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This Stoic Principle Can Make You Extremely Resilient
The wisdom of Marcus Aurelius
I failed a lot in my life.
Nearly anything I do results in failure at first.
At first, it hurt. I came on the verge of quitting many times.
But somehow I came across this stoic principle that changed the way I view obstacles.
It made me more resilient in face of failure.
Every obstacle is fuel for the fire
Our inward power, when it obeys nature, reacts to events by accommodating itself to what it faces — to what is possible. It needs no specific material. It pursues its own aims as circumstances allow; it turns obstacles into fuel. As a fire overwhelms what would have quenched a lamp. What’s thrown on top of the conflagration is absorbed, consumed by it — and makes it burn still higher. — Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius has been facing obstacles in his own life.
Wars. Disease. Betrayal. Coming to the brink of death.
But, he was surprisingly calm throughout all of these events. He thinks of obstacles in life as practice. Things that seem like problems are just opportunities to get better.
