Commentary on Meditations: B4:28-29

Nero: mercenary, despotic

A black character, an effeminate, unbending character, the character of a brute or dumb animal: infantile, stupid, fraudulent, coarse, mercenary, despotic.

If one who does not recognize the contents of the universe is a stranger in it, no less a stranger is the one who fails to recognize what happens in it. He is a fugitive if he runs away from social principle; blind, if he shuts the eye of the mind; a beggar, if he depends on others and does not possess within him all he needs for life; a tumour on the universe, if he stands aside and separates himself from the principle of our common nature in disaffection with his lot (for it is nature which brings this about, just as it brought you about too); a social splinter, if he splits his own soul away from the soul of all rational beings, which is a unity.

In verse 28, Marcus reminds himself of his potential to be a tyrant Emperor - this was his way of hedging himself from his powerful and swift capacity to make others' life living hell.

Looking within yourself, what dark qualities could you become if you don't yield to reason?  This negative visualization could be useful in hedging yourself from a life of vanity.

In verse 29, he further reminds himself of his social duties with regard to others.  We live in a social order and any attempt to separate ourselves from that social order goes against our design and our purpose.  Engage with others; make a difference; use reason and fulfill your duties.

Commentary on Meditations: B4:27

Either an ordered universe, or a stew of mixed ingredients, yet still coherent order. Otherwise how could a sort of private order subsist within you, if there is disorder in the Whole? Especially given that all things, distinct as they are, nevertheless permeate and respond to each other.

This passage is one of many that Marcus wrote on the question of: is there a God, or are there just random atoms that govern the universe?

The Stoics would see beyond the question and arrive at the conclusion that whether a person believed in a God or Gods that govern the universe or if a person believed it was all chaos and random atoms, the response from a person ought to be the same.  And that response is: live according to reason - be who you were meant to be; accept your fate regardless if you view it as coming from God(s) or from random events.

(see also Citadel p. 148)

Commentary on Meditations: B4: 25-26

Try out too how the life of the good man goes for you - the man content with his dispensation from the Whole, and satisfied in his own just action and kind disposition.

You have seen that: now look at this. Do not trouble yourself, keep yourself simple. Someone does wrong? He does wrong to himself. Has something happened to you? Fine. All that happens has been fated by the Whole from the beginning and spun for your own destiny. In sum, life is short: make your gain from the present moment with right reason and justice. Keep sober and relaxed.

A few weeks ago, while talking to my kids about life choices, I offered up this bit of advice.  Pursue a life of pleasure; pursue a life of thrill-seeking adventure; pursue of life of ease; pursue getting rich; pursue fame; pursue all of these to the end and see where it takes you.  I'm willing to bet that none of these pursuits will bring you true happiness and contentment.  Rather, you will almost certainly come to the realization that these pursuits were empty promises.  You might think these pursuits would bring you what you truly seek, but you will still be discontented and will be off in search of yet some new thing to make you content.

Another, more recent, example came when I learned of person who always needs to plan for some new big event or travel plan - they need something to look forward to and I assume that if they didn't have something to look forward to, they would be discontented and depressed.  I understand that thought process - I used to think this way too.  Eventually, I came to the humble conclusion that daily life is enough.  I learned to be content with my lot in life and to be grateful for what I do have and less concerned for what I don't have.  I'm not a sage and I still look to things and events to settle my anxiety, but I am much more accepting of getting up in the morning, exercising, working, commuting, interacting with others and dealing with day-to-day events.

Commentary on Meditations: B4:24

'If you want to be happy', says Democritus, 'do little.' May it not be better to do what is necessary, what the reason of a naturally social being demands, and the way reason demands it done? This brings the happiness both of right action and of little action. Most of what we say and do is unnecessary: remove the superfluity, and you will have more time and less bother. So in every case one should prompt oneself: 'Is this, or is it not, something necessary?' And the removal of the unnecessary should apply not only to actions but to thoughts also: then no redundant actions either will follow.

Efficiency and focus - these lead to a life of meaning and happiness.  Time, money and thought spent on superfluous things leads to a dead end.  What are we doing to benefit society?  Are we raising decent children?  Are we helping others in our community?  Are we doing no harm?

Life with a purpose and minimal time spent on low-value-add activities should be the aim for all.

(see also Citadel, p. 55, 187)

Commentary on Meditations: B4:23

Universe, your harmony is my harmony: nothing in your good time is too early or too late for me. Nature, all that your seasons bring is fruit to me: all comes from you, exists in you, returns to you. The poet says, 'Dear city of Cecrops': will you not say, 'Dear city of Zeus'?

For this commentary, I wish to share a passage from Inner Citadel by Hadot (p. 143):

This brings us back to the theme of the present. A particular event is not predestined for me and accorded with me only because it is harmonized with the World; rather, it is so because it occurs in this particular moment and no other. It occurs in accordance with the kairos ("right moment"), which, as the Greeks had always known, is unique. Therefore, that which is happening to me at this moment is happening at the right moment, in accordance with the necessary, methodical, and harmonious unfolding of all events, all of which occur at their proper time and season.

To will the event that is happening at this moment, and in this present instant, is to will the entire universe which has brought it about. 

(see also Citadel, p. 75, 143, 260)

Commentary on Meditations: B4:21-22

You may ask how, if souls live on, the air can accommodate them all from the beginning of time. Well, how does the earth accommodate all those bodies buried in it over the same eternity? Just as here on earth, once bodies have kept their residence for whatever time, their change and decomposition makes room for other bodies, so it is with souls migrated to the air. They continue for a time, then change, dissolve, and take fire as they are assumed into the generative principle of the Whole: in this way they make room for successive residents. Such would be one's answer on the assumption that souls do live on.

We should consider, though, not only the multitude of bodies thus buried, but also the number of animals eaten every day by us and other creatures - a huge quantity consumed and in a sense buried in the bodies of those who feed on them. And yet there is room for them, because they are reduced to blood and changed into the elements of air and fire. How to investigate the truth of this? By distinguishing the material and the causal.

No wandering. In every impulse, give what is right: in every thought, stick to what is certain.

In this passage, Marcus seems to reflect on the aspect of existence and how Nature loves to change. He focuses his mind on the problem of an earth and atmosphere accommodating all the elements. While it may seem that the earth and air might become full of souls and dead bodies, he rightly comprehends that elements decompose to the point "the generative principle of the Whole" or in a word, pneuma.

In the second chapter, it is almost as if he snaps back to it, telling himself to not think about such matters. He tells himself to not wander anymore.  Rather, he should focus his time and effort on what action ought to be done and to focus on what is up to him.

(see also Citadel, p. 29, 41, 45, 186)

Commentary on Meditations: B4:19-20

One who is all in a flutter over his subsequent fame fails to imagine that all those who remember him will very soon be dead - and he too. Then the same will be true of all successors, until the whole memory of him will be extinguished in a sequence of lamps lit and snuffed out. But suppose immortality in those who will remember you, and everlasting memory. Even so, what is that to you? And I do not simply mean that this is nothing to the dead, but to the living also what is the point of praise, other than for some practical aspect of management? As it is, you are losing the opportunity of that gift of nature which does not depend on another's word. So ...

Everything in any way beautiful has its beauty of itself, inherent and self-sufficient: praise is no part of it. At any rate, praise does not make anything better or worse. This applies even to the popular conception of beauty, as in material things or works or art. So does the truly beautiful need anything beyond itself? No more than law, no more than truth, no more than kindness or integrity. Which of these things derives its beauty from praise, or withers under criticism? Does an emerald lose its quality if it is not praised? And what of gold, ivory, purple, a lyre, a dagger, a flower, a bush?

Fame is fleeting.  It is not real.  It adds no value.  And the value inherent in people and things does not go up or down because of fame or the lack of it.

I enjoy history and reading about it.  What impresses me the most when I read and study history is the amount of fame people place on others.  History is so deep and wide, you also quickly gain an appreciation for how obscure important people become.  Kings, emperors, tyrants, queens, vicars, popes, dictators - all have held sway and power over millions in their time.  Yet they are all forgotten today.  We only know and remember people because someone else thought it important to put their names in a book.

The real value of things is inherent.  People ought to focus on their nature (the ability to reason and think and to help others.)  People ought to focus on excelling at improving their character.

Commentary on Meditations: B4:18

What ease of mind you gain from not looking at what your neighbour has said or done or thought, but only at your own actions, to make them just, reverential, imbued with good! So do not glance at the black characters either side, but run right on to the line: straight, not straggly.

"Keeping up with the Joneses" - that is a game that is often played in America.  Envy is at the center of this phenomenon.  We let "what others think of us" into our own minds and we let that virus infect us.  We let it distract us and have sway over us.

We ought to focus on improving our own character and helping and serving others.  That is the straight line we ought to pursue.

Commentary on Meditations: B4:13-17

'Do you possess reason?' 'I do.' 'Why not use it then? With reason doing its job, what else do you want?'

You have subsisted as a part of the Whole. You will vanish into that which gave you birth: or rather you will be changed, taken up into the generative principle of the universe.

Many grains of incense on the same altar. One falls to ash first, another later: no difference.

Within ten days you will be regarded as a god by those very people who now see you as beast or baboon - if you return to your principles and the worship of Reason.

No, you do not have thousands of years to live. Urgency is on you. While you live, while you can, become good.

Beasts, pets, farm and wild animals will eat, sleep, poop.  Some can be taught tricks, but you will never carry on a conversation or philosophical discussion with any of them.  Humans, on the other hand, can reason, talk and philosophize.  We possess reason - use it!

You are part of the whole - birth, life, death.  Accept it.

Some die young, other die old - no difference.

You stop using reason?  Give yourself 10 days to focus on becoming reasonable again.

You will die at any moment.  Live now.  Be good now.

good link to wallpapers with this quote.

Commentary on Meditations: B4:12

Always have these two principles in readiness. First, to do only what the reason inherent in kingly and judicial power prescribes for the benefit of mankind. Second, to change your ground, if in fact there is someone to correct and guide you away from some notion. But this transference must always spring from a conviction of justice or the common good: and your preferred course must be likewise, not simply for apparent pleasure or popularity.

Simply put, Marcus admonishes that we should act according to reason and justice; and that we should be willing to listen and heed advice from others when we are about to deviate from acting according to reason and justice.  Be careful of your motivations.

(see also Citadel p. 204, 301)

Commentary on Meditations: B4:11

When someone does you wrong, do not judge things as he interprets them or would like you to interpret them. Just see them as they are, in plain truth.

So much anguish and anxiety we experience is simply in our heads. Furthermore, people know this and depend on the fact that they can get into other peoples' heads! But the key here is that we have to let other people into our heads for them to have sway over us. And knowing that we can let other people into our heads, we also know we can just as quickly kick them out.

Our mind is a citadel and we have complete control over what we choose to assent to or not. Furthermore, we can judge those impressions that come to us - this power is up to us.

To have the discipline of assent, the first step is to simply break things down. Marcus does this over and over again in his Meditations.

What does breaking things down mean? Book 3, chapter 11 teaches us that it means making "a definition or sketch of what presents itself to your mind, so you can see its essential nature and identify it clearly, in whole and in all its parts, and can tell yourself its proper name and the names of those elements of which it is compounded and into which it will be dissolved."

You can immediately do this with the most alluring of objects in your life: seeking fame, consumerism, sex, money, power, perfect health. No matter the indifferent, you can break it down into something less alluring. 

Breaking these things down is the process of taking the glamour and prestige and knocking it down. A diamond ring is just a piece of compressed carbon. Fame is just the clapping of hands and mouths. Money is just paper.

Break the allure.

Commentary on Meditations: B4:10

'All's right that happens in the world.' Examine this saying carefully, and you will find it true. I do not mean 'right' simply in the context of cause and effect, but in the sense of 'just' - as if some adjudicator were assigning dues. So keep on observing this, as you have started, and in all that you do combine doing it with being a good man, in the specific conception of 'good man'. Preserve this in every sphere of action.

The discipline of desire is nothing more or less than loving what the nature of the world and universe desires. Since what naturally happens in these spheres is not up to us, we have no choice but to desire the will of the world and universe. If we were to entwine our contentment and happiness in the weather and we wished for only 75 degree temperatures, with clear skies and 30% humidity with a slight breeze, we might be deeply disappointed and sad most days of the year, especially if we lived in Houston, Texas. Therefore, one should not place their happiness in the weather. Rather one ought to focus on what is up to them and choose to be happy and content regardless the forecast.

Continuing with the weather analogy; to be happy and content every day, we ought to love and embrace the will of nature and weather. If it is a rainy, cloudy day, we can love it; go with the flow and settle down to read a book. If it is hot and steamy, perhaps we can swim in the pool that day. We cannot change the weather, but we can adjust our attitude toward it.

To make this point even more impactful, consider this quote from Stephen Hawking from a recent news report:

"In his talk, titled My Life In Physics, he spoke about his early realisation of his medical problems when he went skating with his mother, according to Cambridge News .

"I fell over and had great difficulty getting up," he said.

Prof Hawking was later diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), at the age of 21.

"At first I became depressed," he said. "I seemed to be getting worse really rapidly.

"There didn't seem any point working on my PhD because I didn't know I would live long enough to finish it.

"But then the condition developed more slowly and I began to make progress in my work. 

"After my expectations had been reduced to zero, every new day became a bonus and I began to appreciate everything I did have. While there's life there's hope."

Hawking eventually embraced and loved his fate (amor fati).  No one says embracing fate is always easy.  But if you want to be content, you must embrace and love your fate.

Commentary on Meditations: B4:5-9

Death, just like birth, is a mystery of nature: first a combination, then a dissolution, of the same elements. Certainly no cause for shame: because nothing out of the order for an intelligent being or contrary to the principle of his constitution.

With such people such an outcome is both natural and inevitable - if you wish it otherwise you are hoping that figs will no longer produce their rennet. In any case remember that in a very brief time both you and he will be dead, and shortly after not even your names will be left.

Remove the judgement, and you have removed the thought 'I am hurt': remove the thought 'I am hurt', and the hurt itself is removed.

What does not make a human being worse in himself cannot make his life worse either: it cannot harm him from outside or inside.

The nature of the beneficial was bound to act thus.

In these five short passages, Marcus succinctly reminds us:

1. We are going to die - this is natural!  So don't freak out about something that is natural.  Furthermore, thinking of death often, helps you to appreciate what you have now and it helps you become more focused on living a high-value life.

2. Other people and their actions are not up to us - this is natural!  You know how a certain manager will act and behave - accept it and move on.  You know children will throw tantrums - accept and and teach them to control themselves.  You know a car salesman is going to try to sell you a car.

3. Those other people will die too.

4. You attitude of any situation is up to you.

5. Love your fate and the fate of the whole.

Commentary on Meditations B4:3 The Inner Citadel

Men seek retreats for themselves - in the country, by the sea, in the hills - and you yourself are particularly prone to this yearning. But all this is quite unphilosophic, when it is open to you, at any time you want, to retreat into yourself. No retreat offers someone more quiet and relaxation than that into his own mind, especially if he can dip into thoughts there which put him at immediate and complete ease: and by ease I simply mean a well-ordered life. So constantly give yourself this retreat, and renew yourself. The doctrines you will visit there should be few and fundamental, sufficient at one meeting to wash away all your pain and send you back free of resentment at what you must rejoin.

And what is it you will resent? Human wickedness? Recall the conclusion that rational creatures are born for each other's sake, that tolerance is a part of justice, that wrongdoing is not deliberate. Consider the number of people who spent their lives in enmity, suspicion, hatred, outright war, and were then laid out for burial or reduced to ashes. Stop, then. Or will you fret at your allocation from the Whole? Revisit the alternatives providence or atoms - and the many indications that the universe is a kind of community. But will matters of the flesh still have their hold on you? Consider that the mind, once it has abstracted itself and come to know its own defining power, has no contact with the movement of the bodily spirit, be that smooth or troubled: and finally remember all that you have heard and agreed about pain and pleasure.

Well then, will a little fame distract you? Look at the speed of universal oblivion, the gulf of immeasurable time both before and after, the vacuity of applause, the indiscriminate fickleness of your apparent supporters, the tiny room in which all this is confined. The whole earth is a mere point in space: what a minute cranny within this is your own habitation, and how many and what sort will sing your praises here!

Finally, then, remember this retreat into your own little territory within yourself. Above all, no agonies, no tensions. Be your own master, and look at things as a man, as a human being, as a citizen, as a mortal creature. And here are two of the most immediately useful thoughts you will dip into. First that things cannot touch the mind: they are external and inert; anxieties can only come from your internal judgement. Second, that all these things you see will change almost as you look at them, and then will be no more. Constantly bring to mind all that you yourself have already seen changed. The universe is change: life is judgement.

The great passage from Meditations is Book 4.3.  In this, Marcus lays out all that is needed for your Inner Citadel.

People experience anxiety and stress from work and the busyness of life.  They think they need an escape or vacation.  People will drown their cares in alcohol or eating or drugs or time away from work - a week in Europe or in the mountains or on a white-sand blue-water beach, or at Disney World.  They seek to "get away from it all".  Marcus tells them and us, that if you want this reprieve, it is already there in your mind.  A quick trip to your mind, a re-cap of your doctrines and voila, you are ready to rejoin society.  And you can do this anytime; no need to schedule your escape.

Next he tells us how to quickly revisit those doctrines.  Do you hate, resent, are frustrated with, are bothered by or are disgusted with someone?  Remind yourself that rational beings are meant for each other (discipline of action).  Work with the other person; have compassion and understanding towards others.  Most likely, they are not acting out of mal-intent.  And what if they were acting with malice?  That is not up to us.  Either the other person is acting in accordance with the universe or they are acting randomly.  If they are acting in accordance with the universe, accept it.  If not, then don't you act badly or randomly - an ordered life is a content life.

Does fame (or lack of it) bother you?  Soon you and all those who you would want to cheer you on will be gone.  This world a speck in the vast universe.  This lifetime a blip on the infinite.  Fame is pointless.

Lastly, the two "most immediately useful thoughts" you should have while in your Inner Citadel are:

1) Peoples' opinions, actions, world events, elections, wars, natural disasters - they cannot touch the mind.  All the good or bad you place on these externals come from your mind.  It is your attitude that determines if things or good or bad or indifferent (discipline of assent).

2) Change is constant - the universe is change and life is all about how you view it (attitude / judgement).  At the very least, if you don't like something, eventually it or you will change.  Accept this constant; accept what the universe doles out to you and everyone else; accept your lot in life (discipline of desire).

(see Citadel p. 38-42, 53, 55, 105, 147, 149, 176, 265, 291)

Commentary on Meditations: B4:1-2

Wherever it is in agreement with nature, the ruling power within us takes a flexible approach to circumstances, always adapting itself easily to both practicality and the given event. It has no favoured material for its work, but sets out on its objects in a conditional way, turning any obstacle into material for its own use. It is like a fire mastering whatever falls into it. A small flame would be extinguished, but a bright fire rapidly claims as its own all that is heaped on it, devours it all, and leaps up yet higher in consequence.

No action should be undertaken without aim, or other than in conformity with a principle affirming the art of life.

Ryan Holiday's book The Obstacle is the Way is based off the premise of this passage.

Recall that the ruling power within you is often referred to as the divinity within and is known as your daimon. And sometimes, this ruling power is referred to as the hegemonikon. This is your rational power. This is the portion of you that decides what to do when something is up to you.

The true key to resiliency is attitude and how you view the world. Each of us has a "ruling power" - the essence of what makes us human - the ability to choose how we think, feel and act. And this ruling power is flexible. That is the secret sauce - we are not some robot made of some rigid set of rules that we never deviate from. We can change our perspective regardless of circumstances, events and other peoples' actions and attitudes.

As Hadot quotes Seneca in The Inner Citadel, he says, "A good person dyes events with his own color ... and turns whatever happens to his own benefit." (p. 199).

The other concept to remember about turning obstacles into opportunities is to view everything as practice. Earthquakes, bad presentations, little sleep, a car wreck, health problems ... all can be seen as opportunities to improve your resiliency - opportunities to show your mettle. And this brings me to my next point. These things I just listed off are also known as indifferents. You cannot practice your art or excellence unless there are events and indifferents on which to practice. We need indifferents to demonstrate excellence.

To conclude, let me share a favorite movie scene from Batman Begins. Bruce Wayne is in a foreign prison and is about to be beat up. The big dude about to bust his chops threatens him, to which Bruce responds, "you're not the devil, you're practice." This is the type of attitude we should assume whenever we face some trial or challenge or temptation. Each of these indifferents or obstacles are opportunities to practice your excellence of what is up to you.

(see also Citadel p. 198)

Commentary on Meditations: B3:15-16

They do not know all the meanings of theft, of sowing, of buying, of keeping at rest, of seeing what needs to be done - this is not for the eye, but for a different sort of vision.

Body, soul, mind. To the body belong sense perceptions, to the soul impulses, to the mind judgements. The receipt of sense impressions is shared with cattle; response to the puppet-strings of impulse is shared with wild beasts, with catamites, with a Phalaris or a Nero; having the mind as guide to what appears appropriate action is shared with those who do not believe in the gods, those who betray their country, those who get up to anything behind closed doors.

So if all else is held in common with the categories mentioned above, it follows that the defining characteristic of the good person is to love and embrace whatever happens to him along his thread of fate; and not to pollute the divinity which is seated within his breast, or trouble it with a welter of confused impressions, but to preserve its constant favour, in proper allegiance to god, saying only what is true, doing only what is just.

And if all people mistrust him, for living a simple, decent, and cheerful life, he has no quarrel with any of them, and no diversion from the road which leads to the final goal of his life: to this he must come pure, at peace, ready to depart, in unforced harmony with his fate.

The ability to separate impression from reaction is a uniquely human trait.  Dumb animals cannot do this.  Humans can experience an impression, but they can also pause and think about something before deciding to react to an impression.  This is what a human was designed to do - to think about things and take appropriate action.  And not only can a human do this, but they can truly love the fate directed at them - the fate from ancient time woven to this moment in time.

And a person who does this well (the disciplines of assent, desire and action) will live a fulfilling and simple life and will enjoy contentment.

(see also Citadel p. 113, 123, 138)

Commentary on Meditations: B3:14

No more wandering. You are not likely to read your own jottings, your histories of the ancient Greeks and Romans, your extracts from their literature laid up for your old age. Hurry then to the end, abandon vain hopes, rescue yourself, if you have any care for yourself, while the opportunity is still there.

Good advice for someone trying to learn Stoicism.  Too much reading and not enough action and practice.  How much time do you spend reading The Inner Citadel or Meditations or Seneca or Facebook and Reddit?  Read daily, then put it in practice.  Ensure the balance is tipped to action and practice and not reading and learning.

Commentary on Meditations: B3:13

Just as doctors always have their instruments and knives at hand for any emergency treatment, so you should have your doctrines ready for the recognition of the divine and the human, and the performance of every action, even the smallest, in consciousness of the bond which unites the two. No action in the human context will succeed without reference to the divine, nor vice versa.

Simply put, study philosophy and be ready to re-act to life's events.  Accept and love the bond you have with the universe.  Your job is to live life well.

Commentary on Meditations: B3:12

If you set yourself to your present task along the path of true reason, with all determination, vigour, and good will: if you admit no distraction, but keep your own divinity pure and standing strong, as if you had to surrender it right now; if you grapple this to you, expecting nothing, shirking nothing, but self-content with each present action taken in accordance with nature and a heroic truthfulness in all that you say and mean then you will lead a good life. And nobody is able to stop you.

Focus on the now.  You have a task to do now; so give it 100% of your attention.  If you are distracted with a hundred other things, make a list.  And once you've made a list, direct all your attention to the task at hand.

(see also Citadel p. 123 and this tweet)

Commentary on Meditations: B3:11

One addition to the precepts already mentioned. Always make a definition or sketch of what presents itself to your mind, so you can see it stripped bare to its essential nature and identify it clearly, in whole and in all its parts, and can tell yourself its proper name and the names of those elements of which it is compounded and into which it will be dissolved.

Nothing is so conducive to greatness of mind as the ability to subject each element of our experience in life to methodical and truthful examination, always at the same time using this scrutiny as a means to reflect on the nature of the universe, the contribution any given action or event makes to that nature, the value this has for the Whole, and the value it has for man - and man is an inhabitant of this highest City, of which all other cities are mere households.

Ask then, what is this which is now making its impression on me? What is it composed of? How long in the nature of things will it last? What virtue is needed to meet it - gentleness, for example, or courage, truthfulness, loyalty, simplicity, self sufficiency, and so on? So in each case we must say: This has come from god; this is due to a juncture of fate, the mesh of destiny, or some similar coincidence of chance; and this is from my fellow man, my kinsman and colleague, though one who does not know what accords with his own nature. But I do know: and so I treat him kindly and fairly, following the natural law of our fellowship, but at the same time I aim to give him his proper desert in matters which are morally neutral.

The discipline of assent, in my understanding, is about attitude adjustment. Properly seeing the world as it is and clearly seeing the difference between what is up to me and what is not up to me, enables a person to effectively deal with anxiety, fear, zealousness and many other emotions.

At the time of this writing (June 2017), my wife and I are dealing with a bathroom that needs repair. In our analysis, the best course of action (and in light of our long-term strategy) is to repair and upgrade the bathroom. However, this would require us incurring additional debt. At this same time, our children are growing older and the cost of additional vehicles and college are looming over us. We have the means, but getting over that hump of spending the money is difficult. The fact that these events happened was not up to me. And so I choose not to get overly worked up about it. I concentrate on the positive side of things and I strive to embrace the fate dealt me at this time.

This concept is applicable and scalable to any situation. In May 2017, my father-in-law passed away, very unexpectedly. A quick change in plans during a very busy work season which was also a time towards the end of the school year, had a significant impact on me and my kids' finals. But we put on a stiff upper lip, adjusted our attitudes, made the trip to be with my wife's family and mourned with my mother-in-law and my wife's siblings. The death of my father-in-law gave me the opportunity to meditate on the shortness of life and it gave me a very profound appreciation for what I have in my life now.

Don't just let your emotions run your life. Make an assessment of the situation; challenge yourself to meet fate with the proper attitude and reaction. Every turn of event is an opportunity to improve yourself and pick the best attitude.