The Big Three

The Big Three

Meditation for January 4, 2021

January 4, 2021 7:36 AM

“All you need are these: certainty of judgment in the present moment; action for the common good in the present moment; and an attitude of gratitude in the present moment for anything that comes your way.”

- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.6

These are the three essentials of Stoic philosophy. Perception. Action. Will. Of course there is more to Stoicism, but these three disciplines are the essentials.

While I am supplementing "The Daily Stoic" with another book about the Stoics, I am still unable to tell you what each Stoic philosopher brought to the table from memory. Instead of having all of that to memorize, we can begin with the three critical disciplines and build from there.

Conclusion

Control our perceptions. Direct our actions properly. Willingly accept what's outside our control. Sounds simple enough.