🟣 nine stoic traits that will change your life
It was on the banks of the Caimbe, at the Back of Keppoch, I first thought seriously about stoicism.
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Work hard and long on #1 because it will transform everything you do, from when you arise in the morning 😎.
Start #8 today and in 10 minutes better appreciate all you have.
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A handful of years ago I left the hotel early, patted the red phone box (IYKYK) and walked the single-track a half mile to the bridge, scrambled down and turned towards the sea.
Rhum, Eigg and Muck on the horizon, these past 3,000 million years.
One of my earliest memories, that vista signalled the Wardrop family were five minutes from Silversands caravan site.
Oyster catchers and curlews kept a safe distance.
I was entirely alone.
Arisaig has been food for my soul a long time, in fact my whole life.
It had to be there.
My annual pilgrimage will come soon, May probably.
I’ll try to spy flatties in the shallows, heron-spot on Traigh beach and walk the white sands of Morar.
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1 ~ Develop an internal locus of control
Know you control only your thoughts and actions.
Nothing else.
Be mindful of emotional responses to inconveniences, both small and large, because you only get to push the big red button once.
Don’t push the 🔴 button.
2 ~ Guard your time
Can you leave it be?
Time is precious and tomorrow is not guaranteed, be careful what you commit to.
Be present, start again every day.
3 ~ Do not outsource your happiness
Be good to yourself, value yourself, keep the best advice for you.
Those with “be kind” as a mantra are often the opposite.
Seek purpose and happiness will ensue.
4 ~ Stay focussed
Accept early the things you cannot change, or that do not concern you.
Eschew what you cannot have until it is worthless, and desire what you already have.
This 👆all day long.
5 ~ Toss away ego and vanity
The universe is change, life is an opinion; Aurelius.
Know what you want, but be willing to flex.
Don’t be thrawn.
6 ~ Consolidate your thoughts in writing
Writing and speaking is how you organise your mind, test your theses and engage with the world.
Read widely, speak fluently, debate wisely.
7 ~ Stand your ground
Don’t mess with others’ hearts, don’t put up with those who mess with yours; Baz Luhrmann.
Bend a little, then a little more; but don’t break.
8 ~ Imagine the worst that could happen
The triumph of hope over expectation is a poor strategy, anticipate bad outcomes to lessen their effect.
Every morning envision losing everything and you will be thankful for all you have.
9 ~ Nothing endures
Even the worst calamities recede, send them quickly to oblivion.
Choose life; Mark Renton.
Everything is a storm in a teacup, nothing is important, we are here for a heartbeat.
Carpe Diem | Amor fati | Memento mori
hashtag#stoicism hashtag#wellbeing hashtag#purpose
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Every Monday I post on stoicism. My aim is to make your day, improve your week… and change your life!
