March

30th
REASON IN ALL THINGS

“Hurry to your own ruling reason, to the reason of the Whole, and to your neighbor’s. To your
own mind to make it just; to the mind of the Whole to remember your place in it; and to your
neighbor’s mind to learn whether it’s ignorant or of sound knowledge—while recognizing it’s
like yours.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, M EDITATIONS, 9.22

I f our lives are not ruled by reason, what are they ruled by? Impulse? Whim? Mimicry? Unthinking
habit? As we examine our past behavior, it’s sad how often we find this to be the case—that we were
not acting consciously or deliberately but instead by forces we did not bother to evaluate. It also happens
that these are the instances that we’re mostly likely to regret.
 March 31st
YOU’RE A PRODUCT OF YOUR TRAINING

“Chasing what can’t be done is madness. But the base person is unable to do anything else.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, M EDITATIONS, 5.17

A dog that’s allowed to chase cars will chase cars. A child who is never given any boundaries will
become spoiled. An investor without discipline is not an investor—he’s a gambler. A mind that isn’t in
control of itself, that doesn’t understand its power to regulate itself, will be jerked around by external
events and unquestioned impulses.
That can’t be how you’d like tomorrow to go. So you must be aware of that. You must put in place
training and habits now to replace ignorance and ill discipline. Only then will you begin to behave and act
differently. Only then will you stop seeking the impossible, the shortsighted, and the unnecessary.
 APRIL

UNBIASED THOUGHT
 April 1st
THE COLOR OF YOUR THOUGHTS

“Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought, for the human spirit is
colored by such impressions.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, M EDITATIONS, 5.16

I f you bend your body into a sitting position every day for a long enough period of time, the curvature of
your spine changes. A doctor can tell from a radiograph (or an autopsy) whether someone sat at a desk
for a living. If you shove your feet into tiny, narrow dress shoes each day, your feet begin to take on that
form as well.
The same is true for our mind. If you hold a perpetually negative outlook, soon enough everything you
encounter will seem negative. Close it off and you’ll become closed-minded. Color it with the wrong
thoughts and your life will be dyed the same.
 April 2nd
BE WARY OF WHAT YOU LET IN

“Drama, combat, terror, numbness, and subservience—every day these things wipe out your
sacred principles, whenever your mind entertains them uncritically or lets them slip in.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, M EDITATIONS, 10.9

H ow much harder is it to do the right thing when you’re surrounded by people with low standards?
How much harder is it to be positive and empathetic inside the negativity bubble of television
chatter? How much harder is it to focus on your own issues when you’re distracted with other people’s
drama and conflict?
We’ll inevitably be exposed to these influences at some point, no matter how much we try to avoid
them. But when we are, there is nothing that says we have to allow those influences to penetrate our
minds. We have the ability to put our guard up and decide what we actually allow in. Uninvited guests
might arrive at your home, but you don’t have to ask them to stay for dinner. You don’t have to let them
into your mind.