According to Machiavelli, Marcus Aurelius Antonius (121-180 AD) was the last of the Five Good Emperors of Rome. He was also a successful military strategist and a Stoic philosopher. The majority of his Meditations were written in the final years of his life between military campaigns, and they have served as a window into ancient Stoicism and an inspiration for many on how to live well.

Every morning, when you rise to meet the day, remind yourself that during the day you will have to contend with people who are unpleasant, resentful, envious, and deceitful. They don’t know right from wrong, but you do, and you know that both right and wrong reside in you and them, for you have a common nature—regardless of social standing or pedigree. That nature is a divine nature, and that common bond with others means we must learn to work together, like parts of the same body working toward common goals.

Those who cause evil cannot make you angry unless you give them permission to do so. When you let your mind become enslaved by every self-absorbed urge, or be yanked around by present circumstances or fear of the future, you give up self-possession. Have enough respect for yourself not to make your joy dependent on another.

Never forget that the soul denigrates itself when it abandons people or seeks to hurt them, when it is at the mercy of pleasure or pain, when its choices are haphazard and disconnected from a goal, when it hides true thoughts and shares something fake, and, most especially, when it becomes a parasite that takes from the world while standing back and refusing to be part of it.

Unless someone is harming society and the common good, do not preoccupy yourself with the lives of others. You can get so caught up with who is doing what and why that you fail to do anything meaningful yourself. Being overly concerned with the affairs of others will cloud your thoughts.

Don’t let trivial concerns hinder a focused train of thought. Make a practice of brushing aside the petty and the vicious clutter. You want your thoughts so accessible to you that if anyone asks what you are thinking, you can say with confidence and precision what’s on your mind. This is the kind of person who knows what is in him and is truly humble, free of frivolity, unfazed by pain, and takes whatever befalls him in stride. He does what the gods have given him to do, and views the future with a sense of eager anticipation. He cares for others because that comes with the territory of being human, but he doesn’t need their praise or opinions. The one who lives according to the nature of things is the one to whom you should listen. And those who don’t? Pay attention to them, too, and to the company they keep. When they compliment you, do not take it to heart. Fine words carry little weight.

When people want to escape their lives, they fantasize about getting out of the city to the beaches or the mountains. You probably do, too. It’s an absurd longing, considering the serenity you seek is always available to you when you take a moment to turn inward. Endless, interruption-free calm is available to the person who does this.

These visits to your soul don’t need to become extended vacations. They can be short and sweet, and that’s really all you need to reenter life revitalized and ready to face its challenges again. And really, what in life was so horrible that you wanted to escape or to gripe about? Was it the bad attitudes or actions of others? Never forget that if you are rational, you exist for the sake of others, and doing good to others will mean being tolerant and choosing not to argue.

Also remember that the more attached your soul is to the body, the more you will be carried away by the highs and lows of life’s pains and pleasures, and the more you will gripe about your circumstances and what life has allotted you. But once your soul realizes what it is and detaches from the body’s hunger for sensation and comfort, you can take all that life throws at you in stride.

So whatever your life contains and whatever you are pursuing—annoying people, pain, pleasure, the applause from a fickle crowd—becoming at home in your soul will help you face them all without overextending yourself.

So many frequently used words and phrases eventually fade into anachronism. So do the names of even society’s most famous and highly regarded individuals. Heroes become legends and myths lost to the abyss like everyone else, from the prominent politician to the obscure farmer. Alexander the Great and his slave both died and were buried and broke down into atoms. There is no renown and glory that time won’t eventually extinguish.

Amidst the business of your life, don’t forget your mortality. Like Alexander the Great and his slave, you will face death, and your name will become a distant echo. Life’s transience raises the question of what we should be living for, of what it means to live well. The good life is found in unselfish action, right understanding, and honest speech. Honor and respect the gods, treat others justly, be indulgent toward others but exacting toward yourself, and let go of what is beyond your control (which is almost everything).

You have your flesh and bones and decisions. Care most about what you do with them. Choose to do what you were made to do. Education and instruction aim to guide you to that end. If you do what you were made to do, instead of elevating all the other things that others were made to do, you will be satisfied with your life and be content to let others be satisfied with theirs. Otherwise you will begin plotting their demise rather than plotting your own life’s course. Life will inevitably become a disaster, never good enough for people who live this way. But those who follow their design are deeply satisfied with life, knitting themselves into the fabric of their communities, and staying connected to the divine.

Nature prescribes a personalized treatment for each of us in the same way that a doctor does. Just as we take our medicine and accept the regimen the doctor assigns, we would do well to see what nature deals us as part of our recovery and advancement toward our destiny, even if what nature prescribes seems like an ailment at first. She could prescribe you the loss of a family member, your sight, or a limb. Accept it as ordained by nature or you will find yourself at war against nature–a war that never goes well for those who challenge her.

When you fight and get angry over fate and obsess over how nasty and grueling the whole affair is, you will miss what it has to teach you. If you wish to heal, embrace it instead of thrashing around, even though it’s difficult.

So when people off-handedly comment that it’s unfortunate this or that happened to you, you can tell them that, no, it’s actually quite fortunate. You have taken the blow and accepted it without letting it completely disorient you in the moment or make you fearful about the future. The same calamity could have befallen anyone else, and it might have crushed them, but it has fallen on you, and you are moving through it to become stronger than you were before. You are still able to act with courage, wisdom, and generosity of heart toward others, right?

Never forget that what could be a misfortune is about to be transformed into the greatest fortune through your persevering through it. Your obstacles are your paths to victory.