Discipline and Character
All 4 topics58 cues
Cues
Showing 20 of 58 cues
“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”
“In your actions, don’t procrastinate. In your conversations, don’t confuse. In your thoughts, don’t wander. In your soul, don’t be passive or aggressive. In your life, don’t be all about business.”
“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.”
“Why fear my mistakes when I can say, ‘Do not do that again; for now, I forgive you’?”
Traction versus distraction
The opposite of distraction is not focus, but traction: traction is any action done with intent that moves you toward what you planned, while distraction pulls you away from your planned intent, often prioritizing the urgent over the important.
“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be One.”
“Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice.”
“If anyone can refute me; show me I’m making a mistake or looking at things from the wrong perspective; I’ll gladly change. It’s the truth I’m after, and the truth never harmed anyone.”
“What have I done wrong? What have I done well? What have I omitted that I ought to have done?”
Two ears and one tongue for listening
Zeno of Citium remarked that we have two ears and one tongue because nature intended us to listen twice as much as we talk.
“But whether easy or difficult, Alcibiades, still there is no other way; knowing what we are, we shall know how to take care of ourselves, and if we are ignorant we shall not know.”
“How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?”
“Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.”
“If it is not right, do not do it, if it is not true, do not say it.”
Socrates unfazed by belittlement
Mocked by Hippias for repeating himself, Socrates calmly turned the jibe into a boast, persisting throughout his life in exhorting Athenians to examine how they ought to live.
“It is possible to curb your arrogance, to overcome pleasure and pain, to rise above your ambition, and to not be angry with stupid and ungrateful people; yes, even to care for them.”
“If you can, show them the better way. If you cannot, remember that this is why you have the gift of kindness. The Gods too are kind to such people, and in their benevolence even help them achieve some ends - health, wealth, fame. You can do it too. Or tell me - who is stopping you?”
“If you didn’t learn these things in order to demonstrate them in practice, what did you learn them for?”
“To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school ... it is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically.”
“In short, the wise man looks to the purpose of all actions, not their consequences; beginnings are in our power but Fortune judges the outcome, and I do not grant her verdict upon me.”