Flourishing, resilience & being better

Reflections on fatherhood, business, and life: Lessons from positive psychology, practical philosophy, and the school of hard knocks

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“Be like The Rocky Headland against which the restless surf continually pounds; it stands fast while the churning sea is lulled to sleep at its feet. I hear you say, “How unlucky that this should happen to me!” not at all! Say instead, “How lucky that I am not broken by what has happened and am not afraid of what is about to happen. The same blow might have struck anyone, but not many would have absorbed it without capitulation or complaint.”

After all, why do we speak of good luck and bad luck anyway? Would you call something that is not contrary to a man’s nature a piece of bad luck? And can something be contrary to a man’s nature that nature wills? Well, you know perfectly well what nature wills. Do the waves that crash upon you prevent you in any way from being just, forgiving, moderate, discerning, truthful, loyal, free-spirited, and in possession of all the other noble qualities that nature wills for man’s well-being? The next time you are tempted to complain of your bad luck, remember to apply this maxim: “Bad luck borne nobly is good luck.”

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations IV 49