Marcus Aurelius Quotes

The right attitude toward any negative state begins with understanding that its only authority over you is a direct reflection of your attitude towards it.

Anger or hatred is like a fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it.

I came to realize that if people could make me angry they could could control me. Why should I give someone else such power over my life?

Sometimes people let the same problem make them miserable for years when they could just say, So what. That's one of my favorite things to say. So what.

People and things do not upset us. Rather, we upset ourselves by believing that they can upset us.

When you allow a person's words to upset you, you're giving away your power.

Problems are not my problem. It's not what happens to me but what happens in me that matters.

When you allow what someone says or does to upset you, you're allowing them to control you.

If you are distressed by something, it is due to your own estimate of it; and you have the power to change it at will.

Every day we have plenty of opportunities to get angry, stressed or offended. But what you're doing when you indulge these negative emotions is giving something outside yourself power over your happiness. You can choose to not let little things upset you.

If things aren't going so well, I try to stay positive and not give in to negative thoughts.

When we are angry with someone, we empower the person we hate the most in that moment to make us stressed out or even sick. That's not smart.

If we are not affected by our environment, then we have somewhere become insensitive. It might be good in a way because you might not be affected by anything and be calm always.

Words are just words. They only bother you if you let them.

I don't take anything personally.

The problem is not what other people think, do or say; it is your reaction.

Sometimes I just think depression's one way of coping with the world. Like, some people get drunk, some people do drugs, some people get depressed. Because there's so much stuff out there that you have to do something to deal with it.

I don't recognize hate, I don't recognize bitterness, I don't recognize jealousy, I don't recognize greed. I don't give them power. They don't exist to me.

That which is around me does not affect my mood; my mood affects that which is around me.

When you squeeze an orange, you'll always get orange juice to come out. What comes out is what's inside. The same logic applies to you: when someone squeezes you, puts pressure on you, or says something unflattering or critical, and out of you comes anger, hatred, bitterness, tension, depression, or anxiety, that is what's inside. If love and joy are what you want to give and receive, change your life by changing what's inside

You, and you alone, get to determine whether you are going to react positively about something or negatively about something - or, interestingly, have no reaction at all. Your emotions are entirely under your control. Your feelings are what you want them to be.

Now I don't get upset by unpleasant things, I don't play the victim, and I'm always ready to come to terms with life.

If you are pained by external things, it is not they that disturb you, but your own judgement of them. And it is in your power to wipe out that judgement now.

If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it.

The hardest thing in the world is to assume the mood of a warrior. It is of no use to be sad and complain and feel justified in doing so,believing that someone is always doing something to us. Nobody is doing anything to anybody, much less to a warrior.