Marcus Aurelius was an emperor of Rome who led his people through wars,
plagues, and constant political turmoil. Yet, despite everything he faced, he remained calm,
disciplined, and in control of his mind. But how? Through the philosophy of Stoicism,
which he recorded in his personal journal, later known as The Meditations but he never wrote it
for an audience—it was his way of reminding himself how to think clearly, act wisely,
and not let emotions or overthinking take over. Overthinking is something we all deal with. We
replay past mistakes, stress about the future, and analyze every little detail, convincing ourselves
that if we just think long enough, we’ll find certainty. But instead of bringing clarity,
overthinking creates anxiety, self-doubt, and inaction. We start questioning our careers—Am I
in the right job? What if I fail? We over analyze relationships—Did I say something wrong? What if
they leave me? We stress about the future—What if everything falls apart? Our minds get stuck
in loops, turning small worries into something much bigger than they actually are. To the Stoics,
overthinking was just another illusion—a trap we fall into when we let our thoughts run wild.
They believed peace of mind comes from focusing on what’s real and what we can control,
instead of getting lost in endless worries. In this video, we’re going to break down
the Stoic wisdom of Marcus Aurelius to help you stop overthinking. We’ll explore how he
stayed calm under pressure, how Stoicism can help you challenge anxious thoughts,
and how you can apply these lessons in your own life.
History Always Repeats itself Marcus Aurelius says “No matter what happens,
keep this in mind: It’s the same old thing, from one end of the world to the other. It fills
the history books, ancient and modern, and the cities, and the houses too. Nothing new at all.”
History repeats itself. No matter what you're going through—losing your job, a breakup,
financial struggles, or even illness, or worried about any of them—it’s easy to feel like your
world is falling apart. The uncertainty, the fear, the self-doubt can feel unbearable. But
Marcus understood something simple yet powerful: this has all happened before. The struggles you’re
facing aren’t unique to you. People throughout history have been in the same place, feeling
the same emotions, asking the same questions. And every single time, life has moved forward.
We like to believe our problems are somehow different, that things are worse now than they’ve
ever been. But Marcus saw through this illusion. People have always feared losing their jobs,
always feared being alone, always feared running out of money, and always feared
death. And yet, life has gone on. Societies have recovered, economies have bounced back,
and people have adapted. “All things are the same—familiar in experience,
transient in time, and empty of value,” he wrote. So what you’re facing right now,
countless others have already faced. And because they made it through, so will you.
Imagine - or in my case remember when - you’re in your late 30s and you just lost your job. Your
mind spirals: What if I never find another job? How will I pay my bills? What if I’m just not good
enough? But stop for a moment and ask yourself: Has this happened before? Not just to you,
but to millions of people throughout history. The answer is absolutely and unequivocally
yes! Every generation has seen recessions, layoffs, and career setbacks. And every time,
people have rebuilt. Losing a job isn’t the end of your story. It’s just another chapter—one that
others before you have already written. Now imagine you’ve just gone through a
breakup.. You start thinking, Will I ever find love again? Was I not enough? What if I end up
alone? But just take a step back. How many people before you have felt this exact same
heartbreak? Literally billions. And they all survived it. They found love again, or even
realized they were better off on their own. Even illness. People have faced illness
longer than humans have existed. Some recovered, some didn’t. Marcus himself
lived through plagues. He saw death all around him, and yet he never let it break his spirit.
So I think we can safely say your problems aren’t unique. Instead of letting fear take over,
look at history—people have survived losing jobs, relationships, money, and
even their health. You are not alone in this. Many others have
faced similar struggles and made it through, which means you can, too.
Focus on what’s actually happening, not on imagined disasters
In the words of Marcus Aurelius: "You have power over your mind—not outside
events. Realize this, and you will find strength."
The Stoics believed that most of our suffering doesn’t come from the things that happen to us,
but from the way we interpret them. When we overthink, we let anxious thoughts take over,
we make irrational fears for reality. Imagine you make a mistake at work. An irrational
thought might say, “I’m terrible at my job. I’ll probably get fired.” A rational thought would say,
“I made a mistake, but everybody does. I can fix it and learn from it.”
Irrational thoughts are driven by fear, insecurity, and worst-case scenarios.
They exaggerate problems and make everything feel much bigger than it really is. Rational thoughts,
on the other hand, are grounded in reality. They focus on what’s actually happening,
not on imagined disasters and Marcus Aurelius trained himself to recognize this difference.
He constantly questioned his thoughts, asking himself: Is this true? Is this helpful?
Instead of letting his mind spiral, he reminded himself to separate real problems
from the fears his mind created. Most of our worries never happen,
yet we let them take over our minds. The Stoics trained themselves to pause, step back,
and analyze their thoughts instead of getting lost in them. They asked themselves: Is this
actually true? Or am I making it worse in my head? Now this idea isn’t just ancient philosophy—it
became the foundation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT, one of the most effective ways to
deal with overthinking. At its core, CBT is about catching irrational thoughts, questioning them,
and replacing them with something more reasonable. Psychologist Albert Ellis took this concept and
developed it into a structured method known as the ABC Model. But long before modern psychology,
the Stoics had already understood this principle. Epictetus, another ancient
stoic philosopher captured it perfectly when he said: "People are not disturbed by things,
but by the views they take of them." The ABC Model helps break down how our
thoughts shape our emotions and decisions instead of the events themselves. Here’s how it works:
A is the Activating Event: Something happens—maybe an external event,
a challenge, or even just a thought. B is the Belief: You interpret what
happened based on your existing mindset, beliefs, and assumptions.
Then C – Consequence: Your belief about the event creates an emotional response,
leading to either a helpful or destructive reaction. Most people think their emotions
come directly from what happens to them. But that’s not true. It’s their belief about the
situation that causes their emotions. Change the belief, and the emotional reaction changes too.
Imagine you’re 30 years old, and your company announces layoffs. Your mind starts racing:
“What if I lose my job?” “How will I pay my rent?”
“Ahh I’m not good enough to get hired somewhere else.”
Now, let’s run this through the ABC Model: A means Activating Event: Your company is
laying people off. B means Belief:
“If I lose my job, I’ll never recover. I’m not capable enough to find another one.”
Now instead of letting that belief control you, you challenge it. Ask yourself questions like
Is this belief true? Have other people lost
jobs and found new ones? Yes of course they have. Have you overcome challenges before?
Well yes you have done that too. Well, good because that means you’re capable of adapting.
Is this belief useful? Does thinking “I’ll never
recover” actually help? No, of course it does not. It just feeds anxiety
and keeps you stuck. So What would a Stoic say?
Stoics would remind you that losing a job isn’t fully in your control,
but how you respond to it is. So focus on what you can do today instead of worrying about the future.
Now, let’s rewrite that belief: New B, meaning your new Rational Belief
would be “Losing my job would be difficult, but I can adapt. I can update my resume, reach out to
my network, and build new skills.” Then there is your New C meaning your New Emotional Consequence:
Instead of panic, you feel a sense of control. The fear might still be there, but this time it
doesn’t paralyze you. You shift from overthinking to action. The Stoics were way ahead of their
time. They understood that the real battle happens in the mind. Realize that your inner critic isn’t
always right, and by questioning its logic, you take back control of your own thoughts.
Be a warrior not a worrier To quote Marcus Aurelius
“Just keep in mind: the more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.”
Life will knock you down—sometimes hard. But the way you frame your struggles determines
how you rise. You’ll lose a job, face rejection, struggle financially, or
deal with heartbreak. In those moments, you have two choices: you can see yourself as a victim,
or you can see yourself as a warrior. The victim asks, Why me? They blame their circumstances,
dwell on unfairness, and wait for someone to save them. The warrior asks,
What now? They take responsibility, focus on what’s in their control, and move.
Marcus Aurelius faced wars, plagues, betrayal, and constant pressure as an emperor.
He could have complained and would have had every right to do so. He could have said,
This isn’t fair. I didn’t ask for this. Instead, he reminded himself: “The impediment to action
advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” In other words, whatever
obstacle you face is not the end—it’s the path forward. You can use it. You can grow from it.
This mindset is rooted in what the Stoics called the Dichotomy of Control—the understanding that
some things are within your power and others are not. Epictetus, who was born a slave, taught that
we suffer when we focus on what we can’t control instead of what we can. You can’t control if a
company lays you off, but you can control how you respond. You can’t control if someone leaves you,
but you can control how you rebuild your life. The moment you stop trying to control the
uncontrollable, you stop feeling powerless. Imagine someone who just got fired. A victim
will say, This isn’t my fault. The company screwed me over. The economy is bad. There’s nothing I can
do. They’ll complain, feel bitter, and stay stuck. A warrior will say, Okay, this happened. I can’t
change that. But what can I do now? They’ll update their resume, reach out to their network, build
new skills, and take control of their future. Same situation—completely different mindset.
The Dichotomy of Control frees you from unnecessary suffering. Instead of wasting
energy on things beyond your control, you put all your effort into what you can change. And
when you shift your mindset from Why me? to What now?, you train your brain to find solutions
instead of excuses. You stop waiting for life to change and start changing your life. So,
next time you’re facing a setback, catch yourself. Are you thinking like a victim or a warrior?
Stop Waiting, Start Living According to Marcus Aurelius
“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”
Imagine waking up and realizing there are no more tomorrows—no more chances to fix past mistakes,
chase forgotten dreams, or tell the people you love how much they mean to you. Would you spend
the day drowning in worry, overthinking every decision, fearing failure? Or would you finally
embrace life as it is, instead of waiting for it to be perfect? This is the core of Memento Mori—a
practice the Stoics used to remind themselves that life is temporary.
When he said “You could leave life right now”, Marcus Aurelius didn’t see this as something
morbid but as a way to sharpen his focus. If today were his last, he wouldn’t waste
it on petty frustrations or meaningless distractions—he would live with purpose.
Seneca, another great Stoic philosopher, took it further. He warned against postponing life,
saying, You are living as if destined to live forever. Many things can distract you,
but the greatest loss is the loss of time. Death is not something in the distant future—it
is happening every second. Every moment you waste is one you’ll never get back.
Memento Mori is a wake-up call. It reminds you that you don’t have forever. The time to start,
to change, to love, to appreciate what you have—is now. Some Stoics carried physical
reminders of Memento Mori, such as a coin or ring engraved with the phrase. In modern life,
you can keep a reminder on your phone, wear a bracelet, or simply take a moment each day
to reflect. The goal isn’t to obsess over death or disaster—it’s to use them. To let them guide
your choices, shape your mindset, and make sure that when your time does run out, you won’t look
back with regret. Because one day, tomorrow won’t come. And when that day arrives, the only thing
that will matter is how you lived this one. However the stoics didn’t stop just there. It
wasn’t enough to simply reflect on death—they also prepared for life’s hardships before they arrived
and for that they practiced negative visualization, the art of actively
imagining hardships before they happened. Instead of avoiding uncomfortable thoughts,
they set aside time—often in the morning—to picture losing what they loved. Not to dwell
on suffering, but to prepare themselves for it. Beyond preparation, this practice helps with
the thoughts that already weigh on you—the ones you can’t stop overthinking about. By regularly
confronting them, you take charge of them instead of letting them take charge of you. Instead of
being caught off guard by fear and uncertainty, you learn to handle life with a clearer mind.
Try it now. Imagine waking up tomorrow and losing something important—your job, your health,
or someone you love. How would it feel? At first, painful. But then, notice something else:
the things you took for granted yesterday now seem priceless. The job you complained about, the body
you wished looked different, the loved ones you assumed would always be there—suddenly, you would
give anything to have them back. This is the power of negative visualization. It lets you experience
loss before it happens, so you appreciate what you have while it’s still here. And when real
hardship does come, you won’t be shattered by it—you’ll already be mentally prepared.
Accept and love your fate Marcus Aurelius once wrote “Accept whatever
comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?”
Life doesn’t always go the way we want. You lose your job, a relationship ends,
an opportunity slips through your fingers, or something unexpected knocks you off course.
The natural reaction is to resist, to ask, Why me? Why did this have to happen? But the Stoics
believed that instead of fighting reality, we should embrace it—fully and completely. This
is Amor Fati, the love of fate. It’s not just about accepting what happens
but embracing it as if you had chosen it. Marcus Aurelius lived by this philosophy.
He faced wars, plagues, betrayal, and the immense pressure of ruling an empire,
yet he never wasted time complaining. Instead, he wrote, “A blazing fire makes flame and
brightness out of everything that is thrown into it.” In other words, whatever life gives
you—good or bad—use it as fuel. Don’t just endure challenges; turn them into something meaningful.
Imagine, after years of hard work, you get passed over for a promotion. You start thinking,
Maybe I’m not good enough. Maybe I’ll never get ahead. But instead of seeing this as a failure,
Amor Fati asks you to see it as part of your path. Maybe this setback is pushing
you toward something better—developing new skills, taking a different career direction,
or even realizing that your worth isn’t tied to a job title. The event itself isn’t good or bad.
It just is. What matters is what you do with it. Or imagine you go through a difficult breakup. The
pain is real. The self-doubt creeps in. You wonder if you’ll ever find love again. Amor Fati doesn’t
mean ignoring the pain—it means embracing it. Instead of resisting what’s happened,
you accept that this experience is part of your story. Maybe it’s teaching you something
about yourself. Maybe it’s making space for something better. So instead of thinking,
This shouldn’t have happened, you shift to, This happened, now how can I grow from it?
So how do you practice Amor Fati in daily life? Every time you find yourself thinking, This isn’t
fair or This shouldn’t be happening, pause. Ask yourself: What if this is exactly what I need?
When something goes wrong, don’t just tolerate it—lean into it. Treat every obstacle as training,
every setback as a lesson, every disappointment as redirection. Life won’t always go according
to plan, but if you embrace Amor Fati, you’ll stop wasting energy fighting reality. You’ll
stop worrying about things you can’t change. And most importantly, you’ll stop doubting yourself,
because you’ll trust that whatever happens is part of your journey.
Journal In our final
quote from Marcus Aurelius for this video, he says "Our life is what our thoughts make it."
Marcus had a simple yet powerful habit—he journaled every day. His personal writings,
the Meditations, were never meant for anyone else to read. They were his way of organizing
his thoughts, reminding himself of what truly mattered, and silencing his inner critic.
Overthinking happens when your mind is cluttered with too many thoughts,
fears, and hypothetical scenarios. You go round in circles, replaying past mistakes or worrying about
the future. Journaling forces you to take these thoughts out of your head and put them onto paper.
When you write things down, your emotions turn into words, making problems seem smaller and
more manageable. Instead of drowning in your thoughts, you see them clearly—and
when you see them, you can deal with them. A study from Cambridge University showed
that journaling reduces stress, improves emotional processing, and even strengthens problem-solving
skills. Many Navy SEALs and high-performance athletes also use journaling as a tool to build
mental toughness and clear their minds before high-pressure situations. You don’t need to be
a philosopher to start journaling. You just need five minutes a day and a notebook or even your
phone. Here’s a simple way to begin: Start your day by writing down one thing in your control
today and one positive intention for the day. At night, reflect on what went well, what didn’t,
and what you learned. When your inner critic speaks, write down the negative thought and
then challenge it. Ask yourself: Is this true? Is this useful? What would a Stoic say about
this? Write one line reminding yourself that life is short—so don’t waste time overthinking.
For example if the thought arises like “I’ll never be financially secure,” write it down
and question it. Is this true? The reality is that financial stability isn’t about luck—it’s
about consistent effort. Have others gone from financial struggle to security? Yes. So why not
you? From a Stoic perspective, the economy and external factors aren’t in your control,
but your financial habits are. So instead of worrying about the future,
focus on what you can control—saving a little each month, learning about investments, and
avoiding unnecessary debt. By doing this daily, you’ll clear mental clutter, reduce self-doubt,
and train yourself to think rationally instead of emotionally. It’s a simple habit, but over time,
it rewires your brain to focus on what truly matters. So why not take control of
your thoughts today? Grab a notebook, start writing, and watch how your mind changes.
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