Excessive use of external motivation can slow and even stop your journey to mastery.
QUOTE
Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.
Marcus Aurelius (121–180 CE) was a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher known for his posthumously titled work, Meditations. Assumed to have been written for his own self-improvement, the book examines life experiences through the lens of Stoic principles, which emphasize living virtuously, rationally, simply, and with full responsibility for one’s actions and obligations.
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What we call ‘mastery’ can be defined as that mysterious process through which what is at first difficult or even impossible becomes easy and pleasurable through diligent, patient, long-term practice.
1
The strongest relationships are between two people who can live without each other but don’t want to.
Stay a verb—don’t become a noun.
Life’s work is to wake up, to let the things that enter into the circle wake you up rather than put you to sleep. The only way to do this is to open, be curious, and develop some sense of sympathy for everything that comes along, to get to know its nature and let it teach you what it will.
3
We already have everything we need. There is no need for self-improvement. We are one blink of an eye away from being fully awake.
8
People’s sense of self-worth is pivotal to their ability to look clearly at the hurt they’ve caused. The more solid one’s sense of self regard, the more likely that that person can feel empathy and compassion for the hurt party, and apologize from an authentic center.
4
Learning any new skill involves relatively brief spurts of progress, each of which is followed by a slight decline to a plateau somewhat higher in most cases than that which preceded it . . . the upward spurts vary; the plateaus have their own dips and rises along the way. . . .
Relaxation is essential for the full expression of power.
Indecision leads to inaction, which leads to low energy, depression, despair.
