人与人的差距，表面上看是财富的差距，实际上是福报的差距；
表面上看是人脉的差距，实际上是人品的差距；
表面上看是气质的差距，实际上是涵养的差距；
表面上看是容貌的差距，实际上是心地的差距；
表面上看是人与人都差不多，内心境界却大不相同，心态决定命运。
男人只有穷一次，才知道哪个女人最爱你。
女人只有丑一次，才知道哪个男人不会离开你。
人只有落魄一次，才知道谁最真谁最在乎你。
陪伴，不是你有钱我才追随。
珍惜，不是你漂亮我才关注。
时间留下的，不是财富，不是美丽，是真诚。
中级的快乐是精神的快乐，那是诗词歌赋、琴棋书画、游走天下。
高级的快乐是灵魂的快乐，那是付出、奉献，让他人因为你的存在而快乐！
平庸的人只有一条命，叫性命；
优秀的人有两条命，即性命和生命；
卓越的人则有三条命，性命、生命和使命。它们分别代表着生存、生活和责任！
人与人的差距，表面上看是财富的差距，实际上是福报的差距；
表面上看是人脉的差距，实际上是人品的差距；
表面上看是气质的差距，实际上是涵养的差距；
表面上看是容貌的差距，实际上是心地的差距；
表面上看是人与人都差不多，内心境界却大不相同，心态决定命运。
男人只有穷一次，才知道哪个女人最爱你。
女人只有丑一次，才知道哪个男人不会离开你。
人只有落魄一次，才知道谁最真谁最在乎你。
陪伴，不是你有钱我才追随。
珍惜，不是你漂亮我才关注。
时间留下的，不是财富，不是美丽，是真诚。
Saturday, October 19, 2013
但�你20�就懂的18件事(18 things I hope you will learn before you're 20)
但�你20�就懂的18件事
(18 things I hope you will learn before you're 20)
作者：黑幼�、黑立言
出版社：�神
出版日期：2010.5/25
如果�本�能�年�的你，少走一�冤枉路，少一�挫折，早一�享受美好�光，我�非常�心。你已�懂得自己需要什�了。
1 每天有一段��的�光
(Spend sometime alone every day to recharge yourself)
�陌生人相互注�了一��―真是可遇不可求。雨中漫步―�著�，在行人稀少的道路上漫步，不管�人看了你�怎�想，你走你的。�音�―留一�落地�就好了。�上眼睛，�著音�走。
2 相信自己是一�有�力的人
(Believe that you have potential, to do anything)
玫琳��，要是你相信自己能做到，你就能做到；要是你相信自己做不到，你就做不到。每年去一�你�未去�的地方，我�以前做不到，你��在只要管理好打工的�就可以了。
3 把家人放在手心上
(Put your family as first priority)
幸福的家庭�氛是人生的基石。�家人需要�，就握住你�心的人的手，�柔的�弄��，�是多��密的感�，那就是幸福的感�。
4 不要��微���害到珍�的友�
(Don't let minor issues hurt your friendship)
我好�慕那些很年�就玩在一起的哥��，他�真的把握到了�一�。
5 �真��
(Fall in love, seriously)
��是一�子都不�淡忘的，�你遇到一�特�的眼神，你一定知道我指的是什�。
6 常常想到自己的福�
(Count your blessings)
我�都只�想到自己的��多不好，要是你今天就列��下自己得到的恩典，你����真不少。
7 得不到也是一�福�
(The blessings of not ....)
想一想有多少企�家�有考取台大，有多少成功的人�有出�留�？老是想得到和�人一�的�西，不如想想那些得不到的，你究竟��了什�？
8 失�的祝福
(Learn from failures)
你可以失�，但不要忘��失�中�取教�，怪不得有的人後��得很成功。
9 ��定�如指掌，才知道如何突破
(First know the limits, then find ways to break through)
成功常�生在�制外，但通常都�生在懂得�用的人身上。
10 �美�人重要感
(Praise others)
�意��到�人�美你，多美妙。有人��美是�言中的�石，每�人也都有想�得肯定的渴望。
11 欣��人打��物的表情
(Enjoy others happiness)
把�美�作一份�得的�物。那件�物是那�微不足道，但你真的�了一番功夫。
12 不要批��人
(Don't criticize others)
因�批�有可能��到��的自尊，�失去�人由衷的合作。你看，要是�年�的�候就能做到�多好。
13 沈默有�是最好的回答
(Silence is sometimes the best response)
如果人生能�重�，我一定要�少批�，希望你不要到我�年�才���秘�。
14 把�力�成新�有趣的探�
(Treat pressures as adventures)
�今�����烈，�化��快，未�只�更快、更�烈，不具��些能力�怎��呢？
15 重要的事先做
(Do the important things first)
有些事情��明�，但我�每天偏偏���碎的事占�行程表。艾森豪���，急的事情很少是重要的。
16 �度��，充��忱
(Be passionate and proactive)
年�人��入社�可能以���能力最重要。《天下��》曾做��查，��大多�的老�最希望新�人�具�的是��的工作�度。
17 �通����，一路��到底
(Saying the right way can be more important than saying the right thing)
�住，�比��重要，怎��比�什�重要。
18 �身��
(Life long learning)
松下幸之助�一��踏��徒�成�十�人的公司董事�，他�自己的成功�因於�身��。看看你周�的朋友，如果��校��後就不再��了，要�快影�他�。
(18 things I hope you will learn before you're 20)
作者：黑幼�、黑立言
出版社：�神
出版日期：2010.5/25
如果�本�能�年�的你，少走一�冤枉路，少一�挫折，早一�享受美好�光，我�非常�心。你已�懂得自己需要什�了。
1 每天有一段��的�光
(Spend sometime alone every day to recharge yourself)
�陌生人相互注�了一��―真是可遇不可求。雨中漫步―�著�，在行人稀少的道路上漫步，不管�人看了你�怎�想，你走你的。�音�―留一�落地�就好了。�上眼睛，�著音�走。
2 相信自己是一�有�力的人
(Believe that you have potential, to do anything)
玫琳��，要是你相信自己能做到，你就能做到；要是你相信自己做不到，你就做不到。每年去一�你�未去�的地方，我�以前做不到，你��在只要管理好打工的�就可以了。
3 把家人放在手心上
(Put your family as first priority)
幸福的家庭�氛是人生的基石。�家人需要�，就握住你�心的人的手，�柔的�弄��，�是多��密的感�，那就是幸福的感�。
4 不要��微���害到珍�的友�
(Don't let minor issues hurt your friendship)
我好�慕那些很年�就玩在一起的哥��，他�真的把握到了�一�。
5 �真��
(Fall in love, seriously)
��是一�子都不�淡忘的，�你遇到一�特�的眼神，你一定知道我指的是什�。
6 常常想到自己的福�
(Count your blessings)
我�都只�想到自己的��多不好，要是你今天就列��下自己得到的恩典，你����真不少。
7 得不到也是一�福�
(The blessings of not ....)
想一想有多少企�家�有考取台大，有多少成功的人�有出�留�？老是想得到和�人一�的�西，不如想想那些得不到的，你究竟��了什�？
8 失�的祝福
(Learn from failures)
你可以失�，但不要忘��失�中�取教�，怪不得有的人後��得很成功。
9 ��定�如指掌，才知道如何突破
(First know the limits, then find ways to break through)
成功常�生在�制外，但通常都�生在懂得�用的人身上。
10 �美�人重要感
(Praise others)
�意��到�人�美你，多美妙。有人��美是�言中的�石，每�人也都有想�得肯定的渴望。
11 欣��人打��物的表情
(Enjoy others happiness)
把�美�作一份�得的�物。那件�物是那�微不足道，但你真的�了一番功夫。
12 不要批��人
(Don't criticize others)
因�批�有可能��到��的自尊，�失去�人由衷的合作。你看，要是�年�的�候就能做到�多好。
13 沈默有�是最好的回答
(Silence is sometimes the best response)
如果人生能�重�，我一定要�少批�，希望你不要到我�年�才���秘�。
14 把�力�成新�有趣的探�
(Treat pressures as adventures)
�今�����烈，�化��快，未�只�更快、更�烈，不具��些能力�怎��呢？
15 重要的事先做
(Do the important things first)
有些事情��明�，但我�每天偏偏���碎的事占�行程表。艾森豪���，急的事情很少是重要的。
16 �度��，充��忱
(Be passionate and proactive)
年�人��入社�可能以���能力最重要。《天下��》曾做��查，��大多�的老�最希望新�人�具�的是��的工作�度。
17 �通����，一路��到底
(Saying the right way can be more important than saying the right thing)
�住，�比��重要，怎��比�什�重要。
18 �身��
(Life long learning)
松下幸之助�一��踏��徒�成�十�人的公司董事�，他�自己的成功�因於�身��。看看你周�的朋友，如果��校��後就不再��了，要�快影�他�。
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Meditations - The Emperor's Handbook - by Marcus A
Meditations - The Emperor's Handbook - by Marcus Aurelius - translation by C Scot Hicks and David V Hicks
INTRODUCTION: (by translators, not Aurelius)
We need to be reminded more often than informed.
Work intelligently with what is given - not wasting time fantasizing about flawless people and perfect choices.
Marcus never did anything, not even the smallest thing, as if he considered it unimportant. He took a detailed interest in all matters.
Marcus regarded obstacles as opportunities for the exercise of reason.
Guard the mind from false opinions and harmful desires.
If we fail to exercise self-censorship and judgement, then we are the ad-man's dream, and our lives our not our own.
Good life begins in the mind, but one cannot realize the good life cut off from a good society.
BOOK TWO:
Remember how long you have procrastinated, and how consistently you have failed to put to good use your suspended sentence. Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun.
Take the time to concentrate your mind in the acquisition of some new and useful knowledge - and stop it from flittering about.
Nothing is more pathetic than feverishly circling the earth and "probing into its depths", to guess what other people are thinking, while all the time failing to realize that one only needs to attend to the inner spirit, and to serve it with unswerving devotion.
Even the slightest act should have some end in mind.
BOOK THREE:
Purge your mind of aimless and idle thoughts. Show the world a simple and kindly man, a good neighbor, indifferent to sensual pleasures and luxuries, untouched by jealousy, envy, and mistrust.
Neither popularity, nor wealth, nor power, nor the pleasures of the flesh should compete in your affection for the good that flows from reason and neighborliness.
If it's to the advantage of your reasonable self, seize hold of it. If it's merely to the advantage of your animal self, admit it and don't pretend it's more than that.
Take no detours from the high road of reason and social responsibility.
Nothing produces greatness of mind like the habit of examining methodically and honestly everything we enounter in this life, and of determining its place in the order of things, its intended use, its value to the whole universe, and its worth to man in his role as citizen.
Pursue the matter at hand along the straight path of reason, advancing with intensity, vigor, and grace, and without being distracted along the way.
Just as surgeons keep their scalpels handy, keep your principles with you at all times, ready to delve into anything.
Stop jumping off the track. (You don't have time to do uncrucial things you've collected for your old age.) Throw off vain hope and sprint to the finish. Come to your own aid while there's still time.
BOOK FOUR:
Never act without purpose and resolve, or without the means to finish the job.
Nowhere is there a vacation home more private and peaceful than in one's own mind.
Take this vacation and charge your spirit, but not beyond what is necessary to send you back to your work free of anxiety and full of vigor and good cheer.
Nothing outside the mind can disturb it. Trouble comes from the mind's opinion of what lies outside it.
Once reason goes to work for you, what more can you need?
To be happy, limit your activities to a few. Do what is necessary and no more. Remove not only unnecessary actions, but also the superfluous ideas that inspire needless acts.
The man who fails to understand what goes on in the world is a fugitive running from the law.
Change is never bad nor good. Judgement about change is not helpful.
How lucky that I am not broken by what has happened. Bad luck borne nobly is good luck.
BOOK FIVE:
Were you born for enjoyment? Look at the plants, ants, spiders and bees, all busy at their work, welding the world. Why should you hesitate to do your part?
If it is good to say or do something, then it is even better to be criticized for having said or done it.
Be like a vine that bears its fruit and asks for nothing more than the pleasure of producing grapes. A dog hunts, a bee makes honey, and one man helps another.
What does not hurt the community cannot hurt the individual. Every time you think you've been wronged, apply this rule: If the community isn't hurt by it, then neither am I. But what if the community is hurt? Then don't be angry with the person who caused the injury. Just help him to see his mistake.
BOOK SIX:
Factual descriptions allow you to see things for what they are. Whenever something makes ambitious claims for itself, lay those claims bare by stripping away all the fancy dress and exposing the naked facts. When you flatter yourself that you are engaged in some worthy enterprise, then you are most easily deceived.
Prove to me that I am mistaken, and I will gladly change. Harm comes from persisting in error and clinging to ignorance.
Think of the virtues and talents of those around you. The sight of these splendid qualities in our friends - keep them always in mind.
The happiness of those who want to be popular depends on others. The happiness of those who seek pleasure fluctuates with moods outside their control. But the happiness of the wise grows out of their own free acts.
You always own the option of having no opinion. Things you can't control are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone.
Learn to concentrate on what those around you are saying. Enter as deeply as possible into the mind of each speaker.
BOOK SEVEN:
The measure of a man is the worth of the things he cares about.
Those who are affected by outward circumstance will always find something to complain about.
Every moment provides us with opportunities to exercise the virtues of neighborliness and thought. Nothing is new or unmanageable. Everything is familiar and serviceable.
To live each day as if it were your last - without speeding up or slowing down or pretending to be other than what you are - this is perfection of character.
How ridiculous not to avoid wronging others, which I have the power to do, while wishing to avoid being wronged by others whose actions are beyond my control.
When you have done something well and someone else has benefited from it, why do you crave yet a third reward - to be thanked or to be repaid?
BOOK EIGHT:
Refuse to approve ideas that are false or foggy. Direct your energies only to the common good.
Don't go looking for equality in individual cases. Make your comparisons by examining large samples and total outcomes.
No one should ever hear you complaining about palace life. No one - not even your own ears.
No man feels any regret for failing to indulge in a pleasure. Pleasure, therefore, is neither useful nor good.
Be happy if each act you perform contributes to a fulfulling and complete life. No one can prevent you from doing this. What if some outside circumstance stands in my way? Not even that can stop you from acting justly, wisely, and reasonably. By welcoming the obstacle and by calmly adapting your action to it, you will be able to do something else in harmony with your goals.
If you're troubled by something outside yourself, it isn't the thing itself that bothers you, but your opinion of it. You have the power to immediately revoke this opinion.
Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them to be better or put up with them.
BOOK NINE:
Deceit, hypocrisy, luxury, and pride: flee this plague. The corruption of your mind and soul is a plague far more deadly than any pollution.
You're more likely to find a clod of dirt detached from the earth than a man entirely cut off from mankind.
Whether in sickness or in any other circumstance, let no difficulty or hardship cause you to abandon philosophy or to tune it to the gossip of the foolish and uneducated.
When somebody's behavior offends you, find fault instead with yourself for failing to anticipate his offensive behavior. Your ability to reason should have told you that he would misbehave.
Having done a good deed, what more do you want? To be paid? Do the eyes demand payment for seeing, or the feet fees for walking?
BOOK TEN:
The high-minded place reason above fame, death, and the like.
Stop all this theorizing about what a good man should be. Be it!
Either you go on living here at the center of things, or you withdraw from active life and move away, or you die and your work is done. There is no other choice but these.
What is the very best you can say or do with the material you have to work with? Whatever that is, you can say or do it. Make no excuse by claiming that something prevents you.
BOOK ELEVEN:
The rational mind looks at and delves into itself, molds itself to its own liking, and enjoys the fruit it bears. (Unlike the fruits of plants, which are harvested by others.)
The rational mind is honest and modest at the same time as prizing itself above everything else.
Have I acted unselfishly? Then I have benefited. Hold fast to this thought, and keep up the good work.
No situation is better suited for the practice of philosophy than the one you're in now.
A man cuts himself off from others, not realizing that he is cutting himself off from the whole of civilized society.
Frequent separation makes it increasingly difficult for the severed part to rejoin the whole and regain its original vigor. The branch that is grafted on after being broken off belongs to the tree but doesn't share its thoughts.
Stand guard in both respects: be tough-minded in thought and action while being gentle to those who oppose or annoy you.
It is as much a weakness to become harsh as it is to shrink from action and relent out of fear. Both abandon their posts: the one who panics, the other who is estranged from a natural brother and friend.
The soul remains a perfect sphere when it neither pushes out after something nor shrinks back into itself.
How false and beneath contempt is the man who says, "Let me be perfectly frank with you." What is he up to? There is no need to dress up the truth. It will be evident in your words, written on your face, ringing in your voice, flashing from your eyes.
To live an exemplary life, remain indifferent to the things that are themselves indifferent. Nothing can oblige us to form an opinion of it. Things don't force themselves upon us.
No one can be blamed for seeking his own good.
Ask of everything: Where did it come from? Of what is it made? Into what is it changing? What will it be after it has changed?
It isn't what others do that troubles you. You are bothered by your opinions of what they do. Rid yourself of those opinions, and your troubles will go away. Remind yourself that you aren't disgraced by what others do.
Shun temptations of the mind by saying to yourself:
- This is an idle speculation
- This isn't what I really think
- This will lower my estimation of myself
Except in the case of those things they hold in common, most people cannot agree on a definition of what is good. For this reason, it makes sense to aim at the common good, the well-being of society as a whole. He who strives to achieve this aim in life will be consistent in his behavior and therefore one and the same person throughout his life.
You can't master the arts of reading and writing until you've studied them. This applies even more to those who would master the art of living.
BOOK TWELVE:
I marvel at how men love themselves more than others, while at the same time caring more about what others think of them than what they think of themselves.
Be a boxer, not a gladiator, in the way you act on your principles. The gladiator takes up his sword, only to put it down again. But the boxer is never without his fist and has only to clench it.
Only a fool or stranger on this planet will be surprised by anything in his life.
If it's not right, don't do it. If it's not true, don't say it.
Whatever causes you to be upset has always happened and will always happen, and even now is happening everywhere.
INTRODUCTION: (by translators, not Aurelius)
We need to be reminded more often than informed.
Work intelligently with what is given - not wasting time fantasizing about flawless people and perfect choices.
Marcus never did anything, not even the smallest thing, as if he considered it unimportant. He took a detailed interest in all matters.
Marcus regarded obstacles as opportunities for the exercise of reason.
Guard the mind from false opinions and harmful desires.
If we fail to exercise self-censorship and judgement, then we are the ad-man's dream, and our lives our not our own.
Good life begins in the mind, but one cannot realize the good life cut off from a good society.
BOOK TWO:
Remember how long you have procrastinated, and how consistently you have failed to put to good use your suspended sentence. Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun.
Take the time to concentrate your mind in the acquisition of some new and useful knowledge - and stop it from flittering about.
Nothing is more pathetic than feverishly circling the earth and "probing into its depths", to guess what other people are thinking, while all the time failing to realize that one only needs to attend to the inner spirit, and to serve it with unswerving devotion.
Even the slightest act should have some end in mind.
BOOK THREE:
Purge your mind of aimless and idle thoughts. Show the world a simple and kindly man, a good neighbor, indifferent to sensual pleasures and luxuries, untouched by jealousy, envy, and mistrust.
Neither popularity, nor wealth, nor power, nor the pleasures of the flesh should compete in your affection for the good that flows from reason and neighborliness.
If it's to the advantage of your reasonable self, seize hold of it. If it's merely to the advantage of your animal self, admit it and don't pretend it's more than that.
Take no detours from the high road of reason and social responsibility.
Nothing produces greatness of mind like the habit of examining methodically and honestly everything we enounter in this life, and of determining its place in the order of things, its intended use, its value to the whole universe, and its worth to man in his role as citizen.
Pursue the matter at hand along the straight path of reason, advancing with intensity, vigor, and grace, and without being distracted along the way.
Just as surgeons keep their scalpels handy, keep your principles with you at all times, ready to delve into anything.
Stop jumping off the track. (You don't have time to do uncrucial things you've collected for your old age.) Throw off vain hope and sprint to the finish. Come to your own aid while there's still time.
BOOK FOUR:
Never act without purpose and resolve, or without the means to finish the job.
Nowhere is there a vacation home more private and peaceful than in one's own mind.
Take this vacation and charge your spirit, but not beyond what is necessary to send you back to your work free of anxiety and full of vigor and good cheer.
Nothing outside the mind can disturb it. Trouble comes from the mind's opinion of what lies outside it.
Once reason goes to work for you, what more can you need?
To be happy, limit your activities to a few. Do what is necessary and no more. Remove not only unnecessary actions, but also the superfluous ideas that inspire needless acts.
The man who fails to understand what goes on in the world is a fugitive running from the law.
Change is never bad nor good. Judgement about change is not helpful.
How lucky that I am not broken by what has happened. Bad luck borne nobly is good luck.
BOOK FIVE:
Were you born for enjoyment? Look at the plants, ants, spiders and bees, all busy at their work, welding the world. Why should you hesitate to do your part?
If it is good to say or do something, then it is even better to be criticized for having said or done it.
Be like a vine that bears its fruit and asks for nothing more than the pleasure of producing grapes. A dog hunts, a bee makes honey, and one man helps another.
What does not hurt the community cannot hurt the individual. Every time you think you've been wronged, apply this rule: If the community isn't hurt by it, then neither am I. But what if the community is hurt? Then don't be angry with the person who caused the injury. Just help him to see his mistake.
BOOK SIX:
Factual descriptions allow you to see things for what they are. Whenever something makes ambitious claims for itself, lay those claims bare by stripping away all the fancy dress and exposing the naked facts. When you flatter yourself that you are engaged in some worthy enterprise, then you are most easily deceived.
Prove to me that I am mistaken, and I will gladly change. Harm comes from persisting in error and clinging to ignorance.
Think of the virtues and talents of those around you. The sight of these splendid qualities in our friends - keep them always in mind.
The happiness of those who want to be popular depends on others. The happiness of those who seek pleasure fluctuates with moods outside their control. But the happiness of the wise grows out of their own free acts.
You always own the option of having no opinion. Things you can't control are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone.
Learn to concentrate on what those around you are saying. Enter as deeply as possible into the mind of each speaker.
BOOK SEVEN:
The measure of a man is the worth of the things he cares about.
Those who are affected by outward circumstance will always find something to complain about.
Every moment provides us with opportunities to exercise the virtues of neighborliness and thought. Nothing is new or unmanageable. Everything is familiar and serviceable.
To live each day as if it were your last - without speeding up or slowing down or pretending to be other than what you are - this is perfection of character.
How ridiculous not to avoid wronging others, which I have the power to do, while wishing to avoid being wronged by others whose actions are beyond my control.
When you have done something well and someone else has benefited from it, why do you crave yet a third reward - to be thanked or to be repaid?
BOOK EIGHT:
Refuse to approve ideas that are false or foggy. Direct your energies only to the common good.
Don't go looking for equality in individual cases. Make your comparisons by examining large samples and total outcomes.
No one should ever hear you complaining about palace life. No one - not even your own ears.
No man feels any regret for failing to indulge in a pleasure. Pleasure, therefore, is neither useful nor good.
Be happy if each act you perform contributes to a fulfulling and complete life. No one can prevent you from doing this. What if some outside circumstance stands in my way? Not even that can stop you from acting justly, wisely, and reasonably. By welcoming the obstacle and by calmly adapting your action to it, you will be able to do something else in harmony with your goals.
If you're troubled by something outside yourself, it isn't the thing itself that bothers you, but your opinion of it. You have the power to immediately revoke this opinion.
Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them to be better or put up with them.
BOOK NINE:
Deceit, hypocrisy, luxury, and pride: flee this plague. The corruption of your mind and soul is a plague far more deadly than any pollution.
You're more likely to find a clod of dirt detached from the earth than a man entirely cut off from mankind.
Whether in sickness or in any other circumstance, let no difficulty or hardship cause you to abandon philosophy or to tune it to the gossip of the foolish and uneducated.
When somebody's behavior offends you, find fault instead with yourself for failing to anticipate his offensive behavior. Your ability to reason should have told you that he would misbehave.
Having done a good deed, what more do you want? To be paid? Do the eyes demand payment for seeing, or the feet fees for walking?
BOOK TEN:
The high-minded place reason above fame, death, and the like.
Stop all this theorizing about what a good man should be. Be it!
Either you go on living here at the center of things, or you withdraw from active life and move away, or you die and your work is done. There is no other choice but these.
What is the very best you can say or do with the material you have to work with? Whatever that is, you can say or do it. Make no excuse by claiming that something prevents you.
BOOK ELEVEN:
The rational mind looks at and delves into itself, molds itself to its own liking, and enjoys the fruit it bears. (Unlike the fruits of plants, which are harvested by others.)
The rational mind is honest and modest at the same time as prizing itself above everything else.
Have I acted unselfishly? Then I have benefited. Hold fast to this thought, and keep up the good work.
No situation is better suited for the practice of philosophy than the one you're in now.
A man cuts himself off from others, not realizing that he is cutting himself off from the whole of civilized society.
Frequent separation makes it increasingly difficult for the severed part to rejoin the whole and regain its original vigor. The branch that is grafted on after being broken off belongs to the tree but doesn't share its thoughts.
Stand guard in both respects: be tough-minded in thought and action while being gentle to those who oppose or annoy you.
It is as much a weakness to become harsh as it is to shrink from action and relent out of fear. Both abandon their posts: the one who panics, the other who is estranged from a natural brother and friend.
The soul remains a perfect sphere when it neither pushes out after something nor shrinks back into itself.
How false and beneath contempt is the man who says, "Let me be perfectly frank with you." What is he up to? There is no need to dress up the truth. It will be evident in your words, written on your face, ringing in your voice, flashing from your eyes.
To live an exemplary life, remain indifferent to the things that are themselves indifferent. Nothing can oblige us to form an opinion of it. Things don't force themselves upon us.
No one can be blamed for seeking his own good.
Ask of everything: Where did it come from? Of what is it made? Into what is it changing? What will it be after it has changed?
It isn't what others do that troubles you. You are bothered by your opinions of what they do. Rid yourself of those opinions, and your troubles will go away. Remind yourself that you aren't disgraced by what others do.
Shun temptations of the mind by saying to yourself:
- This is an idle speculation
- This isn't what I really think
- This will lower my estimation of myself
Except in the case of those things they hold in common, most people cannot agree on a definition of what is good. For this reason, it makes sense to aim at the common good, the well-being of society as a whole. He who strives to achieve this aim in life will be consistent in his behavior and therefore one and the same person throughout his life.
You can't master the arts of reading and writing until you've studied them. This applies even more to those who would master the art of living.
BOOK TWELVE:
I marvel at how men love themselves more than others, while at the same time caring more about what others think of them than what they think of themselves.
Be a boxer, not a gladiator, in the way you act on your principles. The gladiator takes up his sword, only to put it down again. But the boxer is never without his fist and has only to clench it.
Only a fool or stranger on this planet will be surprised by anything in his life.
If it's not right, don't do it. If it's not true, don't say it.
Whatever causes you to be upset has always happened and will always happen, and even now is happening everywhere.
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