Quote of the day by Marcus Aurelius: 'You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength' - Ancient philosophy behind staying calm in difficult situations explained by the Roman emperor

Life rarely goes according to plan because the decisions of other people, unexpected setbacks and circumstances beyond our control can leave us frustrated or anxious. Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius offered a different way to approach such situations and that was by focusing on what you can control rather than allowing external events to dictate your state of mind. The quote of the day from him, “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength,” captures one of the main ideas of his Stoic philosophy.

What does Marcus Aurelius’ quote mean?

The quote simply teaches that we as humans are always not able to control what happens around us, be it failure, criticism, unexpected changes in life or another person's behaviour. However, what we can actually do is first perceive those experiences in our minds and then decide what we will do next.

This philosophy of Marcus Aurelius encourages people to pause before reacting and instead of spending energy wishing that things should have been a different way, we should consider what is actually under our control.

The connection with ‘Meditations’

Marcus Aurelius had shared these ideas in Meditations, which is a collection of his personal thoughts written when he was ruling as a Roman emperor. The writings were originally not intended for publication.

In Book IV of Meditations, Aurelius has pondered on the relationship that exists between events happening all around us, our minds and how the human judgement works. The quote of the day is usually shared as a modern rendition of ideas found in Meditations, rather than a word-for-word translation from the original text.

Meditations as a whole contains short observations on reason, self-discipline, change, mortality and the importance of treating others in a fair way. The themes of the book reflect Marcus' effort to remind himself of the principles he wanted to follow, even when life became difficult.

Who was Marcus Aurelius?

Marcus Aurelius was born in Rome in 121 AD, became emperor in 161 AD and ruled until his death in 180 AD. He is remembered as one of the last Five Good Emperors of Rome and also as a major figure in the history of Stoic philosophy.

His reign was marked by a number of serious challenges, including military campaigns, a devastating plague and internal unrest. Despite his position and privileges he did not have an easy life.

According to Stoicism expert Donald Robertson, Marcus was a serious student of the philosophy and used it as an important way of coping with the pressures of ruling the Roman Empire.