In Reasons

Learn to ask all actions, “Why are they doing that?” Starting with your own.

Aurelius, Marcus

Oftentimes, I do unreasonable actions. Some ended up good, some ended up bad. I don’t even know why I did that or this (including writing this essay) . Some are driven by intuitions, some are (probably) driven by emotions. However, I am not sure which of them contributes the most. What I need to do, is to decide every decision logically. Fast enough, until I don’t realize that I am actually thinking. Fast enough, until it becomes intuition.

In Accepting

Today I escaped from anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, becuase it was within me, in my own perceptions–not outside.

Aurelius, Marcus

In machine learning, there is a term called overfitting. It happens in real-life as well. We sometimes come up with overly complex and incorrect hypothesis about our life. We forget that the world has so many noises and randomness. It is better to treat the noise that happened in our life as just noise. Then we might have relatively better performace in our life. And prevent the noise to happen again in the future (If we could).

In Detachment

Work: Not to rouse pity, not to win sympathy or admiration. Only this: Activity. Stillness. As the logos of the state requires.

Aurelius, Marcus

Build the reason in every activity, but discard the expectation. Waste no time.

In Purpose

Have I done something for the common good? Then I share in the benefits. To stay centered on that. Not to give up.

Aurelius, Marcus

Did I do something good this year? Probably, but I don’t realize it. It is better if I don’t realize it at all, it keeps me away from expectation. But, purpose is something else. It is a fuel. Something that directs our energy. What if we have achieved our purpose? I will make it big enough for my entire life to pursue yet it can be broken-down into small enough purposes that can be achieved daily. Be macro and micro-ambitious.

Reference:

[1] Marcus Aurelius, and Gregory Hays. Meditations. New York: Modern Library, 2002.