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To anyone full of regret, I'd just like to give a quote by Marcus Aurelius (a Roman Emperor and stoic philosopher) Think of yourself as dead. You have lived yo

To anyone full of regret, I'd just like to give a quote by Marcus Aurelius (a Roman Emperor and stoic philosopher) Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what's left and live it properly. Life likely hasn't been perfect for almost anyone, but would you rather die right now (with likely unfinished desires, wishes and more regrets) or would you try to make the best use of what you have? (It may be a bit difficult to fully live as per the quote even if you're already familiar with stoicism - it's quite hard for me too - but something that sometimes helps me is to literally visualize yourself dead as of now. Maybe a stroke. Would you be happy? If not, you should do something about it.)

matwood 4y ago
Steve Jobs turned the ideas in that quote into a commencement speech after his cancer diagnosis. It concludes with: Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
- scandox 4y ago
  It is handy when your heart is in something financially remunerative though. My heart tends toward the gutter. Not complaining though.
  - matwood 4y ago
    I knew I would get your comment and almost left out the last line because of it. But, I wanted to keep the quote complete. It still works even if you leave out follow your heart.
- smoldesu 4y ago
  It's a shame he never took the advice to heart. Jobs' last days were unnecessarily painful for both himself and his family, who desperately tried helping him only to be pushed away and insulted. Jobs was good at echoing the wisdom of people smarter than him, but not so great at using those principles to fix his own life.
  - voisin 4y ago
    > Jobs was good at echoing the wisdom of people smarter than him, but not so great at using those principles to fix his own life. This applies to most people.
    - hirvi74 4y ago
      Yep, my favorite philosopher, Alan Watts basically died from alcoholism. Though, I am not sure whether his teachings would condone that or not for I have seen a few people argue either way.
      - parroteal 4y ago
        Oh, wow! I didn't know that. I've listened to him for hours and hours. The thing with alcohol (and most psychoactive drugs) is it literally changes the brain - and by that the person. The young person that says: "I would never let it get this far!" is basically right when it says that. But prolonged use of the drug changes that person. And that new person definitely will let it get this far, because it sees new justifications for doing so. I know from experience unfortunately. I don't think sober Alan Watts would approve of severe alcoholism as something 'no better or worse' than any other activity to spend your day. But I can clearly see a drinking Alan Watts run circles around anybody arguing the same thing.
      - paidefsou 4y ago
        One of my best too! Best line i have ever read is quoted in a few lines i wrote here...https://www.pedefsou.com/posts/still-forgeting-to-live-the-moment/ https://www.pedefsou.com/posts/still-forgeting-to-live-the-m...
l33tbro 4y ago
Is quoting a stoic on HN the same as playing 'Stairway to Heaven' in a guitar shop? I do love this quote of course (and all things Aurelius).
- agomez314 4y ago
  lol
- user_7832 4y ago
  ...I had no idea it was common here on HN, though I'm not surprised. It was just something that's helped me a fair bit and I hope(d) it could help others too.
  - bombcar 4y ago
    It's not just HN, stoics hit a "rational coder" approach to life chord with those who fight computers all day.
    - asveikau 4y ago
      I think it might be more that a lot of people in tech have poor work-life balances and bad interpersonal dynamics, and this causes high stress and receptivity to coping mechanisms.
      - parroteal 4y ago
        That's exactly what I think. Much of what modern Stoics put forth appears to be an excuse to dissociate from emotional pain, not cope with unchangeable fate or hardship.
        asveikau 4y ago
        Thank you for this well put reply. I think I need to add that I don't mean to judge for this. I've been in similar places too. It can be a fine line with many shades of gray between "dissocation" and "coping". Some of it may be useful to somebody. Falling into it as a trap is very human.
r3trohack3r 4y ago
Wait But Why had a great take on this: https://mobile.twitter.com/waitbutwhy/status/1571562595957489665 https://mobile.twitter.com/waitbutwhy/status/157156259595748...

matwood 4y ago

Steve Jobs turned the ideas in that quote into a commencement speech after his cancer diagnosis. It concludes with: Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

scandox 4y ago
It is handy when your heart is in something financially remunerative though. My heart tends toward the gutter. Not complaining though.
- matwood 4y ago
  I knew I would get your comment and almost left out the last line because of it. But, I wanted to keep the quote complete. It still works even if you leave out follow your heart.
smoldesu 4y ago
It's a shame he never took the advice to heart. Jobs' last days were unnecessarily painful for both himself and his family, who desperately tried helping him only to be pushed away and insulted. Jobs was good at echoing the wisdom of people smarter than him, but not so great at using those principles to fix his own life.
- voisin 4y ago
  > Jobs was good at echoing the wisdom of people smarter than him, but not so great at using those principles to fix his own life. This applies to most people.
  - hirvi74 4y ago
    Yep, my favorite philosopher, Alan Watts basically died from alcoholism. Though, I am not sure whether his teachings would condone that or not for I have seen a few people argue either way.
    - parroteal 4y ago
      Oh, wow! I didn't know that. I've listened to him for hours and hours. The thing with alcohol (and most psychoactive drugs) is it literally changes the brain - and by that the person. The young person that says: "I would never let it get this far!" is basically right when it says that. But prolonged use of the drug changes that person. And that new person definitely will let it get this far, because it sees new justifications for doing so. I know from experience unfortunately. I don't think sober Alan Watts would approve of severe alcoholism as something 'no better or worse' than any other activity to spend your day. But I can clearly see a drinking Alan Watts run circles around anybody arguing the same thing.
    - paidefsou 4y ago
      One of my best too! Best line i have ever read is quoted in a few lines i wrote here...https://www.pedefsou.com/posts/still-forgeting-to-live-the-moment/ https://www.pedefsou.com/posts/still-forgeting-to-live-the-m...

l33tbro 4y ago

Is quoting a stoic on HN the same as playing 'Stairway to Heaven' in a guitar shop? I do love this quote of course (and all things Aurelius).

agomez314 4y ago
lol
user_7832 4y ago
...I had no idea it was common here on HN, though I'm not surprised. It was just something that's helped me a fair bit and I hope(d) it could help others too.
- bombcar 4y ago
  It's not just HN, stoics hit a "rational coder" approach to life chord with those who fight computers all day.
  - asveikau 4y ago
    I think it might be more that a lot of people in tech have poor work-life balances and bad interpersonal dynamics, and this causes high stress and receptivity to coping mechanisms.
    - parroteal 4y ago
      That's exactly what I think. Much of what modern Stoics put forth appears to be an excuse to dissociate from emotional pain, not cope with unchangeable fate or hardship.
      - asveikau 4y ago
        Thank you for this well put reply. I think I need to add that I don't mean to judge for this. I've been in similar places too. It can be a fine line with many shades of gray between "dissocation" and "coping". Some of it may be useful to somebody. Falling into it as a trap is very human.

r3trohack3r 4y ago

Wait But Why had a great take on this: https://mobile.twitter.com/waitbutwhy/status/1571562595957489665 https://mobile.twitter.com/waitbutwhy/status/157156259595748...