Marcus Aurelius: On Integrity

It's day 172 of documenting 2025.

Ahh...
The weekend 😌
Now I really appreciate the value of this two-day break.
Can you imagine if work was everyday?

Anyhoo...
Yesterday's weather was pretty bleak...brief sunlight after some rain and then a gloomy sky afterwards.
I hope today's weather is better.

Concerning admission into school, it's in the works 😁
I'm definitely getting into the university this year.
It's getting real, people!

I don't know what to expect or what it will feel like.
But I know I'm getting prepared for the new life...
It's going to be a new chapter of my life...one that I hope gets filled with lots of good memories and experiences.

That's all about my thoughts and life updates.
Let's move on to Highlights and Meditations...
They're great lessons 💯

365 Days With Self-discipline
📌 On Having More Than One Identity

"Those who gain their sense of identity from many areas are more resilient when failing in any one area. For example, a professional tennis player is more likely to be upset by losing a match than is an amateur player for whom tennis is only one of many activities in the week."
Quote by Neil Fiore

If you define yourself by only one role — an entrepreneur, a surfer, a writer, or a pianist — your self-image might be heavily dependent on your performance in this role.
This can make you incapable of effectively processing big failures in that area.

For this reason, it’s good to define yourself by at least several roles. Then, even when you fail in one domain, there will still be other areas in which your performance might still inspire hope and help you recover from the failure in that other thing.

This makes sense...
And it actually changed my perspective on my double roles in the real world and the online space.

How many roles do you have? How many of them affect your self-image?
If you have only one or two defining roles, consider adding an additional identity or two.
That way, you’ll disperse any negative emotions over several domains and improve your ability to quickly bounce back from any failure in one of them.

It's all about the comeback my friend ☺️
Moving on....

Meditations
Book 3: In Carnuntum

"7. Never regard something as doing you good if it makes you betray a trust, or lose your sense of shame, or makes you show hatred, suspicion, ill will, or hypocrisy, or a desire for things best done behind closed doors.

If you can privilege your own mind, your guiding spirit and your reverence for its powers, that should keep you clear of dramatics, of wailing and gnashing of teeth. You won’t need solitude—or a cast of thousands, either.

Above all, you’ll be free of fear and desire. And how long your body will contain the soul that inhabits it will cause you not a moment’s worry.
If it’s time for you to go, leave willingly—as you would to accomplish anything that can be done with grace and honor.

And concentrate on this, your whole life long: for your mind to be in the right state—the state a rational, civic mind should be in.

8. The mind of one set straight and purified: no pus, no dirt, no scabs.
And not a life cut short by death, like an actor who stops before the play is done, the plot wound up.

Neither servility nor arrogance. Neither cringing nor disdain. Neither excuses nor evasions."

I read this and I thought, 🤔
"I think I understand....but let me see how ChatGPT can break it down"
And I asked for an explanation.
Here's what it said:

Marcus Aurelius is laying out a guide for living with integrity, clarity, and inner peace.

In excerpt 7, he's saying: 
Don’t ever think something is good for you if it makes you act dishonorably—like lying, betraying someone’s trust, or acting out of hate, envy, or shame.
Even if it brings success, wealth, or pleasure, if it corrupts your character, it’s not truly good.

Instead, stay focused on keeping your mind calm and virtuous.
You don’t need dramatic isolation or attention from others to be at peace. Just live with dignity, be present, and don’t fear death. When it’s your time to go, do so with grace.

In excerpt 8, he describes the ideal state of mind: clean, unburdened, free from emotional “infection” like resentment or pride.

Live fully and honestly so that your life feels complete—not like a play that ends abruptly.
And don’t be a slave to others’ approval or your own ego. Just be clear, steady, and responsible.

In simpler terms: 
Live clean. Live true. Let your conscience lead, not your cravings. And when the time comes to leave life, go with peace—not fear.

That was much clearer, right?
I agree 💯
I especially like the part about 'letting your conscience lead'.
It resonates 😌

That's all for today's post.
I wish you a wonderful weekend, my friend.
Thanks for reading 🎀

You can visit Documenting 2025 to catch up on former posts from this week.
There are more than 150 tales of life, mishaps and lots of lessons.
I'll see you there 😉

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I'm Duon Ada.
I'm documenting 2025,
And I'll see you tomorrow.
Ciao 💕