Meditations
Marcus Aurelius

Meditations

by Marcus Aurelius

The private notebook of a Roman emperor — and one of the most enduring guides to a considered life.

  • 6 min read
  • Accessible
  • Philosophy
  • Stoicism

Editorial summary in progress — more principles and reflection questions are still being written for this book.

At a glance

Solo Library reading time
6 minutes

The Big Idea

You control your judgments and your actions — not events, not other people, not outcomes. A life well lived is one that stays inside that circle.

Principles to Take With You

Solo Library extracts practical principles from each book and translates them into ideas you can examine, apply, and adapt into a philosophy of your own.

Distinguish what is up to you from what is not

Effort and response are yours; outcomes and other people are not.

Confusing the two is the source of most avoidable suffering.

The obstacle is the path

Whatever stands in the way of the action becomes the action.

An obstacle isn't a detour from your development; it's the material of it.

One Question to Carry Forward

One question to sit with — not to answer today, but to keep returning to as your own philosophy takes shape.

What are you upset about that isn't actually in your control?

Put these ideas to work.

The principles from Meditations pair well with the rest of the Becoming Solo ecosystem.