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Weekly Quotes Chain! Theme: Discipline and Accountability

Hope March 31st

Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well. I have once again come across a quote that makes me go 'I need to share this with people who can obsess over this with me'  so here I am hoping such people can find this thread and together we can reflect on a weekly thought!

I will try to post 1-2 times per week, feel free to hold me accountable with a message. The goal is to just share these incredible quotes with everyone else. Heads up, almost all of them will be in relevance to the stoic philosophy and focused on hyper-accountability and discipline. You are welcome to check out spark of the week instead for light hearted quotes and reflections! 

There is no tag list form for this but you can say tag me in your message and I will tag you when I post the new quote/reflection and if you say remove me, you will be removed. No hard feelings! 

What do you do on this thread?
Upto you! Here are some options

  1. Read and leave!
  2. Read and heart away the quote(s) you like
  3. Read and comment your thoughts
  4. Subscribe to the thread by clicking the bookmark icon. When I or anyone else posts in this thread, you will get a notification


Covered Quotes

  1. "You could be good today but instead you choose tomorrow!" Marcus Aurelius 
  2. 'While we wait for life, life passes" - Seneca
  3. “How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?” - Epictetus
  4. “Stick to what’s in front of you — idea, action, utterance.” — Marcus Aurelius
  5. First say to yourself what you would be, and then do what you have to do.” - Epictetus
  6. "Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness – all of them due to the offender’s ignorance of what is good or evil." - Marcus Aurelius
  7. "Observe always that everything is the result of change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and make new ones like them" - Marcus Aurelius 
  8. "It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult." - Seneca
  9. 'Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can. Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself can improve. The process is mutual; for men learn while they teach.' - Seneca
  10. The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. You are arranging what lies in Fortune’s control, and abandoning what lies in yours. What are you looking at? To what goal are you straining? The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately. - Marcus Aurelius
  11. 'Enjoy present pleasures in such a way as not to injure future ones.' - Seneca
  12. Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can. Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself can improve. The process is mutual; for men learn while they teach. -Seneca

22
Hope OP March 31st

Thought of the week! Keep in mind it is Monday for me. 

"You could be good today but instead you choose tomorrow!" Marcus Aurelius 

Let us reflect on this quote with these quotes also in mind

  • ''While we wait for life, life passes" - Seneca
  • “How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?” - Epictetus

Struggling to do your workout, finish studying, eating your veggies, not being angry at people? Tell yourself this quote everytime you are tempted to dishonor the commitments you made with yourself. "You could be good today but instead you choose tomorrow!" 

Heather225 April 1st

@Hope

You find the best quotes. Looking forward to following these!

Hope OP April 5th

Hi everyone! Sharing another quote. 

“Stick to what’s in front of you — idea, action, utterance.” — Marcus Aurelius

It is a good reminder to all of us who like to plan and plan and struggle to execute. Just focus on whatever is your immediate task, whatever words you have to choose next or whatever idea is relevant in the moment. You don't need to plan your whole month or even a week, what does this hour demand of you?

Question for anyone who wishes to reflect - What is the immediate action that you should take to live in accordance with your greater tasks?

Examples - eating a well balanced meal (You want to remain healthy or gain health), going for a walk (You want to be physically fit), doing the dishes (You want a clean kitchen) 

Hope OP April 8th

Hi everyone! It is Monday. Let us start the week by reflecting on this interesting quote

“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” - Epictetus

I like that it enjoins action with clarity. You can't simply state something and expect to achieve it nor can you get something you don't aim for, at least something worth having!

What is something you wish to be or achieve and what steps are you taking to get there?

Hope OP April 12th

Hi everyone! Sharing another classic by Marcus Aurelius

Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness – all of them due to the offender’s ignorance of what is good or evil.

This quote helps one not take things personally. Too much heartache exists in this world because we take things personally. It also sets expectations right. 

If you struggle with taking things personally, you may wish to read this post

Hope OP April 15th

Hi everyone! One thing that most of us struggle with is change. We like our comfortable lives even with the known discomforts, the uncertainty that change brings is a lot sometimes. 

This is a good quote to be mindful of

Observe always that everything is the result of change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and make new ones like them. - Marcus Aurelius 


1 reply
IsayUncle April 18th

@Hope

We can see big changes just by recognizing entire civilizations and cultures being swallowed up by nature.

We can see big changes by seeing someone quitting alcohol, smoking, drugs, overeating or numerpus other destructable vices and how their lives improve and they eventually move forward and above those hardships and it's a big noticeable change.

When I think of change I envision big changes, big differences to my life, big consequences to my efforts. But in truth it is in the little change where all the power lays. The little weed that first started to grow around the great abandoned building. Or the choice not to take that one puff, pill or sip. Not to indulge in a destructible vice everyday. To make a bed, wash a dish or pick up a dirty sock to put in the laundry basket.

We do these things but life continues to bombard us was obstacles and sometimes we stop doing these things and stay stuck where we are at.

The change is so subtle and small that we don't recognize the goodness of it over hardships. We must believe good change will happen if we continue to do good things but it may not be noticeable in the short term or within your expectations so you must have faith and believe it will be better, much better in the long term. 

Do the small thing everyday until it is not a change anymore but just the way you do things now. 



slowdecline48 June 29th
"Change is the only constant."
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Hope OP April 19th

Hi everyone! I hope your week has gone well. Today I have a quote from Seneca

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult." 

It reminds me of a reel I saw the other day where the speaker was talking about 'the thing about courage is that you do the hard thing and then you get the courage' which I thought was an interesting perspective. 

Hope OP April 26th

Hi everyone! Quote of the day 

'Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can. Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you can improve. The process is mutual; for men learn while they teach.' Seneca



1 reply
IsayUncle April 26th

@Hope

Right On!

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Hope OP May 10th

Hi everyone! Quote of the week

The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. You are arranging what lies in Fortune’s control, and abandoning what lies in yours. What are you looking at? To what goal are you straining? The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately. - Marcus

1 reply
IsayUncle May 10th

@Hope

That is a powerful point to be reminded of

A lot of times, even if we are just thinking about all the things we need to do for the day and that is a small notion of the future because we're looking at what we're gonna do this afternoon or in a few hours.

Often when we think about everything we have to do for this/one day we get overwhelmed and we don't even do what's in front of us because our brains worrying about what's ahead of us, if that makes any sense.

So even on our daily future, focus on the task at hand and not worry about getting to the other things for the day.

Everything yields to diligence.” Antiphanes

slowdecline48 June 29th

"By the yard, life is hard. By the inch, it's a cinch"...I don't know who said it first, but it's true.

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Hope OP May 14th

Hi everyone! Quote of the week

'Enjoy present pleasures in such a way as not to injure future ones.' - Seneca