Update on the Stoic Stress podcast.

Think of great things that happened in the present moment. In a great battle in the mist of history a commanding general gave the command to charge. A major invention that took weeks of preparation is put to the test in a moment of action.

Think of your own life. A major decision was made at a particular moment. Some major occurrence happened in the moment.

Most of our lives are immersed in analyzing the past and planning for the future. Because of this, most of us don’t even know what’s happening right now. Often, we just go through the motions in our daily life without fully experiencing it. However, if you want more happiness and success, now it will help you to become more mindful of the present moment.

Our judgement is key. It is what sets the course in our way of living. The choices we make impact our happiness and those around us. But what happens when we are faced with a problem? How can we sure our judgements are right? It comes down to breaking down how we decide on handling the problems in life.

Everyone has problems. Some are small, like what to have for dinner. Other problems are more significant, like saving money to buy a house or dealing with a difficult coworker. No matter what the problem is, there are four needed steps to solving it and making proper decisions in life. These steps work with any problem from small ones to larger ones and help with our faculty of choice.

For most of the people, the difference between success and failure is character. We have seen many times that damages were done due to lack of honesty and integrity in a person. The lack of integrity can be seen almost everywhere today, from our own house to our workplace.

Integrity is to be faithful to others regardless of the circumstances and outcomes. It is the term that people recognize but they are unable to fully understand it. Stoicism helps to pay more attention to the experiences occurring at the present moment. When you practice personal integrity through Stoicism, you can take the right decisions without compromising your values. Integrity, if cultivated through the practice of Stoicism, can benefit in various ways.

When values like honesty, love and courage become part of our character, they guide and empower us throughout our lives. When we are in integrity, we are also guided by core principles helping us to behave with high standards on a consistent basis. Integrity always guides in what we say and how we act. It becomes a code of conduct in our behavior.

The definition of integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. It is the goal of Stoicism to be someone of moral integrity.

Reading this passage seems to have one clear message: do not compromise your integrity. Do not do anything that would lead us from this path. Marcus Aurelius writes that each of us is capable of living an authentic life through the reasoned choices we make. We do not have to live a life with secrets or to be scared of some aspect of life.

Living a happy life is everyone’s goal. Who doesn’t want to feel good about themselves? And yet so many of us live a life of self-doubt, feeling undeserving or incapable, or wishing we were walking another path.

However, living a happy life, being a happy person, is a matter of how you perceive yourself and your place in the world. You can preserve the god within you or your rational faculty of mind  by taking action, being honest about yourself, your patterns of thinking, and being open to your capacity to change. Self-knowledge is the key to living a happy life. And that means living your truth, not other people’s truth, or what society tells you is your truth.

The faculty of choice is an amazing gift that we all have. Marcus Aurelius refers to this as the divinity within us. This was how valuable the ancients Stoics felt about our minds and reasoning ability.

One aspect of life that we all must face is making choices. This passage in Meditations emphasizes this. We have the ability to judgements in life. But we have to be sure these judgements are sound.

An important component to designing your own life is acknowledging and understanding the choices you have in your life, being willing to make the most of those choices, and leveraging the choices you have to select the best path forward for yourself.

Life is not something that just happens to you, and you always have choices. The key to designing the life you really want is knowing exactly what your options are and using all the information at your disposal to make the best selection for you.

This passage shows how important it is not to take actions for the wrong reasons. Do not do things to draw attention because you feel you need approval from others. Do not do things against your will just for the sake of someone else’s happiness.

We should as Marcus Aurelius writes let the god within you be the champion of who you are. Make reasoned choices that bring out the best in you. Be independent and able to bounce back and adapt and stand up for yourself.

Our ability to bounce back and adapt to life’s obstacles and setbacks is known as resiliency. When you have resilience, you can accept failures and disappointments, acknowledge the reality of the situation, and move forward while learning from your mistakes.

Learning resilience can help you in many aspects of your life, including helping you appreciate life’s challenges, develop commitment that enables you to stay the course, and exercising personal control that empowers you.

This chapter of Meditations serves as a good reminder that we cannot measure who we are based on other people. However we are still part of others. We are still part of the whole and work for the common good. Much comes down to your self-esteem.

The research on the connections between self-esteem and relationship satisfaction is quite extensive. Not only does your self-esteem influence how you think about yourself, but it also plays a role in your ability to receive and accept love from others. It even plays a role in how you treat others in your life.

When you enter into a relationship with lower self-esteem, you are more likely to feel greater dissatisfaction over time, and your partner is likely to become unhappier, as well. Your self-esteem is born from early life experiences and continues to develop over time.

Reading this chapter reminds us of the phrase you cannot judge a book by its cover. Looking at things that may seem negative or simple may actually have some beauty in them and some opportunity.

It takes someone with an open mind to recognize these. It not only relates to physical aspects but mental ones as well. It also tells us things about ourselves we do not recognize.

When you read this chapter it seems Marcus Aurelius is saying life offers opportunity even with the smallest things. He uses the examples of bread baking. Even if it falls apart it captures attention for those who are hungry.

Nature enhances things and gives them attraction. He further writes men find some pleasure in almost every aspect of their disposition including the incidental consequences. But it requires an open mind and the desire to live life to the fullest.

Stoicism does not have to be about regulating your emotions and living a life of constant vigilance. You can still be someone of moral character and enjoy all aspects of life. It must involve having a general affinity for nature and all her works.