Marcus Aurelius

"Very little is needed to turn a life around. It requires only a change of perspective."

"Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul."

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small."

"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive."

"Our life is what our thoughts make it."

"You are not harmed by being unjustly treated; you are harmed only by treating others unjustly."

"The happiness of those who want to be popular depends on others; the happiness of those who seek pleasure fluctuates; but the happiness of the wise stands on a firm foundation."

"Time is a river of passing events."

"You have within you right now everything you need to respond to whatever the world throws at you."

"A blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it."

"Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them."

"If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment."

"The man who lives wisely is content with what falls to his lot."

"Take a sick man with you everywhere, and you will see the value of health."

"How small a part of the boundless and unfathomable time is assigned to every man."

"Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I will encounter busybodies, ingrates, and cranks."

"Things could not be better, even if they suited me perfectly."

"If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labor passes quickly, but the good endures; if you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures."

"Everything is flowing and changing continually. Nothing is permanent, everything is connected."

"It is impossible for a man to be truly free when he is a slave to his body."

"Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretense."

"The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing."

"Death smiles at us all; a man can do nothing but smile back."

"You could have made a better choice, so make it now."

"Everything is temporary, the past is gone, and only the present moment is real."

"In your interactions with others, be kind, humble, and considerate."

"How much of our suffering is created by our own thoughts about events, rather than the events themselves?"

"Life is neither good nor evil; it simply is, and our judgments about it shape our experience."

"Admit your faults and move on. Don't dwell on them."