How to Think Like a Roman Emperor

How to Think Like a Roman Emperor combines the story of famous Stoic and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius with lessons from modern psychology to help you become more emotionally resilient and develop the strength to overcome even the most challenging circumstances.

Stoic philosophers believed in living a simple yet meaningful life. Essentially, this implies getting closer to the natural world and living in alignment with nature and harmony with the world order. Stoics also built their philosophy on ration and logical reasoning, this implies being content with the life you’ve been given. Not questioning it, but rather just living it. In other words, to live in agreement with nature, you must first accept your condition and make peace with the life you have.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t aim for a higher purpose, live every day to its fullest, or work towards becoming your best self. In contrast, being pragmatic about where you’re standing and grateful for being alive. No matter the place or the conditions you were brought in. That is a form of contentedness, and it’s also a way of living in concordance with the laws of nature.

Therefore, living virtuously implies being close to the natural order of things and nature itself. To become more grounded and develop a stronger sense of identity, we must return to our purest form and origins. Which means spending more time contemplating the beauty of nature. Acknowledging everything that surrounds us, the way our life is built, and simply being at peace with everything that comes our way.

In the Stoic philosophy, men have four core virtues in life: wisdom, morality, courage, and moderation. And since no one is perfect, mastering all of them takes a lifetime of work, and even so, we’ll always be far from perfection. Still, finding a balance between these four cardinals is essential for a happy, equilibrated life. So how does one learn how to find this balance and master their virtues? Through practice. Just like with everything else in life, results come from action. Practice is the process of repeated action. Therefore, by guiding yourself after these principles and implementing them into your everyday life, you’ll be one step closer to living a meaningful one. These four virtues can be implemented in minor practices, and mastering them will end in happiness with consistency. In the Stoic philosophy, happiness is the satisfaction one gets from virtuous living. And to live with virtue is to find a balance between your four cardinals, no matter the emotional rollercoaster you’ll go through. Anger, trauma, and other negative feelings are the challenges life throws at us. Stoics suggest observing them from an objective perspective and detaching yourself completely…