1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:06,340 Plato is one of the most prominent philosophers of Ancient Greece, belonging to the Classical 2 00:00:06,340 --> 00:00:12,420 Period, and he is one of the pylons of the entirety of Western civilization, founding 3 00:00:12,420 --> 00:00:17,820 the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the entire Western world. 4 00:00:17,820 --> 00:00:22,900 His philosophy is referred to as Platonic Idealism. 5 00:00:22,900 --> 00:00:29,239 Along with Socrates, his mentor, and Aristotle his student, Plato is one of the most influential 6 00:00:29,239 --> 00:00:36,100 individuals in the entire history of humankind, he invented the written dialogue and the dialectic 7 00:00:36,100 --> 00:00:39,070 form of philosophy. 8 00:00:39,070 --> 00:00:44,949 Some of his most famous books are “The Republic”, “The Symposium”, “The Apology of Socrates”, 9 00:00:44,949 --> 00:00:50,809 “Allegory of the Cave” and “The Dialogues of Plato” in which the main character is 10 00:00:50,809 --> 00:00:56,030 Socrates, who influenced Plato’s philosophy to a great extent. 11 00:00:56,030 --> 00:01:03,210 Even after 2400 years, Plato’s work is still popular and relevant today. 12 00:01:03,210 --> 00:01:09,170 For Plato, one of the main purposes of learning philosophy is to enable one to live a fulfilled 13 00:01:09,170 --> 00:01:10,170 life. 14 00:01:10,170 --> 00:01:16,000 The state of fulfillment or well being was named by the ancient Greek philosophers as 15 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:17,350 eudaimonia. 16 00:01:17,350 --> 00:01:23,189 For Plato, eudaimonia is strongly related to virtue. 17 00:01:23,189 --> 00:01:29,800 Plato’s main ethical view is that the unjust man's soul, without virtue, is chaotic and 18 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,060 at war with itself. 19 00:01:32,060 --> 00:01:37,340 Even if we satisfy all our desires and wishes, if we are not in harmony with ourselves and 20 00:01:37,340 --> 00:01:42,810 with the community of people around us, we cannot achieve eudaimonia. 21 00:01:42,810 --> 00:01:48,500 To help you better understand what Plato believed defined a fulfilled life and how can we achieve 22 00:01:48,500 --> 00:01:57,450 eudaimonia, here are 9 lessons from the philosophy of Plato: 23 00:01:57,450 --> 00:02:03,469 Educate yourself Plato said: “The direction in which education 24 00:02:03,469 --> 00:02:08,420 starts a man, will determine his future life.” 25 00:02:08,420 --> 00:02:17,140 For Plato, the founder of the Academy, education is a crucial aspect in one person’s life. 26 00:02:17,140 --> 00:02:22,890 Plato gave education the highest priority, creating a curriculum for his school which 27 00:02:22,890 --> 00:02:29,310 was also teaching young people how to control their emotions and their appetite. 28 00:02:29,310 --> 00:02:33,900 He believed that without this self control and without a proper knowledge of how this 29 00:02:33,900 --> 00:02:40,170 world works, an individual can easily engage in damaging activities that will have negative 30 00:02:40,170 --> 00:02:44,650 consequences on their life and on the lives of other people. 31 00:02:44,650 --> 00:02:49,400 One cannot have a fulfilled life without a proper education. 32 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:55,800 Also, Plato believed that each stage of life needs a different type of education. 33 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:59,849 He was influenced by the Spartan system of education. 34 00:02:59,849 --> 00:03:05,830 The main difference between Athenian education and the Spartan ones was that in Athens, education 35 00:03:05,830 --> 00:03:12,970 was not state-controlled, while in Sparta it was, although it was done much more poorly. 36 00:03:12,970 --> 00:03:19,030 Plato thought that education should be compulsory and it should start at an early age and that 37 00:03:19,030 --> 00:03:26,560 education should be divided into 2 parts: elementary education and higher education. 38 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:32,630 The elementary education should last ten years and it should include physical education, 39 00:03:32,630 --> 00:03:38,970 musical education, storytelling and poetry but also a bit of mathematics, history and 40 00:03:38,970 --> 00:03:40,880 science. 41 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:45,909 From there, students should then pass an exam to go to higher education which would then 42 00:03:45,909 --> 00:03:48,340 last for another ten years. 43 00:03:48,340 --> 00:03:53,989 If the student does not pass, he can still become a businessman, a clerk, a worker or 44 00:03:53,989 --> 00:03:56,549 a farmer and the like. 45 00:03:56,549 --> 00:04:03,620 Therefore, higher education is not compulsory, the one that is compulsory is only the elementary 46 00:04:03,620 --> 00:04:08,790 part from which the physical education, musical education, storytelling and poetry are the 47 00:04:08,790 --> 00:04:11,540 most important. 48 00:04:11,540 --> 00:04:16,310 Musical education that takes place in the earliest years of childhood helps in shaping 49 00:04:16,310 --> 00:04:22,760 the children’s souls, making them more connected with their emotions, then there is education 50 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:27,470 through tales that happens at a later stage in the childhood, when children can learn 51 00:04:27,470 --> 00:04:34,230 what means good or bad and can follow the model of a hero, then comes education through 52 00:04:34,230 --> 00:04:39,640 poetry or by reciting the tales which can develop the sense of rhythm and harmony in 53 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:45,920 young people, as well as the speaking skills, and there is also gymnastic education as a 54 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:52,390 healthy brain cannot reside in an unhealthy body and according to the ancient Greeks, 55 00:04:52,390 --> 00:04:55,460 gymnastics prevents many kinds of illnesses. 56 00:04:55,460 --> 00:05:00,860 Therefore, in order for people to achieve easier fulfillment in life, a proper education, 57 00:05:00,860 --> 00:05:05,870 in different stages and types, is mandatory. 58 00:05:05,870 --> 00:05:11,120 No matter what education you have achieved in life so far, you can continue educating 59 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:17,860 yourself, read books, learn to play an instrument, start practicing a sport and so on. 60 00:05:17,860 --> 00:05:23,310 For example, you can start your morning routine with some gymnastics and in the evenings read 61 00:05:23,310 --> 00:05:29,180 great books and play a musical instrument or learn other types of skill or craft. 62 00:05:29,180 --> 00:05:33,690 The sense of harmony you would get from such a structured life around self-development 63 00:05:33,690 --> 00:05:38,320 would prevent you from indulging in damaging activities in life like wasting your life 64 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:44,050 binge watching streaming show, eating unhealthy junk food, partying too much and damaging 65 00:05:44,050 --> 00:05:49,690 your body, or living a sedentary life, being immoral and hurting other people, or being 66 00:05:49,690 --> 00:05:55,500 stuck in your job you hate because you don’t learn a new skill and so on. 67 00:05:55,500 --> 00:06:00,930 Make your own curriculum for your self-education, create your own habits which can help you 68 00:06:00,930 --> 00:06:05,370 feel happier and more fulfilled. 69 00:06:05,370 --> 00:06:13,820 2) Have an active life In the words of Plato: “Lack of activity 70 00:06:13,820 --> 00:06:20,060 destroys the good condition of every human being.” 71 00:06:20,060 --> 00:06:24,770 Physical exercise was a very important part of Greek culture. 72 00:06:24,770 --> 00:06:29,220 In ancient Greece, your level of physical fitness would have been the same with the 73 00:06:29,220 --> 00:06:31,440 level of honor within your community. 74 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:36,020 For Plato, exercise was even more. 75 00:06:36,020 --> 00:06:42,100 He described it as a beautiful activity of the soul, being able to reduce the impulsivity 76 00:06:42,100 --> 00:06:45,690 and prevent people from being “pulled to the ground”. 77 00:06:45,690 --> 00:06:52,410 Therefore, in some way, by doing physical activity, we show how much we care about our 78 00:06:52,410 --> 00:06:58,520 soul, it is a way of fighting diseases and death and stay in touch more with our spiritual 79 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:00,130 side. 80 00:07:00,130 --> 00:07:06,960 When we do sports, certain hormones are released, such as endorphins, often referred to as ‘The 81 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:12,440 Happiness Hormones’, making us feel happier, and more in control. 82 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:18,720 Plato thought that practicing sports can guarantee you three types of pleasures in life: 83 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:23,860 1) material pleasure - besides the fact that sports can help us make 84 00:07:23,860 --> 00:07:29,430 money if we practice it in a professional way, sports has also an indirect material 85 00:07:29,430 --> 00:07:35,130 pleasure as it generally makes us healthier, fitter and more physically attractive which 86 00:07:35,130 --> 00:07:41,190 can help one attract better-looking mates; 2) honor and victory - 87 00:07:41,190 --> 00:07:46,020 although there are many exceptions, it is often the case that a good looking person 88 00:07:46,020 --> 00:07:52,480 who is also physically fit is awarded a higher status in society and finally, 89 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:59,810 3) the pleasure of knowledge and thought - Plato, like many other ancient Greek thinkers, 90 00:07:59,810 --> 00:08:03,410 believed that there is a wisdom of the body. 91 00:08:03,410 --> 00:08:10,150 Through practicing sports, we expand that wisdom, we train ourselves to be more patient, 92 00:08:10,150 --> 00:08:15,590 to have more courage and Plato viewed courage as a virtue of reason. 93 00:08:15,590 --> 00:08:23,270 Thus, practicing sports nourishes our capacity for reasoning and acquiring knowledge. 94 00:08:23,270 --> 00:08:28,750 From all the three types of pleasures derived from sports, the last type of reward is regarded 95 00:08:28,750 --> 00:08:34,720 by Plato as being the most valuable as it does not depend on the behavior and recognition 96 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:36,380 of others. 97 00:08:36,380 --> 00:08:40,530 By practicing sports, you get into a competition with yourself. 98 00:08:40,530 --> 00:08:46,740 For Plato, self-competition is the highest union between body and soul. 99 00:08:46,740 --> 00:08:51,961 When you are in competition with yourself, you practice the art of self control, you 100 00:08:51,961 --> 00:08:58,880 learn to know yourself better, to know your limits and find ways to overcome them. 101 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:03,910 When you practice sports, you learn how to overcome your limits, how to control your 102 00:09:03,910 --> 00:09:10,140 urges and impulses, how to release the stress in your life and, ultimately, your chance 103 00:09:10,140 --> 00:09:13,300 for a long and healthy life increases. 104 00:09:13,300 --> 00:09:20,280 Therefore, to have a fulfilled and long life, never go more than a day without a workout, 105 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:24,420 without trying to overcome your physical limits. 106 00:09:24,420 --> 00:09:33,200 3) Avoid anger at all costs According to Plato: “There are two things 107 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:40,820 a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot.” 108 00:09:40,820 --> 00:09:46,620 In his work “Timaeus”, Plato explained how gods sculpted the body of men around their 109 00:09:46,620 --> 00:09:52,890 immortal soul and, inside the body, they created another type of soul which is mortal and is 110 00:09:52,890 --> 00:09:58,200 governed by impulses oscillating between extremes, extremes like 111 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,810 - Pleasure and pain; - Rashness and fear; 112 00:10:01,810 --> 00:10:04,330 - Anger and hope. 113 00:10:04,330 --> 00:10:11,060 Therefore, anger is an extreme and it is a terrible impulse which we must avoid. 114 00:10:11,060 --> 00:10:15,860 We might feel a sort of pleasure when we are angry, when we feel the urge to get revenge 115 00:10:15,860 --> 00:10:22,080 for ourselves from other people, but this pleasure does not last long and it is often 116 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,410 followed by feelings of guilt or shame. 117 00:10:26,410 --> 00:10:31,930 In order to live a fulfilled life, we need to avoid the extremes. 118 00:10:31,930 --> 00:10:37,250 It would be much better to keep a sense of calm and allow ourselves to think before reacting 119 00:10:37,250 --> 00:10:40,420 with anger when bad things happen. 120 00:10:40,420 --> 00:10:45,930 If you can do something about the situation, then just focus on the action, don’t be 121 00:10:45,930 --> 00:10:49,040 angry and waste your energy in this destructive emotion. 122 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:57,150 If you cannot do anything about it, then simply make peace with the situation and move on. 123 00:10:57,150 --> 00:11:01,220 For example imagine a moment that makes you really angry. 124 00:11:01,220 --> 00:11:06,920 Perhaps, your best friend betrayed you, revealing some damaging information about you to your 125 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:12,550 family, information that you fought for many years to keep a secret. 126 00:11:12,550 --> 00:11:17,970 When you hear such a betrayal, do not consume yourself with anger towards your friend, shouting 127 00:11:17,970 --> 00:11:21,190 at them or getting revenge in some way. 128 00:11:21,190 --> 00:11:27,550 It is better to take a step back, acknowledge that the fact is done, your family now knows 129 00:11:27,550 --> 00:11:32,670 your secret and the only thing you can do is to explain yourself to them, and to start 130 00:11:32,670 --> 00:11:36,140 trying to repair everything that can be repaired. 131 00:11:36,140 --> 00:11:42,330 And, if others decide to stay angry at you because you kept that secret for so long, 132 00:11:42,330 --> 00:11:48,230 just make peace with this fact and remain calm, perhaps in time they will change their 133 00:11:48,230 --> 00:11:49,670 minds. 134 00:11:49,670 --> 00:11:55,360 Remember that you cannot control how others react to you, but you can control how you 135 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:57,920 behave from now on. 136 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:03,690 In this kind of situation, you might decide to break up with that friend and be more careful 137 00:12:03,690 --> 00:12:07,650 from now on to not confide in untrustworthy people. 138 00:12:07,650 --> 00:12:14,260 A fulfilled life is composed of fulfilled days, in which you don’t allow yourself 139 00:12:14,260 --> 00:12:19,600 to be triggered by destructive emotions such as anger. 140 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:28,510 4) Be content with little Plato teaches us that: “The greatest wealth 141 00:12:28,510 --> 00:12:33,060 is to live content with little.” 142 00:12:33,060 --> 00:12:38,920 Plato is often considered to be one of the main founding fathers of Western spirituality 143 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:40,800 and religion. 144 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:46,740 Nowadays the Western world is focusing on how to achieve more and faster and has started 145 00:12:46,740 --> 00:12:48,529 to lose its anchor in Christianity. 146 00:12:48,529 --> 00:12:54,980 Nevertheless, it is a good practice to go back to the ancient wisdom to discover what 147 00:12:54,980 --> 00:12:58,420 mindset can really make us happy. 148 00:12:58,420 --> 00:13:04,380 Not only Plato, but also many other ancient philosophers emphasized the importance of 149 00:13:04,380 --> 00:13:08,000 knowing how to be content with little. 150 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:13,500 Most of us spend decades of our lives trying to achieve a certain position in our work, 151 00:13:13,500 --> 00:13:19,860 status in our industry, or a certain financial level just to make others and/or ourselves 152 00:13:19,860 --> 00:13:22,120 proud and content. 153 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:28,400 We may want to feel appreciated by others, envied by others, but unfortunately these 154 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:35,940 desires push us towards an unhealthy and unhappy lifestyle: we spend most of our time at work, 155 00:13:35,940 --> 00:13:41,120 skipping social engagements with our friends and relatives, sometimes neglecting our personal 156 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:47,940 lives, living more sedentary lives, all being sacrificed to reach a distant goal which might 157 00:13:47,940 --> 00:13:51,670 not even make us happy if we do achieve it! 158 00:13:51,670 --> 00:13:56,090 Achieving a milestone makes us happy just for a moment. 159 00:13:56,090 --> 00:14:01,480 Instead of running for prizes and fame, build a system of routines which can make you feel 160 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,870 happy and valuable for others at the same time. 161 00:14:04,870 --> 00:14:09,480 You do not need to give up on the quest to achieve something significant in life, but 162 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:15,170 you do need to give up your unhealthy ambition to accumulate more and more and keep only 163 00:14:15,170 --> 00:14:20,260 the ambition to build steadily, at a pace which allows you to take care of your health, 164 00:14:20,260 --> 00:14:25,860 enjoy the view, and nurture your relationships. 165 00:14:25,860 --> 00:14:34,250 5) Live honorably To quote Plato: “The man who is conscious 166 00:14:34,250 --> 00:14:40,440 of no wrongdoing is filled with cheerfulness and with the comfort of old age.” 167 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:45,400 For Plato, happiness is deeply connected to ethics. 168 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:52,750 One needs to live an honorable life, a life of virtue if they want to achieve eudaimonia, 169 00:14:52,750 --> 00:14:56,060 meaning to have a happy and fulfilling life. 170 00:14:56,060 --> 00:15:01,630 The word eudaimonia is sometimes attributed to Plato, while other scholars say that his 171 00:15:01,630 --> 00:15:06,050 followers were the ones who brought up the concept. 172 00:15:06,050 --> 00:15:10,270 Nevertheless, Plato’s teachings were the base for the concept of eudaimonia as being 173 00:15:10,270 --> 00:15:13,790 connected to having a life of virtue. 174 00:15:13,790 --> 00:15:19,140 In his work, “The Republic”, Plato made the case against the idea that living virtuously 175 00:15:19,140 --> 00:15:23,839 is actually preventing you from achieving eudaimonia. 176 00:15:23,839 --> 00:15:29,660 One of the characters of “The Republic”, the sophist Thrasymachus said that if eudaimonia 177 00:15:29,660 --> 00:15:35,470 is to be achieved through the satisfaction of desire, whereas being just or acting justly 178 00:15:35,470 --> 00:15:40,780 requires suppression of desire, then it is not in the interests of a strong man to act 179 00:15:40,780 --> 00:15:44,149 according to the dictates of conventional morality. 180 00:15:44,149 --> 00:15:49,900 Plato’s argument against this premise is that being virtuous is a harmonious state 181 00:15:49,900 --> 00:15:55,620 of the soul and if we lose this state, we cannot be happy. 182 00:15:55,620 --> 00:16:00,120 When you know that all of your actions were sincere and you took into account both your 183 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:06,010 happiness and the happiness of others in any decision, you can sleep well at night. 184 00:16:06,010 --> 00:16:12,250 However, if you did something bad which harmed other people, you know that those people will 185 00:16:12,250 --> 00:16:16,360 come after you, that you will not be able to face them as before without a feeling of 186 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:22,029 guilt and, therefore, you would not be able to sleep well at night. 187 00:16:22,029 --> 00:16:27,290 To have a truly fulfilling life, you need to live in harmony with other people and this 188 00:16:27,290 --> 00:16:33,790 requires for you to respect the social contract you have with society and that society is 189 00:16:33,790 --> 00:16:37,110 composed of all the people around you. 190 00:16:37,110 --> 00:16:43,230 To be happy and have a harmonious life, always do the right thing, do not break the law, 191 00:16:43,230 --> 00:16:48,110 be honest, and do not betray the people around you. 192 00:16:48,110 --> 00:16:57,500 6) Be in charge of your own happiness As we learn from Plato: “The man who makes 193 00:16:57,500 --> 00:17:02,990 everything that leads to happiness depend upon himself and not upon other men, has adopted 194 00:17:02,990 --> 00:17:07,770 the very best plan for living happily.” 195 00:17:07,770 --> 00:17:14,620 As for his teacher, Socrates, happiness is for Plato a form of personal growth. 196 00:17:14,620 --> 00:17:19,959 Happiness can be assured if you stop expecting other people to make you happy, but rather 197 00:17:19,959 --> 00:17:22,640 make your own happiness. 198 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:27,550 Plato believed that only that type of man who is in charge of his own happiness has 199 00:17:27,550 --> 00:17:30,790 a truly manly character and wisdom. 200 00:17:30,790 --> 00:17:36,670 Plato’s life is a great example of that: he lived a long life, surrounded by great 201 00:17:36,670 --> 00:17:43,230 teachers such as Socrates and great students such as Aristotle, he was recognized for all 202 00:17:43,230 --> 00:17:46,100 his achievements by Athenian society. 203 00:17:46,100 --> 00:17:52,350 He is one of the first philosophers who came up with a rigorous philosophical system, laid 204 00:17:52,350 --> 00:17:57,620 down in writings, and he is the founder of one of the earliest known organized schools 205 00:17:57,620 --> 00:18:02,600 in Western Civilization - the Academia. 206 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:06,470 He was a man of great initiatives, being a first in many. 207 00:18:06,470 --> 00:18:12,620 He didn’t expect others to come to him and help him, but rather he relied on himself 208 00:18:12,620 --> 00:18:16,780 and did in action most of the things he planned to do. 209 00:18:16,780 --> 00:18:24,360 As Plato, we should not complain of unhappiness, waiting for other people to make us happy. 210 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:29,520 If your happiness means to have success in your career and a happy family life, do not 211 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,260 expect others to guarantee that for you. 212 00:18:32,260 --> 00:18:38,621 In your career, do not wait to get promoted, but rather learn new skills every day, increase 213 00:18:38,621 --> 00:18:44,790 your performance and, if your boss does not notice you, find another company, and do not 214 00:18:44,790 --> 00:18:47,600 wait for anybody. 215 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:52,150 In your personal life, if you feel you don’t have enough happiness in your relationship, 216 00:18:52,150 --> 00:18:58,171 try to change your behavior, come up with pleasant surprises, cook a nice dinner, take 217 00:18:58,171 --> 00:19:02,590 your partner to a new place in town or give them a thoughtful gift. 218 00:19:02,590 --> 00:19:09,840 If what you do is not enough, have a discussion and try to find the reason, and try to fix 219 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:11,930 the issue. 220 00:19:11,930 --> 00:19:17,121 Take a proactive attitude in all the sectors of your life and remember that life is too 221 00:19:17,121 --> 00:19:22,429 short and you need to make your happiness a priority. 222 00:19:22,429 --> 00:19:31,580 7) Find inspiration in music Plato considers that: “Music gives soul 223 00:19:31,580 --> 00:19:36,840 to the universe and wings to the mind.” 224 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:43,100 Music was everywhere in ancient Greece, it was an essential part of ancient Greek culture, 225 00:19:43,100 --> 00:19:49,800 being present in religious festivals, marriage and funeral rites, and banquet gatherings. 226 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:55,330 Many great thinkers of ancient Greece saw a connection between music and mathematics, 227 00:19:55,330 --> 00:19:59,830 music reflecting the perfect order of the cosmos and of the human soul. 228 00:19:59,830 --> 00:20:04,550 For Plato as well, music was not just a tool for entertaining. 229 00:20:04,550 --> 00:20:10,410 He emphasized that the rhythm and the harmony we experience through music can make us reach 230 00:20:10,410 --> 00:20:17,140 a state of grace, of divine peace - thus, music has a moral quality, connecting the 231 00:20:17,140 --> 00:20:20,580 people in a community when it is shared. 232 00:20:20,580 --> 00:20:25,770 We would lose so much in life if we don’t give music enough of our time. 233 00:20:25,770 --> 00:20:31,220 Most of us have some knowledge of how beneficial music is, from how children can improve their 234 00:20:31,220 --> 00:20:36,360 learning abilities through music therapy to how soothing it is to listen to sad songs 235 00:20:36,360 --> 00:20:42,770 when our heart is broken, or how helpful music is for making introverts open up to the world, 236 00:20:42,770 --> 00:20:45,179 particularly children. 237 00:20:45,179 --> 00:20:50,720 Researchers proved that music gives us a boost of oxytocin, it has the power of increasing 238 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:55,990 bonding and trust between people and that is why it has such a powerful effect on our 239 00:20:55,990 --> 00:20:57,059 emotions. 240 00:20:57,059 --> 00:21:03,200 Thus, we should make sure to include a few minutes of music every day, be it for boosting 241 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:08,740 our energy with some happy music, or soothing ourselves when we feel sad, dancing with our 242 00:21:08,740 --> 00:21:14,150 partner to our favorite song or just enjoying ourselves with some background music while 243 00:21:14,150 --> 00:21:15,760 we prepare some reports for work. 244 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:22,360 A day without music is a day wasted. 245 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:29,250 8) Find your soulmate Plato believed that: “Every heart sings 246 00:21:29,250 --> 00:21:34,559 a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. 247 00:21:34,559 --> 00:21:37,870 Those who wish to sing always find a song. 248 00:21:37,870 --> 00:21:43,370 At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet.” 249 00:21:43,370 --> 00:21:48,600 Plato is the most famous philosopher regarding the theory of the soulmate. 250 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:53,960 In his work “Symposium”, the character Aristophanes described how at the beginning 251 00:21:53,960 --> 00:22:00,860 there were only androgynes and Zeus split them in half and, since then, we humans are 252 00:22:00,860 --> 00:22:05,309 continuously looking to find our other half. 253 00:22:05,309 --> 00:22:09,450 The wound caused by Zeus makes us seek love. 254 00:22:09,450 --> 00:22:15,470 The loving relationships we have with other people can make us feel less suffering, but 255 00:22:15,470 --> 00:22:23,140 only when we find our real half can we be whole again and we can put an end to our suffering. 256 00:22:23,140 --> 00:22:28,350 Therefore, to have a fulfilled life, it is important to give enough importance to our 257 00:22:28,350 --> 00:22:35,260 personal life, to invest effort into meeting new people and to never stop seeking love 258 00:22:35,260 --> 00:22:38,540 until we find the right partner. 259 00:22:38,540 --> 00:22:42,890 The more happiness and peace you have and the more accepted you feel in the relationship 260 00:22:42,890 --> 00:22:49,130 you have, the more sure you can be that this is the right partner for you. 261 00:22:49,130 --> 00:22:54,049 Although you might go through some difficult times together, if that sense of peace and 262 00:22:54,049 --> 00:22:58,940 wholeness is still there, then the relationship is worth fighting for. 263 00:22:58,940 --> 00:23:05,290 A real fulfillment in life cannot exist without having our soulmate beside us. 264 00:23:05,290 --> 00:23:14,480 9) Care about the happiness of others In our final quote from Plato for this video, 265 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:20,990 he says: “In caring for the happiness of others, we find our own.” 266 00:23:20,990 --> 00:23:27,210 Plato, like many other ancient philosophers, linked happiness with being moral. 267 00:23:27,210 --> 00:23:33,050 Thus, fulfillment in life, eudaimonia, has a strong root in being virtuous and in living 268 00:23:33,050 --> 00:23:35,590 an honorable life. 269 00:23:35,590 --> 00:23:40,680 Although in many regards, Plato considered happiness as a self-sufficient state, everyone 270 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:46,120 being responsible to create his or her own happiness, he was also aware of the different 271 00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:49,780 ways in which we can boost the feeling of being happy. 272 00:23:49,780 --> 00:23:52,970 One of these ways is to care for the happiness of others. 273 00:23:52,970 --> 00:23:59,299 Thus, we should not expect others to make us happy, but we need to help others be happy 274 00:23:59,299 --> 00:24:02,340 in order for us to be happy. 275 00:24:02,340 --> 00:24:09,440 Material pleasures such as gadgets, jewellery, apartments, cars and clothes, or physical 276 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:14,710 pleasures such as sexual pleasure and eating good food have a limited influence on our 277 00:24:14,710 --> 00:24:16,740 real happiness. 278 00:24:16,740 --> 00:24:21,600 The pleasures of the body are limited and real happiness should include striving to 279 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:25,340 contribute to the common good of society. 280 00:24:25,340 --> 00:24:30,679 Only when we give contributions in helping others, making them happier, do we feel real 281 00:24:30,679 --> 00:24:33,500 life satisfaction. 282 00:24:33,500 --> 00:24:37,980 For example, if you feel anxious at your workplace because you feel that your performance is 283 00:24:37,980 --> 00:24:42,740 not the same as your colleagues, instead of worrying about your lack of skills, you should 284 00:24:42,740 --> 00:24:47,640 start asking yourself how you can you best contribute to the team, maybe you can come 285 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:52,200 up with new ways to help your colleagues, even if it is not technically part of your 286 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:56,890 responsibilities, you can come up with new methods to approach a certain problem that 287 00:24:56,890 --> 00:24:59,250 a colleague is facing. 288 00:24:59,250 --> 00:25:04,540 The more you move the focus from satisfying your personal goals to helping your team, 289 00:25:04,540 --> 00:25:11,750 the more appreciated you would be and more fulfilled you would feel. 290 00:25:11,750 --> 00:25:15,690 If you enjoyed this video, please make sure to check out our full philosophies for life 291 00:25:15,690 --> 00:25:21,080 playlist and for more videos to help you find success and happiness using ancient philosophical 292 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:23,710 wisdom, don’t forget to subscribe. 293 00:25:23,710 --> 00:25:25,870 Thanks so much for watching.