Just a few months ago, I discovered a Facebook community for stoicism, which is how I first learned about Marcus Aurelius. I chose to join after becoming interested in their posts. One of the names referenced in the majority of their posts was Marcus Aurelius, who I subsequently learned was a Roman emperor and one of the most well-known Stoic philosophers. I was so intrigued by stoicism that I downloaded "Mediation" by Marcus Aurelius, but I must admit that I haven't had time to read it yet. Therefore, I couldn't resist writing about the prompt that @galenkp gave concerning one of Marcus Aurelius's quotes.

The above quote talks about the importance of our habitual thought and how they shape our character and personality. This has been echoed even before Marcus Aurelius was born and still to this present age. Since every action or choice we make as humans is a direct outcome of our thoughts, thoughts are incredibly powerful.

My thinking pose

The philosopher and physician Ibn Sina, who lived in ancient Persia, stated that "the power of thought can cause you either illness or recovery." Thoughts have enormous power, and throughout history, everyone has been exhorted to think positively in order to achieve favorable outcomes. As I became older, I understood how important it was to surround my thoughts with constructive and optimistic ideas. as our actions are a result of our thinking.

As I learned, our ideas are the outcome of information acquired, or in the context of the modern world, I would argue that they are byproducts of the media we consume. "No man is an island," as is often stated, and the same is true with intelligence. Nobody is self-taught; instead, everyone acquires insight and knowledge from those who came before them. Therefore, in order to create the proper habitual thinking I read literature that will help me think clearly so that I can act appropriately.

A picture of myself in the library

I'm a bibliophile and I read books a lot. The types of books I read, shape the way I think and view the world. Growing up I found historical books very appealing because one needs to learn from the mistakes of the past and what lead to the present world order we live in today. When used properly, self-help books are very beneficial because they keep one on the right track and encourage the formation of positive habits that can alter one's outlook and way of life.

Most of the time, thoughts are what separate winners from losers and also the rich from the poor. Rich people often think about money and business far differently than an average person does. It is often said that to become wealthy, one must adopt a wealthy mindset.

Conclusion

I strongly believe that most of the issues that the world is now dealing with, for example, racism, terrorism, and many others, are the consequence of negative or incorrect knowledge and thoughts. Most of these issues could be resolved if people's ways of thinking were to be corrected and given the right knowledge.

Note that all pictures used in this post are mine.

Thanks for reading

17/07/23