Stoicism

Stoic philosophy teaches that life's true value lies in focusing on what is within your control and accepting what is not, thereby cultivating inner tranquility. It emphasizes the importance of personal virtue, emotional resilience, and understanding the nature of the world through reason, all as means to achieve a content and fulfilled life.

"You have control over your mind and not outside events, Realize this and you will find strength." - Marcus-Aurelius

We don't control what happens to us, but we do control how we react to it. - Ryan-Holiday

Start of Enchiridion by Epictetus

Epictetus starts his The Enchiridion (The Manual) book by

Some things we can control, some we can’t. ... What we can control naturally is not governed, restricted or constrained by others; what we can’t control is naturally governed, restricted and constrained by others. - The Enchiridion (The Manual)

Happiness to not be dependant on externals

From The essence of philosophy is to not depend on external things for happiness

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The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things. - audio/Epictetus

My Stoic Quote Playlist

Individual references:

Realization of inevitability of death is realization of knowing your future. The more we embrace our mortality the less fear we have in our life.

Its the strangest thing how thinking about death can be such a peaceful feeling.

"You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think." - Marcus-Aurelius

“The final hour when we cease to exist does not itself bring death; it merely of itself completes the death-process.” — Seneca

“We have two lives and the second begins when we realize we only have one.” — Confucius

"With regard to everything that you enjoy, find useful, or love, keep their nature in mind, starting with the smallest things. If you have a favorite coffee cup, remember that it’s a cup; then if it’s broken, you can stand it. When you hug your child or your spouse, remember that it’s a mortal human being you’re hugging; then if that person dies, you can stand it." - Epictetus/3: Keep the nature of everything in mind. Cups break, Humans are mortal.

“Keep before your eyes from day to day death and exile and all things that seem terrible, but death most of all, and then you will never set your thoughts on what is low and will never desire anything beyond measure.” — Epictetus

“Everything transitory—the knower and the known.” — Marcus-Aurelius

“To be afraid of death is only another form of thinking that one is wise when one is not; it is to think that one knows what one does not know. No one knows with regard to death whether it is not really the greatest blessing that can happen to a man; but people dread it as though they were certain that it is the greatest evil; and this ignorance, which thinks that it knows what it does not, must surely be ignorance most culpable.” — Plato

"Death smiles at us all; all we can do is smile back." - Depiction of Marcus-Aurelius in Gladiator

"As you kiss your son good night, whisper to yourself, “He may be dead in the morning.” Don’t tempt fate, you say. By talking about a natural event? Is fate tempted when we speak of grain being reaped?" - Epictetus

"Stop whatever you are doing and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won’t be able to do this anymore?" - Marcus-Aurelius

Do not believe your situation is genuinely bad-none can make you do that. Is there smoke in the house? If it is not suffocating, I will stay indoors; if it proves too much, I’ll leave. Always remember-the door is open. - Marcus-Aurelius

You want to live but do you know how to live? You are scared of dying and tell me, is the kind of life you lead really any different than being dead? - Seneca

"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live according to nature." - Marcus-Aurelius

Walter White Speech on Death

If you’re desensitized to the fact that you’re going to die, consider it a different way. As far as you’re concerned, this world is going to end. Now what? - Naval Ravikant

If we kept in mind that we will soon inevitably die, our lives would be completely different. - Tolstoy

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