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In life, it's really easy to give up your authenticity and become lost.
And in his meditations, Marcus Aurelius, the last of the five good emperors of Rome, offers us several insights on how to rediscover our authenticity and become who we are.
By following the next five principles, you can learn to strengthen the connection with your inner compass and become who you are.
Principle one, pay attention to what interests you.
In meditations, Marcus Aurelius wrote, things gravitate toward what they were intended for.
In life, things will naturally grab your attention and attract you.
They will shine like a star in the distance. you can't help but be drawn towards them.
These things are a signal, hint, or sign of who you are meant to be.
Pay attention to what grabs your interest and explore it.
By exploring it, you will learn more about who you are and who you are meant to be.
We often can't help the things we are interested in, so our interests are like gifts given to us by the universe to help us discover who we really are.
To rediscover your authenticity, begin by paying attention to and exploring what naturally interests you.
Principle 2.
Don't trade your potential for shallow pleasures.
In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius wrote, Everything is here for a purpose.
And why were you born?
For pleasure?
See if that answer will stand up to questioning.
Our purpose does not lie in chasing shallow pleasures.
The more you chase shallow pleasures, the further you will be driven away from your true self.
Our purpose rather lies in pursuing what's meaningful, which also provides a deeper pleasure.
And how do you tell the difference between a deep pleasure and a shallow one?
A shallow one is short-lived.
It fades within minutes or hours.
A deep pleasure lasts a long time.
It stays with you.
And when times are hard, you would give up shallow pleasures to make times easier again.
But if you've found a deep pleasure, you won't give it up for anything, no matter how difficult times get.
And so deep pleasures help you overcome suffering, reach your greatest potential and become who you are.
To rediscover your authenticity, pursue deep and meaningful pleasures, not shallow ones.
Principle 3.
Remember that you will die.
In meditations, Marcus Aurelius wrote, you could leave life right now.
Let that determine what you do and say and think.
Remembering that you will die is like a cleanser for the mind.
It clears away the fog that would normally confuse your thinking.
It helps you see what truly matters to you when it's all said and done.
If you were to pass away right now, what would truly matter to you?
That's where your authenticity lies.
That's where you find out who you really are.
To rediscover your authenticity and become who you are, remember that this will all end soon.
Remember that you will die and then realize what truly matters to you deep down, when it's all said and done.
Principle four, develop your own thoughts and beliefs.
In meditations, Marcus Aurelius wrote.
Our words and actions should not be like those of sleepers or of children copying their parents, doing and saying only what we have been told.
To become who you are, you have to stop repeating ideas and beliefs that you uncritically get from others.
You have to develop your own independent beliefs and thoughts, ideas based on your own life experiences.
Most people never learn to think for themselves, but rather they simply repeat ideas they've received from teachers books TV newspapers movies artists, influencers and so on.
To rediscover your authenticity and become who you are, you have to start critically thinking about what's true and what isn't, based on your own life experiences.
Be skeptical about everything else.
Don't accept anything as true based on authority or if your own life experiences don't affirm it as true.
Principle 5.
Don't trade self-respect for respect from others.
In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius wrote, It never ceases to amaze me.
We all love ourselves more than other people. but care more about their opinion than our own.
In life, it's too easy to trade self-respect for respect from others.
We hide our true thoughts and feelings so that others will like us.
We give up our authenticity for acceptance.
But the more we suppress our true selves, the further it recedes from us.
We become more and more of a shell of ourselves.
To rediscover your authenticity and become who you are.
Never give up your self-respect in exchange for respect from others.
So these are the five principles we went over today based on meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
1.
Pay attention to what interests you.
2.
Don't trade your potential for shallow pleasures.
3.
Remember that you will die.
Four, develop your own thoughts and beliefs.
Five, don't trade self-respect for respect from others.
And by following these five principles, you can rediscover your authenticity and become who you are.
This was just my interpretation of Marcus Aurelius' work.
And if you're interested in hearing more of my interpretations on his work, check out my last video called Marcus Aurelius How to Stop Worrying.
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As always, thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.
